Best NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway in the last 10 years

Which NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway have defined the modern era? Over the past decade, the Alabama-based speedway has been host to some of the most thrilling stock car racing with unpredictable finishes.

A track where dominance rarely guarantees results, with racers like William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. leading multiple laps but not finding success, and known for its steep banking, the 500-mile tri-oval is unique for its shape and has built a reputation as the sport’s most volatile and entertaining venue.

General view of the Talladega Superspeedway during the NASCAR Cup Series - Source: Imagn

The track hosts two Cup Series events annually, spring’s Jack Link's 500 and fall’s YellaWood 500, and has remained a spectacle of late-race strategy, bold moves, and playoff heartbreak. But which recent editions have stood the test of time? Here are three standout Talladega moments from the last decade that show why the superspeedway is one of NASCAR’s greatest theaters:

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#1 Ryan Blaney holds off chaos in 2020’s postponed NASCAR GEICO 500

Ryan Blaney edged Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.007 seconds in a photo finish that capped off a caution-filled race on June 22, 2020. The Penske #12 driver survived a 56-lead-change contest and a wild final lap where multiple contenders collided exiting Turn 4.

Blaney crossed the line sideways, with Aric Almirola spinning behind him and somehow finishing third. He started the race in the sixth row and led a race-high 63 of the 191 laps to claim his fourth Talladega victory. This would remain his sole victory in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series as he finished ninth in the final standings.

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#2 Denny Hamlin survives overtime madness in 2020 YellaWood 500

Later that same year, Talladega’s fall race lived up to its reputation. Denny Hamlin found himself in the middle of a multi-overtime melee, navigating through three restarts and thirteen cautions to claim his seventh win of the season. The final lap was pure chaos as Matt DiBenedetto led in the two-lap shootout.

After leading for the final ten laps in the race, DiBenedetto blocked low as William Byron pushed high. This sent Hamlin below the yellow line to avoid disaster. The Joe Gibbs Racing veteran maintained his position on the low line to take home the checkered flag to the round of eight in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

The move sparked immediate controversy around the double yellow line rule, but NASCAR ruled that Hamlin’s line-cutting maneuver was legal.

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#3 Ross Chastain shocks the field with a last-lap surge in the 2022 GEICO 500

By 2022, Trackhouse Racing was still considered a rising force, and Ross Chastain had just tasted his first career win at COTA. At Talladega’s spring race, he showed it wasn’t a fluke. With Erik Jones leading out of Turn 4 and Kyle Larson trying a high-side divebomb, Chastain simply stayed glued to the yellow line and drove straight to victory.

Jones followed Larson to defend his lead to the highline, but the timing was perfect for Chastain, who eventually finished 0.105 seconds ahead of Austin Dillon. While others crashed and shuffled behind him at the finish line, Chastain capitalized in what was a career-defining win for the Trackhouse Racing #1. He finished as the runner-up in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series.