Talladega is always a thrilling race, and the Cup Series event on October 1st, 2023 was no exception, as a pair of NASCAR Ford Mustangs streaked toward the finish side-by-side ahead of a dramatic crash on the last lap.
Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Mustang beat out the No. 4 Mustang of Kevin Harvick by mere inches at the line, after leading only eight of 188 laps. The two race cars touched heading to the stripe but were able to keep their race cars under them, even as the pack wrecked behind them.
“I don’t really know, pretty wild last restart, let alone last couple laps,” Blaney said after the race. “Kinda lost momentum, then getting it back, got clear to the bottom to kind get to the front row and drag race it out with Kevin [Harvick]. It’s so cool to win here three times at Talladega.”
With this win, Blaney will automatically advance into the next Playoffs round. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 Ford, finds himself in danger of being eliminated, just two points above the cutline. He had a DNF at Talladega after making contact with the No. 42 Chevy Camaro ZL1 of Carson Hocevar, causing the latter to spin out and trigger a massive wreck that collected Keselowski.
Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 NASCAR Ford, led 24 laps, but was relegated to a 25th-place finish after the chaos of the race. Overall, there were 70 lead changes among 24 drivers.
Harvick’s No. 4 Mustang crossed the line in second after drag-racing Blaney to the line, but he was disqualified in postrace inspection and has been credited with a 38th-place finish, or dead last.
Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | 12 | Ryan Blaney (P) | Menards/Pennzoil Ford | 188 | 8 | Ford Mustang |
2 | 8 | 24 | William Byron (P) | Axalta Chevrolet | 188 | 12 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
3 | 12 | 11 | Denny Hamlin (P) | Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota | 188 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
4 | 36 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
5 | 7 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Discount Tire Ford | 188 | 15 | Ford Mustang |
6 | 30 | 31 | Justin Haley | Morris-Shea Bridge Co. Inc. Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
7 | 23 | 9 | Chase Elliott (P) | LLumar Chevrolet | 188 | 8 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
8 | 19 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Wonder Bread Ford | 188 | 8 | Ford Mustang |
9 | 6 | 36 | * Riley Herbst(i) | Beast Unleashed White Haze Ford | 188 | 10 | Ford Mustang |
10 | 28 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
11 | 34 | 13 | * Chandler Smith(i) | Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
12 | 17 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Georgia Peanuts Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
13 | 3 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Old Spice Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
14 | 15 | 20 | Christopher Bell (P) | DEWALT Electrical Solutions Toyota | 188 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
15 | 4 | 5 | Kyle Larson (P) | Valvoline/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
16 | 13 | 45 | Tyler Reddick (P) | McDonald's Toyota | 188 | 2 | Toyota TRD Camry |
17 | 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | 188 | 7 | Ford Mustang |
18 | 16 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 188 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
19 | 24 | 17 | Chris Buescher (P) | BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 188 | 3 | Ford Mustang |
20 | 31 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Action Industries Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
21 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 188 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
22 | 35 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Sara Lee Artesano Bakery Bread Chevrolet | 188 | 14 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
23 | 9 | 23 | Bubba Wallace (P) | Leidos Toyota | 188 | 3 | Toyota TRD Camry |
24 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 188 | 48 | Ford Mustang |
25 | 25 | 8 | Kyle Busch (P) | X World Wallet Chevrolet | 188 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
26 | 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | Allegiant Chevrolet | 188 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
27 | 33 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet | 188 | 2 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
28 | 20 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 188 | 13 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
29 | 37 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Gunk Chevrolet | 187 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
30 | 29 | 15 | Brennan Poole(i) | Finance Pro Plus Ford | 186 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
31 | 21 | 21 | Harrison Burton | DEX Imaging Ford | 175 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
32 | 5 | 6 | Brad Keselowski (P) | Solomon Plumbing Ford | 161 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
33 | 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 161 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
34 | 22 | 54 | Ty Gibbs # | Monster Energy Toyota | 161 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
35 | 38 | 42 | Carson Hocevar(i) | Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet | 161 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
36 | 27 | 51 | JJ Yeley(i) | Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford | 83 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
37 | 32 | 1 | Ross Chastain (P) | Worldwide Express Chevrolet | 59 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
38 | 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Camo Ford | 188 | 11 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
P – Playoffs eligible
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