Results, driver points after the NASCAR Cup playoff race at Talladega: Byron advances to the third round

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned his first win of the season at Talladega Superspeedway, where William Byron became the first driver to advance to the third round of the superspeedway
NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

While Stenhouse outdueled Brad Keselowski by 0.006 seconds (for the seventh-shortest winning margin in NASCAR Cup Series history), Bryon finished third – his fourth consecutive top-10 finish at Talladega (the longest active streak in the series). .

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As the championship leader, Byron earned a 74-point lead in ninth place, becoming the first of twelve remaining playoff drivers to secure one of the eight spots in the third round.

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Third-round prospects are also good for third-place Kyle Larson (52 points above the cutline) and sixth-place Christopher Bell (plus-57 above the cutline).

Other drivers above the cutline: Denny Hamlin (plus-30), Alex Bowman (plus-26), Ryan Blaney (plus-25), Tyler Reddick (plus-14) and Chase Elliott (plus-13). Below the cutline are: JoeY Logano (minus-13), Daniel Suarez (minus-20), Austin Cindric (minus-29) and Chase Briscoe (minus-32).

The JTG Daugherty driver’s margin of victory was 0.006 seconds over Brad Keselowski and William Byron.