NASCAR playoff standings after Talladega: Byron clinches, Larson, Elliott, Bowman above elimination line

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Yet another photo finish in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season just a few laps after the biggest crash in the history of the sport, the middle race of the Round of 12 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday was eventful, as expected. 

And so, for William Byron and Kyle Larson, solid finishes and points days were plenty. In fact, for Byron, it was enough. 

Byron finished third and Larson came home fourth, capping off pivotal performances while chaos broke out all around them. For Byron, who entered the race as the playoff points leader, it was enough to lock up a spot in the Round of 8. Larson, meanwhile, isn't far off, sitting 52 points to the good heading to the Charlotte ROVAL next weekend. 

“Today was just a good day all around," Byron said. "We executed like we needed to and maximized as much as we could control. Just a big thanks to everyone on this team and those who support us. It’s awesome to be locked in and take some of the stress off for next week but at the same time I would love to go get a win at my home track.”

"I’m proud of the effort from all of Chevrolet, all the key partners and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports," Larson said. "We had a great Chevy and great power. It’s cool to finally go into the Charlotte ROVAL with a 52-point gap. That race is so (stressful). It’s way more stressful to me than Talladega Superspeedway, so glad to not have to worry about it as much.”

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Despite some adversity on Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports' other two drivers - Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott - are still also above the playoff elimination line and very much in control of their own destiny heading into ROVAL weekend. 

Running in the top four with five laps to go, Elliott and Bowman were swept up in a massive crash that involved 28 cars, the most ever in a single crash in Cup Series history. Elliott suffered significant damage, settling for a 29th-place showing while Bowman was able to claw all the way back to 16th. 

The chaos set up an overtime restart with Byron and Larson restarting side-by-side in the second row. Coming to the checkered flag, Byron pulled out of line high to try and get to the lead but came up just short in a three-wide sprint to the line. 

All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers also scored stage points. Byron led the way with 14, highlighted by a third-place finish in Stage 1. Elliott was the runner-up in Stage 2 and added nine points to his cause. Larson finished fourth in Stage 1, accumulating nine stage points as well with Bowman finishing sixth in Stage 2 to score five points. 

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Thanks to those bonus points, Bowman is still 26 points to the good in fifth place with Elliott 13 points above the elimination point in the eighth and final transfer spot. 

Next Sunday's race at the ROVAL is set for 2 p.m. and will air on NBC. 

Who won the NASCAR race today?

1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
2. Brad Keselowski, No. 6
3. William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
4. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
5. Erik Jones, No. 43
6. Christopher Bell, No. 20
7. Justin Haley, No. 7
8. Austin Dillon, No. 3
9. Bubba Wallace, No. 23
10. Denny Hamlin, No. 11
11. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
12. Cody Ware, No. 15
13. Ty Gibbs, No. 54
14. Carson Hocevar, No. 77
15. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16
16. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
17. Chris Buescher, No. 17
18. Corey LaJoie, No. 51
19. Kyle Busch, No. 8
20. Tyler Reddick, No. 45
21. Zane Smith, No. 71
22. BJ McCleod, No. 78
23. Todd Gilliland, No. 38
24. Anthony Alfredo, No. 62
25. Noah Gragson, No. 10
26. Daniel Suarez, No. 99
27. JJ Yeley, No. 44
28. AJ Allmendinger, No. 13
29. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
30. Chase Briscoe, No. 14
31. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
32. Austin Cindric, No. 2
33. Joey Logano, No. 22
34. Harrison Burton, No. 21
35. Ryan Preece, No. 41
36. Josh Berry, No. 4
37. Michael McDowell, No. 34
38. Daniel Hemric, No. 41
39. Ryan Blaney, No. 12
40. Ross Chastain, No. 1

NASCAR standings after Talladega