NASCAR playoffs at Talladega results: Chase Briscoe wins dramatic race, earns his first Championship 4 berth

Briscoe will get the chance to race for his first Cup championship in two weeks at Phoenix

By Steven Taranto

Oct 19, 2025 at 8:37 pm ET • 3 min read

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LINCOLN, Ala. -- In an overtime restart where only the right moves in the draft separated playoff contenders from the chance to race for a NASCAR Cup championship, Chase Briscoe found his way to the lead on the final lap to win the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. In his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing, Briscoe advances to the Championship 4 for the first time in his career and will have the opportunity to race for his first Cup title.

After a frentic battle among the lead pack in the final 10 laps ended with Chris Buescher crashing out of the lead with two laps to go, the race came down to an overtime restart that was seemingly set to be decided between Hendrick Motorsports teammates, with William Byron and Kyle Larson lining up first and second and a Championship 4 spot at stake for both. But on the final lap, things went awry for both when Larson ran out of fuel while leading the inside line on the backstretch, opening the door for Briscoe to make his move.

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Steven Taranto

With Larson dropping back clearing the inside line, Briscoe ducked to the inside of Bubba Wallace entering turn 3 for the final time, picking up enough drafting help from teammate Ty Gibbs to clear Wallace in the trioval. As Wallace got split three wide, and Byron was spun out coming to the finish line, Briscoe was able to make it to the checkered flag at the front, earning the fifth win of his career and by far the most important to date.

"I can't believe I won a superspeedway race. I haven't done it at any level," Briscoe told NBC Sports. "... It's not hit me. We're going to Phoenix.

"So thankful that the Lord has blessed me opening doors, even closing doors at times, but certainly opening an incredible door here with Joe Gibbs Racing. God is so good, I say it all the time. Even today, I just had such a peace. Normally I'm scared to death, a nervous wreck around this place. And I had such a peace that regardless of the finish, He was going to use it somehow for His glory. And pretty cool that it ends up in Victory Lane."

CHASE BRISCOE IS A @TALLADEGA WINNER! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/pwfiMdP9w1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 19, 2025

Todd Gilliland earned his best career Cup finish in second, followed by Ty Gibbs, Wallace, and Cole Custer. The rest of the top 10 was comprised of Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Zane Smith and Brad Keselowski.

With Sunday's win -- his third victory of 2025 -- Briscoe joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in the Championship 4, giving the company at least a 50 percent chance of winning the Cup championship at the end of a day that ended up being rough for rival companies Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske. Larson and Byron's last lap issues -- they finished 25th and 26th -- paled in comparison to Chase Elliott, who was taken out in a grinding multi-car crash near the end of stage 1. Elliott finished 40th, leaving him with a single point and putting him 62 points back of the cut line entering the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville.

There's trouble in Turn 3!@chaseelliott is among the cars collected. pic.twitter.com/tNc6D3Gdfh
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 19, 2025

As for Team Penske, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano went from controlling the race at the front of the field -- Logano led the most laps with 35 -- to getting shuffled back in the lead pack, rendering them unable to make it back to the front when the field formed up three-wide and left them little opportunity to make it back to the front. Logano finished 16th and Blaney 23rd, leaving both in likely Must Win scenarios at Martinsville along with Byron.

With one race to go to settle the final two spots in the Championship 4, Christopher Bell (+37) and Kyle Larson (+36) hold a sizeable but delicate lead over the cut line. For William Byron (-36), Logano (-38), Blaney (-47), and Elliott (-62), their likeliest path to racing for a championship in Phoenix now comes down to next week's Round of 8 finale and the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville Speedway.