NASCAR Cup Series

Aric Almirola claimed a thrilling Talladega Superspeedway victory on Sunday in the 1000Bulbs.com 500 to earn automatic advancement to the Round of 8 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

When Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway went into overtime it was looking like Martin Truex Jr. would go into next week’s final playoff race in the Round of 12 below the eighth-place transfer spot.

ARIC ALMIROLA, No. 10 Smithfield Bacon For Life Ford Fusion – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – “I felt like I kept giving it away and I was so disappointed for all these guys behind me because they’re awesome. They’re the best. I’m with the best team in the garage and I felt like I kept letting them down not winning a race. Today, the Good Lord was shining on us and we went to Victory Lane. We did it, finally.”

Camry driver Denny Hamlin was the top-finishing Toyota driver in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Playoffs race at Talladega Superspeedway after placing fourth – his second-consecutive top-five finish.

Austin Dillon and the American Ethanol Team Avoid Melee, Earn Top-20 Finish at Talladega Superspeedway "To he honest, I was worried at the start of the race because the American Ethanol Camaro ZL1 was not handling very well. My crew chief, Justin Alexander, and the team worked hard to fine-tune our Chevy throughout the race and we were able to earn some Stage points at the end of Stage 2. We opted to hang back in Stage 3 in anticipation of 'The Big One.'

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 – Finished 6th “I thought prior to the final restart I got myself in a good position on the outside there. It just seemed like every time the line went to move somebody made a move and it checked the lineup. I was just getting pinned out there."

A total of 20 Team Chevy drivers will start the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Talladega Speedway. The 188-lap/500-mile contest around the 2.66-mile superspeedway is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

The 1000Bulbs.com 500 from Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled to begin on Sunday, October 14 at 2:00 pm, ET.  Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing - Qualifying Position: 9th - How does the car feel and what is your outlook for the race tomorrow? “The M&M’s Camry is alright and we certainly qualified better that we expected to. The guys that qualified good are the ones you would expect to. Not too bad all things considering. Hopefully its just good for the first stage to be able to be up front and hopefully we can stay up front, stay out of trouble and get some stage points up there early.”

Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway has prime placement in the NASCAR Playoffs, for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.