NASCAR at Talladega live updates: Denny Hamlin wins in photo finish

NASCAR unloads at Talladega Superspeedway for its second race in the Round of 12. Kurt Busch is coming off a first-time win at Las Vegas last weekend, while Kyle Busch is still seeking his first victory of 2020.

The YellaWood 500 is now on NBC Sports Network. The race is 500 miles (188 laps) with stages ending on laps 60, 120, 188. Click here for a live NASCAR leaderboard.

Follow along here for lap-by-lap updates from Talladega Superspeedway. Refresh this page for the latest updates and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

Final race results from Talladega: Denny Hamlin wins

Denny Hamlin takes the checkered flag in triple overtime, his seventh win this season and 44th career victory.

6:23 p.m.: Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney crash in double OT

The race will move to a third overtime after a track-record 13th caution. Bubba Wallace hit the wall hard to force the yellow caution. Preece into the back of Wallace, who moved to outside lane. Blaney also involved. Cars left are low on fuel. ... Elliott inevitably pits from the lead. DiBenedetto, low on fuel, stays out with Hamlin behind him.

6:00 p.m., Lap 187: Another big crash brings red flag caution

With the race in overtime and Chase Elliott and Joey Logano up front briefly, a red flag crash delayed the finish. Logano, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex and Kevin Harvick were among those involved in the wreck. Replay showed Busch turned from behind by Reddick. With a red flag caution, drivers must stay put on the track while debris is removed and the speedway is cleaned. And this is double OT.

5:48 p.m., Lap 182: Late caution after Bubba Wallace hits the wall

Caution out. Bubba Wallace on pit road after leading the race. He got a shove from Preece that sent him into the wall and dragged him from the lead. Then caution out on the same lap for James Davison.

5:15 p.m., Lap 146: Logano leads, but caution comes out

Before Logano holds P1, Bubba Wallace makes a few laps from the front of the pack early in the final stage. The pack shuffles and Logano gets to the front, followed by Byron, Ty Dillon and Erik Jones. Logano leads the field on the outside lane and everyone falls in line behind him. Jimmie Johnson, who was involved in the major wreck earlier, was in the garage for repairs and he returns to the race only to immediately bring out a caution for debris on the track as pieces of his Chevy fly off behind him.

4:50 p.m., Lap 120: Martin Truex Jr. wins Stage 2

Martin Truex Jr. sneaks through the wreck unscathed to quickly drive to the lead after the restart. Reddick challenges Truex for a few laps, but Truex Jr. makes blocks, moving across lanes to hold the lead. He finishes the stage in first for his fifth stage win of the season. Keselowski, Buescher, Elliott, Nemechek, Byron, Blaney, Preece, Ty Dillon and Wallace finish in the top-10 for stage points.

4:25 p.m., Lap 108: The Big One

The red flag comes out with cars stopped on the track after a massive wreck in which Kurt Busch went airborne. The wreck started at the front of the pack after Bowyer tapped Johnson with the field running three-wide. The contact sent Johnson toward the inside and into Busch, who then hit the outside wall and went over the roof of Custer. Thirteen cars we collected in the wreck, inlcluding both Busch brothers, Keselowski, Bowyer, Custer, Gaughan, Johnson and Suárez.

“I was hoping for a nice smooth ride...next thing you know I’m going on one of the wildest rides I’ve been on,” Kurt Busch said. “Wild rides always continue.”

4:12 p.m., Lap 100: Chevy line leads

The order has settled into the inside line of Chevrolet drivers leading. Chase Elliott is out front followed by Byron, Kurt Busch and Johnson. But Johnson eventually slides the outside line, and Wallace and Kenseth sit in the top-10.

3:56 p.m., Lap 87: Green flag pit stops start...then stop

The Chevrolets, led by Elliott pit under green for fuel but Blaney runs too high into the wall and the caution flag comes out as teams determine when they are pitting. On Lap 92, the race returns to green and because of the timing of the pit stops, Elliott and Byron, Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson cycle to the front although Harvick, Reddick and Kenseth come off pit road first.

3:53 p.m., Lap 84: Non-playoff drivers out front (Buescher, Jones)

Non-playoff drivers make their appearance in the top-10 during Stage 2. Buescher, Keselowski and Reddick lead the field following the restart, running the low line for a few laps (with Ryan Preece also in the top-10) but Erik Jones takes over. He gets to first, followed by Elliott and DiBenedetto. Michael McDowell exits the race with a mechanical issue.

3:42 p.m., Lap 72: Caution, then race ready to restart

Kyle Busch’s No. 18 was looking beat-up from the last wreck, but after the race restarts it’s clear his equipment is barely holding on. He told his team he was smelling his tire rubbing and then its exploded on the track, also tearing up his fender. The caution is called again for debris, which is scattered all over the track. Busch stays in the race but he drops to 32nd while making repairs. Hamlin, meanwhile, gets a speeding penalty.

3:20 p.m., Lap 60: Stage 1 ends under caution after major wreck

Aric Almirola nearly wins the stage, but his race ends early after he gets tapped from behind. Running on the outside lane, Bowman gets hooked and spins into the outside wall, collecting the field behind him. Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman are also involved from behind. Blaney has some damage, but Almirola and Busch appear to be in worse shape when they go to pit road. Almirola heads to the garage a few minutes later after his team attempts repairs. The early exit will significantly hurt his playoff standings. He was 27 point below the cutoff heading into the race. The stage ends under yellow with Buescher winning. Logano, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Elliott, Jones, Truex, Reddick, Kurt Busch, Wallace follow in the top-10.

2:58 p.m., Lap 37: Lead changes, but Penske prevails

Drivers Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones and Matt DiBenedetto all take the lead over the course of a few laps. The field runs three-wide with aggressive moves in the front. A few laps later, Chase Elliott takes the lead running side-by-side with Kyle Busch passing the grandstands, which brings out a lot of cheers.

2:53 p.m., Lap 30: Almirola makes a jump

Aric Almirola jumps three spots on pit road when the competition caution comes out and he takes the lead on the re-start. Chase Elliott gets a speeding penalty on pit road and drop back. The race gets ready to go green, but the caution stays out for the stalled car of James Davison. On lap 30 the green flag comes out and a few laps in, Hamlin bails out of the top-10 to mid-pack, saying that the “14 is leaking.” Harvick also bails from the lead.

2:35 p.m., Lap 16: Hamlin-Logano interchange lead

Hamlin and Logano battle with Hamlin running the inside lane and Logano running the top. Logano takes the lead on Lap 16, but Hamlin takes it back, moving to the outside lane and the two drivers run nose-to-tail with the order being Hamlin, Logano, Harvick. The field alternates between running two- and three-wide.

2:29 p.m., Lap 12: No luck restarting and back to yellow

The green flag comes out then almost immediately the yellow waves for Corey LaJoie, whose No. 32 gets stalled on the bottom of the track. He tells his team he has no fuel pressure and his pushed to pit road. Under yellow, the car gets rolled to the garage. So far, three cars, Bell, Stenhouse and LaJoie have exited the race in the first 15 laps.

2:21 p.m., Lap 9: Race restarts and then another caution

This time, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. brings out the caution when he gets spun from behind by John Hunter Nemechek. Stenhouse looks loose, and spins into the inside wall just after pit road. He heads to the garage with severe damage to the back of his No. 47 Chevrolet. Michael McDowell, Corey LaJoie and Bubba Wallace also pit under the yellow flag.

2:10 p.m., Lap 1: Race starts, then a wreck!

The race goes green and the No. 95 car driven by Christopher Bell blows a tire, and he spins around Turns 3 and 4. He has damage to the right rear. His team attempts repairs on the car, and when the race restarts, Bell rejoins for a lap, but ultimately heads to the garage. Bell also caught Tyler Reddick during the spin and the No. 8 takes some small damage off the contact, but stays in the race. Bubba Wallace and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also have a small amount of damage.

1:59 p.m.: Engines fired

CEO and founder of Great Southern Wood Preserving, Jimmy Rane, gives the command to fire engines, then cars roll off the grid for pace laps with Hamlin leading the field. A crew of F-15 fighter jets also fly over the superspeedway before engines are fired.

1:43 p.m.: Fans file into their seats for pre-race ceremonies

Fans are filling into the grandstand seating at Talladega, which announced it had sold out its full capacity allotted. One track worker estimated attendance to be around 15,000 people, but the track does not officially disclose attendance numbers. The peak capacity for the track under normal conditions is 175,000 spectators.

With fans in place, and dirvers on the grid, the 313th United States Army band performs the national anthem following the invocation, and a moment of silence is held for a member of Joe Gibbs Racing’s marketing team JJ Damato, 48, who passed away earlier this week. Some teams are running a decal on their cars to honor the JGR executive.

1:30 p.m.: Few drivers to the back

NASCAR announces pre-race inspection is complete with no major starting spot shakeups. The No. 15 driven by Brennan Poole (previously starting 32nd) and the No. 66 driven by Timmy Hill (previously 37th) failed technical inspection twice and will start at the rear at the green flag. Additionally, Cody Ware is replacing JJ Yeley driving the No. 27 car, which will drop back from its original 34th place start. Brendan Gaughan, who is running his final NASCAR race today, was previously starting last. Denny Hamlin is on the pole, with Kurt Busch following in the front row.

NASCAR Cup playoffs points standings

NASCAR Cup race at Talladega starting lineup

*Playoff driver

*Driver change - Replaced by Cody Ware

This story was originally published October 4, 2020 at 1:30 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription