Chase Elliott holds off Ryan Blaney, wins at Talladega by less than 1 second

Chase Elliott’s playoff worries came to an end on Sunday with a win in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

Elliott was among the pack close to the front with two laps to go in the race, and as the white flag waved in the air, he got a big push from Erik Jones on the final lap to move past Ryan Blaney.

The No. 9 Napa Chevrolet held off Blaney, Michael McDowell and Ross Chastain toward the finish line to become the first playoff driver to win a race in the postseason. He won the race by just 0.046 seconds, according to NASCAR.

Elliott also picked up 10 stage points with a Stage 2 victory. He picked up eight stage points after he finished in third place in Stage 1.

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Elliot clinched a spot in the Round of 8. He won the Cup series title in 2020.

Denny Hamlin finished in fifth place, Kyle Larson finished in 18th and Joey Logano finished in 27th. Chase Briscoe, who was in eighth place in the postseason points standings, finished the race in 10th place. Austin Cindric, ninth in the postseason points standings, finished ninth at Talladega.

The final Round of 12 race will take place at Charlotte, but it will be a road course race instead.

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 will be a 109-lap event at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 9.