About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three races remain in NASCAR's postseason Chase and, realistically, seven drivers have the chance to win the championship.
One of them, Chase Briscoe — winner of three races this season and two in the Chase — will start on the pole for a crucial and unpredictable race, the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, Oct. 25 at Talladega Superspeedway.
In his No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Briscoe logged a best speed of 186.065 mph around the 2.66-mile asphalt oval with high banks, notching the fastest speed on a pole lap in the Cup Series at Talladega since 2021. He'll need that speed on Sunday, and some good luck in avoiding chaotic crashes, to get a strong points day.
The pole win was Briscoe's first of the season and 11th of his Cup Series career.
"Who knows what to expect with the handling and obviously that first run is all about fuel saving, so we'll probably have our blinker on pretty early to not have the lead, but we'll see how it plays out,'' Briscoe said. "It does show that we have a fast car. So, typically if it's fast by itself, it's normally fast in the draft, too."
Briscoe is in third place in the standings, trailing leader Kyle Larson by 24 points. Briscoe is one of six drivers within 56 points of Larson, and four of them are behind the wheel of Toyotas. Briscoe's JGR teammates Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin both still have legitimate chances at winning the championship — Bell is just five points behind Larson entering Talladega, while Hamlin was the regular season champion and is in fourth place, 41 points back.
The other Toyota in the hunt is Tyler Reddick's No. 45 for 23XI Racing, trailing Larson by 56 points. Reddick has the most Cup Series wins of any driver this season with six, adding to that total last weekend at Phoenix .
However — in addition to Larson's Chevrolet — the Toyotas will have to contend this weekend with two Team Penske Fords aiming for the championship as well. Ryan Blaney won at Talladega in 2023, while Joey Logano has three career wins there.
But Talladega can be chaotic and difficult to forecast. There have been 12 different race winners in the last 12 trips to the track in Lincoln, Alabama, for the Cup Series. The track that opened in 1969 is known for blistering speeds and big wrecks.
"Talladega, like any superspeedway race, is challenging because there are so many things that can happen outside of your control," Larson said.
Most of the Chase drivers will likely be happy if they can finish Talladega without destroying their car. But of course, much is at stake, and if the winner is one of the seven Chase drivers, it could shake up the championship picture.
"Sometimes, there's not a lot you can do about it and you just have to deal with that," Blaney said. "I think everyone thinks of these speedways a little bit differently, but I've always enjoyed coming just because I like the style, and I feel like it's just a different form of racing and you just hope you make the right decisions."
Oct. 11: Chase Briscoe celebrates in victory lane after winning the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images) Oct. 4: Chase Briscoe celebrates in victory lane after winning the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) Sept. 27: Kyle Larson celebrates winning the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) Sept. 19: Joey Logano celebrates after winning the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Randy Sartin, Imagn Images) Sept. 13: Kyle Larson celebrates in victory lane after winning the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. (Amy Kontras, Getty Images) Sept. 6: Christopher Bell celebrates in victory lane after winning the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Meg Oliphant, Getty Images) Aug. 29: Ryan Preece (60) lifts the winner's trophy after winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. (Mike Watters, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) Aug. 23: Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney celebrates winning the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Eric Canha, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) Aug. 15: Joey Logano celebrates after winning the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. (Greg Atkins, Imagn Images) Aug. 9: Ty Gibbs celebrates in victory lane after winning the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) July 26: Corey Heim celebrates after winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Grace Hollars, IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) July 19: Joey Logano celebrates in victory lane after winning the Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Meg Oliphant, Getty Images) July 12: Ryan Blaney celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) July 5: Chase Briscoe reacts in victory lane after winning the eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. (Mike Dinovo, Imagn Images) June 28: Shane van Gisbergen celebrates after winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on the road course at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. (Stan Szeto, Imagn Images) June 21: Corey Heim celebrates after winning the inaugural Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego, California. (Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images) June 14: Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (David Jensen, Getty Images) June 7: Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) May 31:Denny Hamlin celebrates winning the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Andrew Nelles, The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network) May 24: Daniel Suarez celebrates in victory lane after winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina. (Krista Jasso, Getty Images) May 10: Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates with the trophy after winning the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. (Matthew O'Haren, Imagn Images) May 3: Chase Elliott (9) celebrates in victory lane after winning the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. (Jerome Miron, Imagn Images) April 26: Carson Hocevar celebrates in victory lane after winning the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. (David Jensen, Getty Images) April 19: Tyler Reddick celebrates with his wife, Alexa De Leon, and sons, Beau Reddick and Rookie George Reddick, after winning the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. (David Jensen, Getty Images) April 12: Ty Gibbs celebrates in victory lane after winning the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. (Matt Kelley, Getty Images) March 29: Chase Elliott celebrates with Martinsville Speedway's traditional grandfather clock prize after winning the Cook Out 400 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Jim Dedmon, Imagn Images) March 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates with his family after winning the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina for his fourth victory of the 2026 season. (Scott Kinser, Imagn Images) March 15: Denny Hamlin celebrates winning the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images) March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates winning the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway. (Meg Oliphant, Getty Images) March 1: Tyler Reddick celebrates winning the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. (Logan Riely, Getty Images) Feb. 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates winning the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. (Mady Mertens, Imagn Images) Feb. 15: Tyler Reddick celebrates with his family and crew after winning the 68th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. (Mike Watters, Imagn Images) 1 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Oct. 11: Chase Briscoe celebrates in victory lane after winning the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images) 1 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Oct. 11: Chase Briscoe celebrates in victory lane after winning the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton, Getty Images) 2 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Oct. 4: Chase Briscoe celebrates in victory lane after winning the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) 3 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Sept. 27: Kyle Larson celebrates winning the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) 4 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Sept. 19: Joey Logano celebrates after winning the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. (Randy Sartin, Imagn Images) 5 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Sept. 13: Kyle Larson celebrates in victory lane after winning the Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. (Amy Kontras, Getty Images) 6 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Sept. 6: Christopher Bell celebrates in victory lane after winning the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Meg Oliphant, Getty Images) 7 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Aug. 29: Ryan Preece (60) lifts the winner's trophy after winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. (Mike Watters, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) 8 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Aug. 23: Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney celebrates winning the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Eric Canha, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect) 9 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Aug. 15: Joey Logano celebrates after winning the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. (Greg Atkins, Imagn Images) 10 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Aug. 9: Ty Gibbs celebrates in victory lane after winning the Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) 11 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners July 26: Corey Heim celebrates after winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. (Grace Hollars, IndyStar, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co) 12 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners July 19: Joey Logano celebrates in victory lane after winning the Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Meg Oliphant, Getty Images) 13 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners July 12: Ryan Blaney celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) 14 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners July 5: Chase Briscoe reacts in victory lane after winning the eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. (Mike Dinovo, Imagn Images) 15 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners June 28: Shane van Gisbergen celebrates after winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on the road course at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. (Stan Szeto, Imagn Images) 16 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners June 21: Corey Heim celebrates after winning the inaugural Anduril 250 at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego, California. (Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images) 17 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners June 14: Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISITPA at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (David Jensen, Getty Images) 18 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners June 7: Denny Hamlin celebrates in victory lane after winning the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. (Sean Gardner, Getty Images) 19 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners May 31:Denny Hamlin celebrates winning the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. (Andrew Nelles, The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network) 20 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners May 24: Daniel Suarez celebrates in victory lane after winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina. (Krista Jasso, Getty Images) 21 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners May 10: Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates with the trophy after winning the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. (Matthew O'Haren, Imagn Images) 22 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners May 3: Chase Elliott (9) celebrates in victory lane after winning the Wurth 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. (Jerome Miron, Imagn Images) 23 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners April 26: Carson Hocevar celebrates in victory lane after winning the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. (David Jensen, Getty Images) 24 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners April 19: Tyler Reddick celebrates with his wife, Alexa De Leon, and sons, Beau Reddick and Rookie George Reddick, after winning the AdventHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. (David Jensen, Getty Images) 25 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners April 12: Ty Gibbs celebrates in victory lane after winning the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. (Matt Kelley, Getty Images) 26 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners March 29: Chase Elliott celebrates with Martinsville Speedway's traditional grandfather clock prize after winning the Cook Out 400 in Martinsville, Virginia. (Jim Dedmon, Imagn Images) 27 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners March 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates with his family after winning the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina for his fourth victory of the 2026 season. (Scott Kinser, Imagn Images) 28 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners March 15: Denny Hamlin celebrates winning the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. (Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images) 29 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners March 8: Ryan Blaney celebrates winning the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway. (Meg Oliphant, Getty Images) 30 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners March 1: Tyler Reddick celebrates winning the DuraMax Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. (Logan Riely, Getty Images) 31 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Feb. 22: Tyler Reddick celebrates winning the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. (Mady Mertens, Imagn Images) 32 / 32 See victory lane celebrations with 2026 NASCAR race winners Feb. 15: Tyler Reddick celebrates with his family and crew after winning the 68th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. (Mike Watters, Imagn Images) Here's everything you need to know about the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway:
The green flag is set to drop on the YellaWood 500 at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama.
The YellaWood 500 will be broadcast on NBC. Pre-race coverage will start at 1:30 p.m. ET.
It is the second of four races this season on NBC, but the broadcast will still be produced by the USA Sports crew .
Leigh Diffey will have the call alongside analysts Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte, while Dale Jarrett will offer additional analysis from the pit box. Marty Snider will host the pre- and post-race shows, and he, Kim Coon and Dave Burns will report from pit road.
Despite being on NBC, this race will not be streamed on Peacock.
Subscribers to YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV can watch the YellaWood 500 through those services.
HBO Max will continue to provide live streams of in-car cameras, while MRN will carry the live radio broadcast.
The YellaWood 500 is 188 laps around the 2.66-mile asphalt oval for a total of 500.08 miles. The race will have three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 98 laps; Stage 2: 45 laps; Stage 3: 45 laps.
The track at Talladega Superspeedway should be dry and the YellaWood 500 should start on time.
The National Weather Service is forecasting a sunny afternoon, with a high temperature near 74 degrees. Winds from the northeast could get up to 10 mph.
Into the evening, projections say it will be mostly clear with a low temperature around 47 degrees.
Carson Hocevar notched his first career Cup Series win at Talladega earlier this season on April 26. Chase Briscoe won the fall race last season.
Dale Earnhardt had the most career Cup Series wins at Talladega with 10. Brad Keselowski is the leader among active drivers with six victories at the track.
Any driver that is at least 152 points behind the leader after Talladega will be mathematically eliminated from the Chase.
(Car number in parentheses, Chase drivers designated with asterisk)
Chase Briscoe (19) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing*
Austin Hill, (33) — Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
Connor Zilisch (88) — Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing
Shane van Gisbergen (97) — Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing
Christopher Bell (20) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing*
Alex Bowman (48) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
Ty Gibbs (54) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing*
Denny Hamlin (11) — Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing*
Kyle Larson (5) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports*
Cody Ware (51) — Chevrolet, Rick Ware Racing
Austin Dillon (3) — Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
Daniel Suarez (7) — Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports*
Ross Chastain (1) — Chevrolet, Trackhouse Racing
William Byron (24) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports*
Chase Elliott (9) — Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports*
Cole Custer (41) — Chevrolet, Haas Factory Team
Michael McDowell (71) — Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47) — Chevrolet, HYAK Motorsports
Bubba Wallace (23) — Toyota, 23XI Racing*
Carson Hocevar (77) — Chevrolet, Spire Motorsports*
Erik Jones (43) — Toyota, Legacy Motor Club
Ty Dillon (10) — Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing
Zane Smith (38) — Ford, Front Row Motorsports
John Hunter Nemechek (42) — Toyota, Legacy Motor Club
Tyler Reddick (45) — Toyota, 23XI Racing*
Casey Mears (62) — Chevrolet, Beard Motorsports
Todd Gilliland (34) — Ford, Front Row Motorsports
Daniel Dye (78) — Chevrolet, Live Fast Motorsports
AJ Allmendinger (16) — Chevrolet, Kaulig Racing
Joey Gase (44) — Chevrolet, New York Racing Team
Noah Gragson (4) — Ford, Front Row Motorsports
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NASCAR race at Talladega: Start time, TV, streaming, lineup, weather for YellaWood 500
Source: Sports
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