Talladega is basically a 2.66-mile mental health test disguised as a race track. If you’ve ever watched a Cup Series race there, you know the vibe: 180 laps of "please don't wreck" followed by eight laps of absolute, unmitigated chaos. The race results for Talladega this past October were no different, and honestly, they might have been some of the most consequential for the 2025 playoffs.
Chase Briscoe won. That’s the short version.
But the long version? It involves a last-lap pass, a fuel-mileage gamble that blew up in Hendrick Motorsports' face, and a teammate push that probably earned Ty Gibbs a very expensive dinner. Briscoe crossed the line just $0.145$ seconds ahead of Todd Gilliland. It wasn't just a win for the record books; it punched Briscoe's ticket to the Championship 4 in Phoenix.
The Last-Lap Scramble and the Briscoe Breakthrough
For most of the YellaWood 500, it felt like a game of high-speed chess. Then, the board got flipped over.
Heading into overtime, the Hendrick cars of William Byron and Kyle Larson looked like the ones to beat. They were sitting 1-2 on the final restart. Then reality hit. Larson’s No. 5 Chevy started sputtering—completely out of gas. It broke up the tandem, left Byron vulnerable, and opened the door for the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas.
Briscoe made his move on the backstretch, diving his No. 19 Toyota to the bottom lane. Ty Gibbs, being the "incredible teammate" Briscoe later praised in his post-race interview, stayed glued to his bumper. That shove was the difference-maker. Briscoe cleared Bubba Wallace, held off a hard-charging Gilliland, and took his first-ever superspeedway win at any level.
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Think about that. A guy makes it to the Cup Series, wins at Talladega to lock into the title race, and it’s his first win on a drafting track ever.
Breaking Down the Race Results for Talladega (October 2025)
The top ten was a weird mix of playoff contenders and "spoilers" who just happened to survive the carnage.
- Chase Briscoe (Toyota) - Winner
- Todd Gilliland (Ford) - Career-best finish
- Ty Gibbs (Toyota) - The ultimate wingman
- Bubba Wallace (Toyota) - Strong all day, led laps
- Cole Custer (Ford) - Quietly snagged a top five
- Carson Hocevar (Chevrolet) - Continues to overperform
- Tyler Reddick (Toyota) - Recovered from early issues
- Christopher Bell (Toyota) - Only other playoff driver in the top 10
- Zane Smith (Ford) - Solid outing
- Brad Keselowski (Ford) - Always a threat here
Behind them, the playoff standings look like a horror movie for some of the sport's biggest names. Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney both had to pit for fuel during the overtime caution. Logano ended up 16th; Blaney finished 23rd.
What happened to Hendrick Motorsports?
If you're a fan of the "Big H," this race was a nightmare.
Kyle Larson and William Byron were dominant late, but the miscommunication between Larson and his crew chief, Cliff Daniels, regarding fuel was a $36$-point mistake. Byron got spun out right before the finish line and ended up 25th. Larson crawled home in 26th.
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They went from looking like they’d lock in both cars to being on the bubble heading into Martinsville. Larson left Talladega just $36$ points above the cutline, while Byron fell to $36$ points below it. In the world of NASCAR playoffs, that is a massive swing.
The Spring Race: Austin Cindric’s Photo Finish
We can’t talk about the 2025 race results for Talladega without mentioning the Jack Link's 500 back in April. That race was actually a bit "calmer" by Talladega standards—at least until the end.
Austin Cindric won that one by a literal hair. $0.022$ seconds.
He beat Ryan Preece to the line in a side-by-side drag race that saw the lead change five times in the final six laps. However, the drama didn't end at the checkered flag. NASCAR disqualified Preece and Joey Logano after the race for spoiler violations.
This promoted Kyle Larson to second and William Byron to third in the official results. It was the 10th different winner in the last 10 races at the track. Talladega is the only place on earth where you can be the best driver in the world and still finish 38th because someone three rows back sneezed.
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Xfinity Series: The Austin Hill Show
In the Xfinity Series, the race results for Talladega were a bit more predictable, mostly because Austin Hill owns this place. He swept both the Spring and Fall races in 2025.
In the October United Rentals 250, Hill led 48 of the 100 laps. He’s basically turned drafting into a science. Even though he’d already been eliminated from the driver's playoff at that point, his win secured his Richard Childress Racing team a spot in the owner's championship.
Behind him, Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier fought through an overtime restart to finish second and third. Allgaier and Connor Zilisch ended the weekend as the only two drivers locked into the Xfinity Championship 4.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Bettors
If you’re looking at these results to figure out how to handle Talladega in 2026, here’s the reality:
- Teammates are everything: Briscoe doesn't win without Ty Gibbs. Cindric doesn't win without the Ford drafting line. When looking at future races, look for the manufacturer with the most "loyal" drafting partners.
- The "Different Winner" Streak: With 10 different winners in the last 10 Cup races, don't bet the house on a repeat. The track parity is at an all-time high.
- Fuel is the New "Big One": In the Next Gen car era, fuel saving has become as important as raw speed. The teams that can save the most under green-flag conditions usually dictate the end of the race.
Talladega remains the ultimate wildcard. One minute you're leading a Hendrick 1-2 finish, the next you're 26th and out of gas. That’s just the tax you pay for racing in Alabama.
Next Steps:
To stay ahead of the next superspeedway shuffle, you should monitor the updated NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings as the field heads to Martinsville. Keep a close eye on the fuel-mileage stats from the 2025 season, as this "extreme saving" trend is likely to continue into the 2026 Daytona 500.