Who… should you be talking about after the race?
Despite a gaping hole in his driver’s-side door, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. beat Brad Keselowski to the checkers by .006 seconds to win the 2024 YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Stenhouse had a solid day, finishing second in the first stage and keeping himself out of trouble, something that would prove hard to do. Early on, the race was only slowed for cause twice: a single-car slide by Daniel Suarez and a crash coming to the conclusion of stage two that took Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain out of the race.
The Big One happened with five to go when Keselowski and Austin Cindric touched, spinning the latter in front of the field. NASCAR officially lists 23 cars involved, but others definitely got in on the action, including Stenhouse, who rode out an eight-minute red flag before battling Keselowski in overtime. William Byron gave Stenhouse the well-timed push he needed to take the win, the fourth in his career and first in 2024.
And don’t forget Erik Jones. Jones had minor damage from the late incident but brought the No. 43 home fifth, his first top five in what has been a dismal year for Jones (and Legacy Motor Club as a whole). Jones looked strong all afternoon, and he made the right moves at the end. Could his good luck give his team a boost to finish the season stronger?
What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?
Another week, another issue arises from NASCAR’s Damaged Vehicle Policy. This week, a 28-car pileup left the infield grass looking like a junkyard. NASCAR allowed Chase Elliott to be pushed back to pit road after the incident, despite the car showing heavy damage.
Chase Briscoe, with less visible damage, did eventually finish the race, but not without confusion as his crew told him officials would allow the tow while safety workers told him otherwise.
Adding to the confusion was the fact that race went from the red flag back to caution while some cars were still in the grass, while others on pit road could work on their cars. NASCAR’s reasoning that it thought the track was clear doesn’t make a lot of sense; surely officials could see that there were still cars at the crash site, or ask safety crews if there was any doubt.
Teams and fans alike shared frustration that NASCAR didn’t communicate a plan before the race, especially at a track where crashes are likely and the issue would almost certainly arise.
This…
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