Nate Ryan Mon, October 26, 2026 at 2:41 AM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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.
Kyle Larson earns first Talladega win, extends NASCAR Chase points lead in last-lap scramble
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.
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.
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).
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
Source: Sports
