After NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Talladega, where do the playoff drivers stand?

Ryan Blaney won a wild race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Blaney edged Kevin Harvick by one one-hundredth of a second after a wreck came late in the final lap. There were 70 lead changes and 24 different leaders in Sunday’s race. A crash toward the end of Stage 1 left playoff driver Ross Chastain out of the race. And that was the only time the race was stopped until an eight-car wreck came with 25 laps left.

Further back in the field, Brad Keselowski was trying to push Carson Hocevar, and then Hocevar spun. Eight cars were involved, and it prompted a red flag for wall repairs.

One race is left before the bottom four playoff drivers are eliminated: the Charlotte Roval. Here’s how some of the playoff drivers fared at Talladega, and what’s in front of them as they prepare for next weekend’s race in Concord.

Ross Chastain

The driver of the No. 1 Chevy entered Sunday sitting sixth in the playoff standings, 12 points above the elimination line. He didn’t make it a full stage.

During the final lap of Stage 1, Kyle Busch was pushing Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Chastain came up behind them and made contact with several cars, spiraling into the wall. He was taken to the infield care center, NASCAR said, and was out of the race.

“It’s just the way it goes,” Chastain told NBC afterward. “Kind of had a couple cars land in my lap there, and I went for the gap.”

Chastain finished last, in 38th.

Brad Keselowski

Keselowski ran around the front of the pack for most of Stage 2 and passed William Byron during late to win it. He continued running toward the front early in the final stage. Soon enough, he was out of the race.

Keselowski, who’s won six times at Talladega, was pushing Carson Hocevar. The No. 42 car then went sideways and clipped Ty Gibbs. Eight cars were involved in the wreck, including Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford.

“Gave a really light push to the 42 car,” Keselowski told the MRN broadcast. “It’s what it is.”

The Stage 2 winner, who entered the day eight points above the elimination line, was out of the race and went to the infield care center. He finished 33rd.

Ryan Blaney

Blaney rolled to the Stage 1 win after the Chastain wreck. He’d been running toward the front early and won that stage.

Earlier in the race, more of the playoff drivers found themselves farther back in the field, but Blaney was consistently around the front. He passed Harvick during the last lap and raced to a photo finish. He’s now third in the Cup playoff standings.

Kyle Larson

The Hendrick Motorsports driver, who won the opening playoff race at Darlington, had another strong day. The No. 5 Chevy ran around the front of the pack throughout the race.

Larson stayed in the Top Five during the final laps with his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman in front of him. He ended up falling to 14th place, now sixth in the playoff standings

Kyle Busch

Busch, needing a strong performance after wrecking out early at Texas last week, ran around the middle of the field for most of the race.

He finished 26th and remains 12th in the playoff standings, below Ross Chastain, who also wrecked out early in a Round of 12 race.

Denny Hamlin

Hamlin was running a lap down for a significant part of Sunday’s race but kept himself toward the front of the packed field, eventually getting a free pass after the wreck that eliminated four drivers (Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs and Carson Hocevar).

Hamlin finished fourth and is second in the standings.

How the playoff drivers stand

This story was originally published October 1, 2023 at 5:32 PM with the headline "After NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Talladega, where do the playoff drivers stand?."