What happened
On the final lap of overtime in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led out of the last corner and moved high to block William Byron. Kyle Larson took the bottom lane and drove past to win.
Stenhouse had taken the lead with 2 corners remaining. Austin Hill was directly behind him as they exited the final corner. Hill lost momentum off the final corner and ducked toward the bottom, breaking up the pack behind Stenhouse. The cars pursuing the leader were reorganizing just as he needed to choose his block.
Stenhouse said he focused on Byron and recognized Larson’s approach too late to move down in front of him. His account located the mistake in his response to the changing traffic: he committed to covering Byron before accounting for the run arriving underneath.
Byron still cut inside Stenhouse despite the high block. Larson approached on the inside with Ross Chastain pushing him, adding another threat below the lane Stenhouse had chosen to defend.
What it cost
The block cost Stenhouse 2 positions, from 1st to 3rd. Larson won, and Byron also finished ahead of Stenhouse. Stenhouse crossed the finish line 0.066 seconds behind Larson.
What could have been done differently
Stenhouse should have protected the bottom as the pack reorganized behind him. Following Byron high committed his defense to the outside threat and preserved a clear route for Larson.