Talladega Superspeedway is the host of the antepenultimate race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and the middle race of the semifinal round of 8.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin has already punched his ticket to the Championship 4 by winning the South Point 400 this past Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to open up the round of 8, and seven other drivers have a chance to join him by winning Sunday’s YellaWood 500.
The 2024 Talladega playoff race was not won by a playoff driver, so there are no guarantees. Next weekend’s round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway could very well feature all seven of those drivers vying for the remaining three Championship 4 spots at Phoenix Raceway.
Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell took the pole position for Sunday afternoon’s 188-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked oval in Lincoln, Alabama, and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe joined him on the front row.
A full starting lineup can be found here.
Follow along with our YellaWood 500 race updates from Talladega.
NASCAR at Talladega: Stage 1 resultsNASCAR at Talladega: Stage 2 resultsNASCAR at Talladega: Full YellaWood 500 resultsNASCAR playoff picture after Talladega
The round of 8 finale is scheduled to be shown live on NBC from Martinsville Speedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 26. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don’t miss any of the action from the Xfinity 500!