Ricky Stenhouse Jr. claimed a dramatic victory at Talladega Superspeedway, narrowly edging out Brad Keselowski by just .006 of a second in one of the closest finishes in NASCAR Cup Series history. The three-abreast photo finish marked the sixth-closest conclusion ever in the series and served as a much-needed morale boost for Stenhouse, who missed the 2024 playoffs and sits at a career-worst 27th in points.
Stenhouse’s win came after a chaotic race that saw a major multi-car crash in the closing laps. Although the Daytona 500 winner had no shot at the championship, his determination to secure bragging rights shone through in the final moments, where he battled Keselowski head-to-head during overtime to take the win.
Fords Dominate Early, but Chevrolet Takes the Win
Fords looked dominant throughout the race, with pole-sitter Michael McDowell and 2022 Daytona 500 champion Austin Cindric leading the most laps. Meanwhile, Stenhouse, with help from fellow Chevrolet driver Chase Elliott, drafted his way to the front, setting up a ten-lap showdown. However, a late-race incident changed the dynamics entirely.
With five laps remaining, Cindric’s hopes were dashed when Keselowski tapped his car from behind, causing Cindric to spin into Stenhouse and triggering a massive 27-car accident. While Stenhouse managed to keep his car steady despite some damage, Cindric was relegated to a 32nd-place finish. The crash left Cindric, currently last in the playoff standings, in a must-win situation for next week’s race in Charlotte if he hopes to advance to the Round of 8.
A Battle to the Finish
Despite the carnage, Keselowski emerged from the wreck and lined up alongside Stenhouse for the final restart. Although Elliott, who had been working with Stenhouse, was caught in the crash, Stenhouse found another ally in William Byron. Byron, also a playoff driver, worked with Stenhouse on the restart as they raced to the finish line.
In the overtime laps, Keselowski and his Ford, aided by teammate Kyle Larson, seemed to have the advantage. However, Stenhouse regained momentum in the final corner, going head-to-head with Keselowski. Byron attempted to make a move for the win himself but fell short, allowing Stenhouse to pull ahead and clinch the victory by a mere fraction of a second.
“When the #24 (Byron) jumped out to the outside, it was like a parachute hit my car,” Stenhouse recalled. “I was just hoping that we would get to the start/finish line before them. It was a drag race at that point.”
Controversial Crash and Red Flag Delay
The crash with five laps to go collected so many cars that NASCAR had to red-flag the race for over eight minutes to clear the track. Once the caution resumed, several drivers faced issues under NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP), which gives teams ten minutes to repair cars during playoff races. If crews fail to get the car back up to speed before the time limit expires, the car is retired from the race.
Confusion arose when Elliott and Chase Briscoe were towed back to pit road and managed to beat the DVP, while other drivers, like Josh Berry, were left waiting for assistance until it was too late. Berry expressed frustration over the inconsistency, pointing out that while he waited for a tow, other cars, such as John Hunter Nemechek’s, were allowed to continue.
NASCAR’s Senior Vice President of Competition, Elton Sawyer, defended the decision, stating that the organization aimed to err on the side of helping competitors after reviewing incidents from the previous week at Kansas. “We want to make sure that we erred on the side of the competitors,” Sawyer explained. “That’s why we made the decision to tow the two to pit row that we did: the #9 (Elliott) and the #14 (Briscoe).”
Sawyer acknowledged that the DVP policy remains a challenge and noted that NASCAR plans to review and potentially refine the rule in the offseason.
Stenhouse’s Victory a Relief Amidst Chaos
Despite the confusion surrounding the crash and DVP decisions, Stenhouse and his team were unaffected, executing their strategy flawlessly in overtime. Crew chief Mike Kelley acknowledged the challenges NASCAR faced but called for more consistency moving forward. “It’s a tough situation, and we’ll learn from it and get better at it. It was a lot of new things kind of happening, but it didn’t impact ours,” Kelley stated.
Stenhouse’s win at Talladega marks his fourth career Cup Series victory, all of which have come at superspeedways. While his 2024 season may not have gone as planned, the victory serves as a reminder of his prowess on high-speed tracks and provides some consolation for a challenging year.
