2023 YellaWood 500

The 2023 YellaWood 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 1, 2023, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mi asphalt superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, fifth race of the Playoffs, and second race of the Round of 12.

Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 mi tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5 mi tri-oval.

Entry list

 * (R) denotes rookie driver.
 * (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
 * (P) denotes playoff driver.
 * (OP) denotes owner’s playoffs car.

Qualifying
Aric Almirola scored the pole for the race with a time of 52.715 and a speed of 181.656 mph.

Stage results
Stage One Laps: 60

Stage Two Laps: 60

Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 68

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 70 among 24 different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 4 for 19 laps
 * Red flags: 1 for 9 minutes and 57 seconds
 * Time of race: 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 25 seconds
 * Average speed: 160.097 mph
 * Margin of victory: 0.012 seconds

Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and six-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Kim Coon, Dillon Welch, and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the race for MRN when the field races thru the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the action from turn 1, Mike Bagley called the action for MRN when the field races down the backstraightaway, and Kurt Becker called the race from the Sunoco tower just outside of turn 4. Steve Post, Georgia Henneberry, Brienne Pedigo, and Jason Toy called the action for MRN from pit lane.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.