Bubba Wallace dances in the rain in Alabama

After the race was postponed from Sunday to Monday, we could hope to experience a good event, the sky seeming inclined to offer a little respite between two showers to let the peloton battle it out. At 13:00 p.m. local time, the pack is launched and we can see with pleasure these incredible images of 3 lines of cars speeding at more than 320 km/h bumper to bumper.

Welcome to Talladega © Sean Gardner/Getty Images

A clap of thunder falls on the superspeedway at 56^e round when Kyle Larson, the championship leader, was thrown into the wall by Justin Allgaier surprised by a move by William Byron. After a trip to the pits to correct his direction, Larson managed to get back on the track and keep the pace set, but the damage seemed quite significant. Chris Buescher took the opportunity to take the first segment ahead of three other Fords from Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. Since the start of the race, the Mustangs seem particularly comfortable in the draft. The race resumes but at 67^e A blown tire in turn 2 definitively seals any hope of a good showing for Kyle Larson who hits the wall again and loses three laps in the pits.

A race to forget for Kyle Larson © Chris Graythen/Getty Images

While cleaning up the debris on the track, a few drops of rain appear forcing the cars to pull into the pit lane to make way for the Air Titans, these pick-ups capable of drying the track in record time. About twenty minutes later the race can resume led by an unusual Justin Haley.

Everyone then only aims to reach 94^e turn in good position. This loop marks the halfway point and the validation of the results in the event of another interruption of the race. We can guess the tension in the peloton by the number of changes of lines and the waves that this causes. It's no longer the draft but the Alabama stroller fair...

Having barely reached this median milestone, Chase Elliott comes to lean a little too manfully on Ricky Stenhouse Jr., throwing him onto Alex Bowman who loses control of his Chevrolet before seeing several cars hit him. 11 cars are involved more or less severely in this first “Big One” of the evening.

A heavy hit to that 48 machine. #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/wxXkOS4wKW

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 4, 2021

The massacre continues for Hendrick Motorsports since at 116^e lap Ryan Preece loses control after contact with Chris Buescher and hits William Byron whose car catches fire. The yellow flag came out, immediately followed by a red flag as a heavy downpour fell on Talladega.

Look out!@RyanPreece_ goes around and collects @WilliamByron and @mattdracing! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Ru3bBDD8wu

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 4, 2021

The rain doesn't seem to want to leave the Alabama sky and the NASCAR schedule leaves little respite for the teams as the Charlotte Roval race is already coming up this weekend. The officials therefore logically decided to end the event after 30 minutes of waiting and declared Bubba Wallace the winner.

This round will remain historic in more than one way because it is the first victory for an African-American driver since Wendell Scott in 1963 and the first laurels for the 23Xl Racing team of basketball champion Michel Jordan. NASCAR was able to lead its revolution when we thought it was stuck in the past, and with the upcoming arrival of NextGen, its future looks bright and exciting.

Yellawood 500 ranking:

In the General classification, Harvick maintains his chances of qualifying for the next phase of the Playoffs with 9 points behind Kyle Busch, last qualifier on the evening of Talladega. The situation is more critical for Christopher Bell and the two unfortunates of the day William Byron and Alex Bowman. For these three drivers, qualification will require a victory next weekend in Charlotte.

General Classification after the 31st Round: