NASCAR takeaways: How did Kyle Larson just win that Talladega race?

Coming off Turn 2 at Talladega Superspeedway, Kyle Larson felt angry.He began the final lap of the YellaWood 500 in first place but lost momentum and faded to 11th.Improbably and fantastically, he still won the race.Yes, Larson moved from eighth to first off Turn 4, claiming his first victory at a drafting track and and maybe the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series title in the process on Oct. 25.“I was pissed at myself off of two,” Larson said. “I’m like hands off the wheel, just mad. Then, all of a sudden, I don’t know. Everything just opened up off of four.”Here are three takeaways.1. Did Kyle Larson just wrap up NASCAR championship?Think back to less than two months ago. Larson entered the Chase as the seventh seed. He had not captured a victory in nearly 16 months.Now, with two weeks left, he sits firmly atop the standings with a 73-point cushion over second-place driver Denny Hamlin. Larson has won three of the eight postseason races. He’s finished outside the top six only once (a 34th at Phoenix last week).He took the circuitous route at Talladega, at one point residing in 34th. But he led 23 laps, and after pusher Austin Hill made an inside move around Larson and dragged a train of cars with him on the final lap, Larson fired back with a huge inside run past runner-up William Byron and third-place finisher Ricky Stenhouse Jr.“I got really lucky with how everything worked out there,” Larson said.Overall, he collected 71 points. Larson has not clinched the title yet. But if he continues his current heater, he’ll be difficult to catch. Christopher Bell is third, 74 points behind Larson. Chase Briscoe is fourth at minus-79.2. Joey Logano, Riley Herbst get worst of scary Talladega crashNASCAR saw two Big Ones at Talladega.The first wreck erupted with 11 laps to go in Stage 2. Bubba Wallace bumped Ryan Blaney, who swerved into the field. The second looked scary.With five laps left in regulation, some bumping toward the front of the field triggered an accident that caught 15 cars, including six in the Chase.Joey Logano, running fifth at the time, spun into the outside wall and rotated immediately. His No. 22 Ford skidded down the track on its roof and eventually stopped while still upside down.Oh, no… I’m upside down… That was not a good moment, but I can’t thank the safety crew enough. They did an amazing job flipping the car back over. The last time I flipped, the bars crushed on my head. This time, I don’t think anything caved in or crushed at all. I appreciate… pic.twitter.com/NNi16P9Hlr— Joey Logano (@joeylogano) October 25, 2026With the action red-flagged, officials quickly checked on Logano and turned the car over. Logano climbed out without assistance.“It was very much a ‘Talladega Nights,’ ‘oh no, I’m upside down’ moment,” he said. “But I can't thank the safety team enough ... Just happy to be alive.”Riley Herbst also suffered two massive impacts, colliding with the outside wall and then veering hard into the inside barrier.“I’m OK,” Herbst said. “It was a big one ... My dad always said, ‘If you're going to be dumb, you better be tough,’ so cheers.”Riley Herbst with maybe the hardest hit I’ve ever seen in NASCAR Glad to see him get out of the car pic.twitter.com/2scEJsUOpw— Peyton (@TowryPeyton) October 25, 2026The crash sent the race to overtime.3. NASCAR schedule update: Martinsville and Homestead remainTwo last races. Two last chances.That’s all that remains of the 2026 campaign.NASCAR will head to Martinsville Speedway for the Xfinity 500 at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 and then Homestead-Miami Speedway for the finale at 3 p.m. Nov. 8. Both events will air on NBC.Then, the sport will hibernate for three months.Before that, Larson will look to secure the trophy and his challengers will try to snatch it for themselves.This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR takeaways: How did Kyle Larson just win that Talladega race?