NASCAR at Talladega results: Ross Chastain steals GEICO 500 in frantic final lap | Sporting News (2024)

What was looking like it would be a routine finish at the GEICO 500 — if such a thing even exists — quickly turned into a frantic finish on the final lap, with Ross Chastain earning his second victory of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series.

Chastain — positioned near the front of the pack behind leader Erik Jones and second-place Kyle Larson heading toward the checkered flag — made a savvy inside move to overtake the leaders after Larson gave a hard block to Kurt Busch on the outside. Jones followed suit to block his pursuer, allowing Chastain to take the inside lane and take the checkered flag unobstructed.

MORE: Watch NASCAR at Talladega live with fuboTV (free trial)

WHAT A FINISH. RETWEET TO CONGRATULATE @RossChastain ON HIS WIN AT TALLADEGA! pic.twitter.com/Wz4onpm5es

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 24, 2022

Chastain's previous best finish at the Talladega was 16th, in 2021. His trip to the winner's circle on Sunday represents not only his second win of the 2022 Cup Series, but also his second career victory. Larson finished fourth, while Jones finished sixth.

The exciting finish followed what was largely a routine series of laps, with Jones and Larson merely trading places in the lead spot before Chastain took it from under both of their noses. That said, Talladega Superspeedway featured plenty of cautions, and a classic 'Dega crash that knocked Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon and Joey Logano from the race while also involving several other crashes. In all, five cautions took place over the course of the race.

The Sporting News provided live updates and highlights at the 500-mile, 188-lap race at the Talladega Superspeedway — check out the full race results and highlights below:

NASCAR at Talladega live updates, highlights from GEICO 500

All times Eastern

6:56 p.m.: For posterity's sake, here are the top 10 finishers at Talladega:

1. Ross Chastain
2. Austin Dillon
3. Kyle Busch
4. Kyle Larson
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Erik Jones
7. Chase Elliott
8. Michael McDowell
9. Alex Bowman
10. Kevin Harvick

6:44 p.m.: And Ross Chastain makes a move on the inside to take the win! Jones opened the passing lane after moving outside to block Larson (who was blocking Kurt Busch). Chastain takes the checkered flag with several cars crashing and spinning out behind him.

WHAT A FINISH. RETWEET TO CONGRATULATE @RossChastain ON HIS WIN AT TALLADEGA! pic.twitter.com/Wz4onpm5es

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 24, 2022

6:43 p.m.: Final lap. Jones still leads Larson. ...

6:41 p.m.: Lots of movement sees Jones jump out to the lead, but Larson quickly closes the distance and is drafting right behind him with three laps remaining. Hamlin falls further back, to 18th.

6:38 p.m.: Seven laps remain, and Jones and Larson have jockeyed for the lead over the past several laps. Chastain, Byron and Haley round out the top five, followed by Elliott, Hamlin, Blaney, Kurt Busch and Alimirola in the top 10.

6:29 p.m.: Hamlin had the lead, but lost it without any help from fellow Toyotas. He falls back to sixth.

6:23 p.m.: Keselowski serves a penalty for entering pit row too fast. He's going to need a lot of help if he wants to compete for points.

6:22 p.m.: Denny Hamlin leads Larson at the front of the pack, followed by Jones, Byron and Chastain. Wallace, the leader before pitting, is 11th. Twenty-five laps remain.

6:21 p.m.: Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch bump coming out of pit row, causing the former to spin into the wall. No caution, and he drives out with no issue. Close call there.

Contact from Kyle Busch sends Christopher Bell for a spin after pit stops at Talladega. Here's a replay: https://t.co/SlBM7yYmEh pic.twitter.com/rwxyqqnCuw

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 24, 2022

6:20 p.m.: Wallace pits with 28 laps to go. Setting himself up for a strong finish but costing himself position at the moment.

6:12 p.m.: Wallace takes the lead with 37 laps remaining. We actually have some racing in the late stages at Talladega.

5:58 p.m.: Fifty-three laps to go, and Ryan Blaney barely leads Wallace. Lots of race still to run, but could Wallace challenge for another top-two finish?

You got to have friends at @TALLADEGA! @BubbaWallace pushes @Blaney to the front in the final stage! pic.twitter.com/wV4qDbkw3F

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

5:39 p.m.: We finally get to the end of the stage, with Byron taking Stage 2. He's followed by Elliott, Larson, Truex and Kyle Busch in the top five.

1. William Byron
2. Chase Elliott
3. Kyle Larson
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Kyle Busch
6. Alex Bowman
7. Aric Almirola
8. Erik Jones
9. Ross Chastain
10. Kurt Busch

5:21 p.m.: Caution 5, Lap 106. David Ragan spins Ware out from behind at the rear of the pack. No crash, but Ware's stuck in the grass and needs help getting out.

5:16 p.m.: Cole Custer's car is smoking but he's off the track down on the low part of the speedway. The race continues.

5:15 p.m.: Suarez, Dillon and Logano's days are all done. Several other cars still under repair. And we're back to green on Lap 98.

"There's nothing you can do ... I was the one that got shuffled out."- @joeylogano after an early end to his day at Talladega. pic.twitter.com/OqwE6EZ7YS

— Jamie Little (@JamieLittleTV) April 24, 2022

5:01 p.m.: Others involved in the crash include Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Todd Gilliland Stenhouse.

4:59 p.m.: Looks like the first car Logano hit was Ty Dillon, but Harrison Burton and Daniel Suarez were involved as well. Says Wallace after the fact: "I barely pushed him." He clearly didn't know that Logano was already pushing the car ahead of him.

Ride with @joeylogano as the No. 22 gets caught up in this multi-car incident at @TALLADEGA. pic.twitter.com/pfGgf2iumt

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

4:56 p.m.: Caution 4, Lap 90. Another poor restart results in yet another crash, the biggest of the day so far. Looks like Wallace pushed Joey Logano from behind, causing him to hit the wall and veer back into the crowd. Lots of cars involved.

The No. 22 gets into the wall, and multiple cars are collected entering Turn 1. pic.twitter.com/GBLAo7VYap

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

4:48 pm.: Caution 3, Lap 87. BJ McLeod's car spins out after losing a tire. Looks like his car fueled up and re-tired in the last pit stop.

4:42 p.m.: Caution 2, Lap 82. Greg Biffle's car stalled on the track. That allowed Brad Keselowski to get a free pass back onto the lead lap. Thirty-eight laps remain in Stage 2.

4:25 p.m.: Buescher and Hemric's days are done following the crash.

4:16 p.m.: The stage ends under caution, with Wallace getting his first stage win of the year and third at Talladega. Here's the full top 10 after Stage 1:

1. Bubba Wallac
2. Kyle Larson
3. Christopher Bell
4. William Byron
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Chase Elliott
7. Kurt Busch
8. Erik Jones
9. Alex Bowman
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

4:13 p.m.: Hemric's car is at the center of this crash. His car seems to have a malfunction, forcing him straight back into Austin Dillon. He went to the bottom of the track before he overcompensated and moved up, crashing with Chris Buescher and Chase Briscoe.

A big hit at Talladega. Here's what happened: https://t.co/oR4SUwoJX2 pic.twitter.com/elGOQjaIGJ

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 24, 2022

4:10 p.m.: Caution 1, Lap 57. There's our first crash. Details coming on with three laps remaining in the first stage.

4:09 p.m.: Lots of jockeying back and forth results in Bubba Wallace and Larson fighting for the lead.

4:01 p.m.: Kyle Larson has the lead coming out of that series of pit stops, followed by William Byron, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and Daniel Hemric in the top five, respectively.

3:57 p.m.: Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain serve speeding penalties. Tyler Reddick's car is being pushed to the garage for timing belt failure.

Oh no. @TylerReddick reports engine trouble with his No. 8 machine. (📺: FOX) pic.twitter.com/hbKPrC6oQn

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

3:51 p.m.: The first bit of action from the Talladega comes on Lap 35, when Cody Ware somehow spins out heading into pit row. He narrowly misses two other cars but corrects himself and gets himself out of trouble.

3:35 p.m.: Talladega has turned into a two-row procession outside the top eight drivers, led by Suarez for the majority of the race thus far.

3:22 p.m.: And there's the green flag! We're underway at 'Dega.

Here. We. Go.

The #GEICO500 from @TALLADEGA is 🟢 on FOX! pic.twitter.com/NkuuTYI1dE

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

3:20 a.m.: There's a lot of energy in this announcement.

HE BROUGHT THE ENERGY! 🙌@TheNorthmanFilm's Alexander Skarsgård gets us going at @TALLADEGA! pic.twitter.com/cIP9Rs0Wm8

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

3:05 p.m.: Reminder that today's first two stages end at 60 and 120 laps, respectively. The race is 500 miles over 188 laps.

2:14 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in the building.

DALE. YEAH. Thanks for hanging out with us today, @DaleJr.@NASCARonNBC | https://t.co/U4a0xtukwL pic.twitter.com/7X88p18EH2

— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 24, 2022

11:23 a.m.: Bubba Wallace, a name to watch.

.@BubbaWallace's last three superspeedway finishes: @DAYTONA-2: 2nd@TALLADEGA-2: 1st@DAYTONA-1: 2nd pic.twitter.com/NiA97vgDyy

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

10:06 a.m.: Brad Keselowski is looking for his seventh win at Talladega — he already has more than any other active driver.

"I feel really good about what we have here." @keselowski looks for his seventh @TALLADEGA triumph this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/XhEi15pXZ2

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 24, 2022

What time does the NASCAR race start today?

• Date: Sunday, April 24
• Time: 3 p.m. ET

Sunday's race at Talladega is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.

NASCAR LINEUP: Starting order, pole at Talladega

What channel is NASCAR on today?

• TV channel: Fox (U.S.) | TSN (Canada)
• Live stream: Fox Sports Go, fuboTV (free trial)

The GEICO 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway will be carried by Fox in the U.S. and TSN in Canada — the second of two races broadcast on the network before returning to Fox Sports 1 on May 1 in Dover.

Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer will assume their normal responsibilities of lap-by-lap action and analysis, respectively, but will also see a fan-favorite guest analyst join them in the booth: Dale Earnhardt Jr., who normally serves as an analyst for NBC.

Fans who have cut the cord on cable can also find the race on Fox Sports Go or fuboTV, which offers a free trial.