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.<\/p>\n
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin has already punched his ticket<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n A full starting lineup can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow along with our YellaWood 500 race updates from Talladega.<\/p>\n NASCAR at Talladega: Stage 1 resultsNASCAR at Talladega: Stage 2 resultsNASCAR at Talladega: Full YellaWood 500 resultsNASCAR playoff picture after Talladega<\/p>\n