The 2024 YellaWood 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 6, 2024, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 195 laps -- extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish on the 2.66 mi (4.28 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, the fifth race of the playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the race, his first since the 2023 Daytona 500. Brad Keselowski finished 2nd, and William Byron finished 3rd. Kyle Larson and Erik Jones rounded out the top five, and Christopher Bell, Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top ten.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 31 of 36 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | October 6, 2024 | ||
| Location | Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 195 laps, 518.7 mi (834.766 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Sunny with a temperature around 84 °F (29 °C); wind out of the southwest at around 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h). | ||
| Average speed | 150.773 miles per hour (242.646 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Front Row Motorsports | ||
| Time | 52.310 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 29 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers |
Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte (booth) Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jarrett (NBC Peacock Pitbox) | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 1.74 (3.127 million) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Todd Gordon | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Chris Wilner (3 & 4) | ||
The race is notable for containing the largest "Big One" in NASCAR history, with 28 cars being officially recorded as being involved.
Report
editBackground
editTalladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which is 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (P) denotes playoff driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
editMichael McDowell scored the pole for the race with a time of 52.310 and a speed of 183.063 mph (294.611 km/h).[9]
Qualifying results
editRace
editRace results
editStage results
editStage One Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 16 | Shane van Gisbergen (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage results
editStage Three Laps: 68
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | 49 |
| 2 | 13 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 195 | 35 |
| 3 | 16 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 48 |
| 4 | 12 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 42 |
| 5 | 30 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 195 | 32 |
| 6 | 21 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 195 | 37 |
| 7 | 35 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 30 |
| 8 | 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | 29 |
| 9 | 26 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 195 | 32 |
| 10 | 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 195 | 27 |
| 11 | 24 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 195 | 26 |
| 12 | 34 | 15 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 195 | 25 |
| 13 | 15 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 195 | 24 |
| 14 | 37 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 23 |
| 15 | 17 | 16 | Shane van Gisbergen (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | 0 |
| 16 | 23 | 48 | Alex Bowman (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 26 |
| 17 | 20 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 195 | 30 |
| 18 | 28 | 51 | Corey LaJoie | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 195 | 19 |
| 19 | 4 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | 26 |
| 20 | 14 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 195 | 22 |
| 21 | 39 | 71 | Zane Smith (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 195 | 16 |
| 22 | 38 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsprots | Chevrolet | 195 | 0 |
| 23 | 3 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 194 | 14 |
| 24 | 33 | 62 | Anthony Alfredo (i) | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 194 | 0 |
| 25 | 22 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 194 | 12 |
| 26 | 31 | 99 | Daniel Suárez (P) | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | 11 |
| 27 | 40 | 44 | J. J. Yeley (i) | NY Racing Team | Chevrolet | 193 | 0 |
| 28 | 25 | 13 | A. J. Allmendinger (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 193 | 0 |
| 29 | 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 190 | 17 |
| 30 | 36 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (P) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 189 | 10 |
| 31 | 29 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 188 | 6 |
| 32 | 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric (P) | Team Penske | Ford | 183 | 17 |
| 33 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano (P) | Team Penske | Ford | 183 | 4 |
| 34 | 9 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 183 | 3 |
| 35 | 18 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 183 | 2 |
| 36 | 19 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 183 | 1 |
| 37 | 1 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 183 | 1 |
| 38 | 10 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 183 | 1 |
| 39 | 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Team Penske | Ford | 124 | 5 |
| 40 | 27 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 6 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 66 among 24 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 4 for 24 laps
- Red flags: 1 for 8 minutes and 42 seconds
- Time of race: 3 hours, 26 minutes, and 25 seconds
- Average speed: 150.773 miles per hour (242.646 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editNBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Leigh Diffey, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and 1999 NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Jarrett called from the NBC Peacock Pit Box on pit road. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman, and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane. NBC premiered "NASCAR Nonstop", where every green flag lap was ad free.[10]
| NBC | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Leigh Diffey Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte NBC Peacock Pitbox: Jimmie Johnson NBC Peacock Pitbox: Dale Jarrett |
Dave Burns Kim Coon Parker Kligerman Marty Snider |
Radio
editMRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Todd Gordon called the race for MRN when the field races through the tri-oval. Dave Moody will call the action from turn 1, Mike Bagley called the action for MRN when the field races down the back straightaway, and Chris Wilner called the race from the Sunoco tower just outside of turn 4. Steve Post, Dillon Welch, Brienne Pedigo, and Jason Toy called the action for MRN from pit lane.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Todd Gordon |
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Mike Bagley Turns 3 & 4: Chris Wilner |
Steve Post Dillon Welch Brienne Pedigo Jason Toy |
Standings after the race
edit
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "2024 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "Talladega SuperSpeedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
- ^ Taranto, Steven (October 3, 2023). "NASCAR Cup Series 2024 schedule announcement: New additions, race dates, plus the complete calendar". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "NASCAR reveals 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. October 4, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
- ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. October 5, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ "YellaWood 500 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. October 6, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 6, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
- ^ DeGroot, Nick (October 5, 2024). "Michael McDowell Earn Talladega Cup Pole For Front Row Motorsports". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
- ^ Long, Dustin (August 21, 2024). "NBC Sports to show every green flag lap of Cup races at Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta". Retrieved September 8, 2024.