Ricky Stenhouse Jr. earned his first victory of the season at Talladega Superspeedway, where William Byron became the first driver to lock into the third round of the
NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
As Stenhouse edged Brad Keselowski by 0.006 seconds (tying for the seventh-closest margin of victory in NASCAR Cup Series history), Bryon finished third — his fourth consecutive top 10 at Talladega (the longest active streak in the series).
MORE: Click here for Talladega results l Click here for the cumulative report l Click here for the penalty report l Click here for race notes
Moving atop the standings, Byron opened a 74-point lead on ninth — becoming the first of 12 remaining playoff drivers to clinch one of the eight spots in the third round.
MORE: Click here for driver points after Talladega l Click here for owner points after Talladega
The third-round outlook also is good for third-place finisher Kyle Larson (52 points above the cutline) and sixth-place finisher Christopher Bell (plus-57 on 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).
