The Blue Oval has yet to earn a win in the Cup Series so far in 2024, and unfortunately, it extended its winless streak at Talladega on April 21st, 2024. Heading to the checkered flag, two NASCAR Ford drivers held down the front of the field, but a misplaced block sent both of them plummeting in the standings and opened the door for the No. 45 Toyota TRD Camry of Tyler Reddick to win the race.
Michael McDowell took the pole position in the No. 34 NASCAR Ford Mustang Dark Horse and stayed up front for most of the race. He was right there at the end, defending the top spot against the field, when he attempted to block the No. 6 Mustang of Brad Keselowski. The two cars made contact, triggering the biggest wreck of the race as McDowell pounded the outside wall and collected quite a few cars as he spun.
McDowell ultimately finished 31st. Keselowski recovered to finish second for the second week in a row, followed by Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 10 Mustang, in third.
“We did a good job keeping those Mustang Dark Horses up front,” said McDowell after the race. “[Keselowski] did everything right. He pushed me. I was able to get in front of him the first time but when I came back down I barely wasn’t clear. I’ll have to watch the replay. I hate it. I hate it we didn’t make it to the finish line. We had such a fast Mustang today… just came up short and took a lot of guys out and I apologize.”
| Finish | Start | Car Number | Driver | Team | Laps Run | Laps Led | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | Jordan Brand Toyota | 188 | 13 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 2 | 22 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Castrol Edge Ford | 188 | 2 | Ford Mustang |
| 3 | 36 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Overstock.com Ford | 188 | 5 | Ford Mustang |
| 4 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Boost/Thomas'/Philadelphia Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 12 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 24 | 62 | * Anthony Alfredo(i) | Dude Wipes Chevrolet | 188 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 7 | 13 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 8 | 3 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | gener8tor Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 9 | 19 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Cirkul Chevrolet | 188 | 8 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 16 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 188 | 16 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 12 | 26 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mahindra Tractors Ford | 188 | 3 | Ford Mustang |
| 13 | 32 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Jockey Outdoors by Luke Bryan Chevrolet | 188 | 6 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 14 | 11 | 41 | Ryan Preece | United Rentals Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 15 | 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 188 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 29 | 4 | Josh Berry # | Overstock.com Ford | 188 | 3 | Ford Mustang |
| 17 | 35 | 77 | Carson Hocevar # | Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet | 188 | 1 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 31 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 188 | 22 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 21 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Wabash Ford | 188 | 1 | Ford Mustang |
| 21 | 38 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 22 | 15 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | 188 | 1 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 23 | 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford | 188 | 16 | Ford Mustang |
| 24 | 34 | 15 | Cody Ware | Jacob Construction Ford | 188 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 25 | 8 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | 188 | 6 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 25 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 4 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar's Chevrolet | 188 | 4 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 17 | 16 | Shane Van Gisbergen(i) | Wendy's Chevrolet | 188 | 3 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 29 | 30 | 71 | Zane Smith # | Focused Health Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 188 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 1 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love's Travel Stops Ford | 187 | 36 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 37 | 78 | * BJ McLeod(i) | Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet | 187 | 5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 20 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | AdventHealth Toyota | 184 | 20 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 34 | 27 | 51 | Justin Haley | Parts Plus Ford | 184 | 4 | Ford Mustang |
| 35 | 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Family Dollar Toyota | 154 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 36 | 14 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Leidos Toyota | 154 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 37 | 23 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Ultimate Fan Contest Toyota | 154 | 4 | Toyota TRD Camry |
| 38 | 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Mobil 1 Toyota | 132 | 0 | Toyota TRD Camry |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
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Comment
McDowell tried to block Keselowski TWICE!! The first time worked but the second one not so much.