Kyle Larson wins YellaWood 500 in photo finish

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kyle Larson wins YellaWood 500 in photo finish, takes command of NASCAR title hunt

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Oct 25, 2026 5:59 PM ET

The move that ends up winning Kyle Larson the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series championship may have come Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway.

Larson led Sunday's YellaWood 500 on the final lap but was passed by Austin Hill on the backstretch. He faded outside of the top five on the exit of turn 4, but as the leaders' drafting help fell apart, Larson had enough of a push from Ross Chastain to make a furious charge and beat William Byron to the checkered flag by 0.041 seconds.

"I got really luck with how everything worked out there," Larson told NBC. "I was so edgy in 1 and 2 with the 33 pushing me. He was really helping me, but I just couldn't add wheel. Just kind of wandered me up the track and he got underneath me.

"I was p----- at myself off of two. Hands off the wheel, just mad. All of a sudden, everything opened up off 4. Unbelievable way to get my first speedway win. What a day."

KYLE LARSON WINS AT TALLADEGA IN THRILLING FASHION!! https://t.co/bvhb3p5y3p
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 25, 2026

Larson now holds a 73-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the standings with two races left in the season.

Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chastain and Cole Custer rounded out the top five, with Carson Hocevar, Todd Gilliland, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell completing the top 10.

Sunday's race featured two huge wrecks, the latter of which incurred a red flag after Joey Logano went upside down and Riley Herbst took a vicious hit to the inside wall. The first crash of the afternoon on Lap 132 saw Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott, among others, involved.

A look at the incident involving multiple cars on Lap 183. All drivers involved have exited their vehicles. https://t.co/hsTbAKhfeS
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 25, 2026

Notable results

Other notable results include Ryan Preece in 13th, Ty Gibbs in 17th, Daniel Suarez in 18th, Wallace in 22nd, Herbst in 26th, Austin Cindric in 27th, Stage 1 winner Chris Buescher in 32nd, Chase Briscoe in 33rd, Logano in 34th, Christopher Bell in 35th, Elliott in 36th, Reddick in 37th and Blaney in 38th.

Martinsville (Nov. 1) and Homestead (Nov. 8) will conclude the season, with Larson having nearly a full race lead in the standings over Hamlin and third-place Bell (-74).

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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