From clinging to a five-point lead to being on the verge of clinching his third championship, Kyle Larson is in strong position to capture the Chase after his first win at Talladega Superspeedway.
The defending Cup Series champion scored his 35th career victory Sunday and his third in the past seven races.
NASCAR: YellaWood 500
Kyle Larson earns first Talladega win, extends NASCAR Chase points lead in last-lap scramble
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The defending series champion rallied twice in the closing laps, making an impressive charge from 11th to first for his third win in seven races.
Larson has opened a 73-point lead over Denny Hamlin with two races remaining in the season.
There are 76 maximum points available for a win, so it’s possible that Larson could wrap up the title Nov. 1 at Martinsville Speedway.
It was the first victory at Talladega (or any drafting track) for Larson, whose previous best finish at the 2.66-mile oval was second in 24 starts.
NASCAR: YellaWood 500
What NASCAR Cup drivers said after first win at Talladega for Kyle Larson
The Chase points leader took a major step toward a third championship with his third win in seven races.
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He became the 13th different winner in the past 13 races at Talladega, tying the Cup record for a streak of different winners (set at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway).
Here are the results from Talladega:
1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
2. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
4. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
5. Cole Custer, No. 41 Chevrolet
6. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
7. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
8. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
9. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
10. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
11. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
12. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
13. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
14. Austin Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet
15. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
16. Cody Ware, No. 51 Chevrolet
17. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
18. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
19. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
20. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
21. Joey Gase, No. 44 Chevrolet
22. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
23. Gray Gaulding, No. 66 Ford
24. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
25. Daniel Dye, No. 78 Chevrolet
26. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
27. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
28. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
29. Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Chevrolet
30. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 97 Chevrolet
31. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
32. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
33. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
34. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
35. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota
36. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
37. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
38. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
39. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
40. Casey Mears, No. 62 Chevrolet
