For team owner Rick Hendrick and his Hendrick Motorsports organization, the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs took a dramatic downturn at Talladega Superspeedway, where AJ Allmendinger was left writhing on the floor in pain after a massive wreck.

What was meant to be a rebound opportunity turned into a nightmare Sunday, as all three Hendrick playoff drivers — Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and William Byron — suffered costly late-race setbacks during a chaotic YellaWood 500.

The 500-mile thriller, the second race of the Round of 8, lived up to Talladega’s unpredictable reputation. With Denny Hamlin already locked into the Championship 4 after his Las Vegas win, Larson, Byron, and Elliott, who identified a Hendrick problem after his race ended, all needed clean runs to solidify their positions ahead of next week’s Martinsville cutoff. Instead, Hendrick’s playoff campaign imploded.

The trouble began early when Elliott was caught in a Stage 1 crash triggered by Noah Gragson and Allmendinger. The contact sent multiple cars spinning, including Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet. His race ended in 40th place, a devastating result for the 2020 Cup champion.

“I saw someone get turned sideways,” Elliott said afterward. “Just trying to get slowed up like normal and ended up getting turned sideways and slid into some people, and they slid back into me. I hate it. … The assignment is very simple for Martinsville — try to go up there and get a win.”

Larson’s misfortune struck much later. After running up front most of the afternoon and finishing runner-up in Stage 2 behind Chase Briscoe, he appeared in perfect position to challenge for the win in overtime — until his No. 5 Chevrolet ran out of fuel on the backstretch just half a lap from the finish.

“It started giving me a warning there in the middle of 1 and 2 and down the back it started stumbling,” Larson said. “It’s one of the more bummer superspeedway finishes I’ve had. We were right where I wanted to be, but it didn’t work out. We executed a great day today — we’ll try to do the same next week.”

As Larson slowed, Byron tried to surge through the bottom lane, only to be collected in the final-lap melee as Chase Briscoe out-dueled Bubba Wallace for the win. Byron spun through the tri-oval, crossing the line 25th.

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“It’s just the way that it goes,” Byron said. “I felt like I was in the right position on the bottom lane, and we just couldn’t get linked up off Turn 4. Then (Larson) ran out of fuel and broke up all the energy. Just got to regroup and try to win next week.”

The race saw multiple momentum swings before Briscoe’s dramatic victory secured his first superspeedway win and a berth in the Championship 4. “I can’t believe I won a superspeedway race,” Briscoe said. “Ty Gibbs was an incredible teammate. I would not have won without him. We’re going to Phoenix!”

For Hendrick, however, Talladega was nothing short of disastrous. According to NASCAR’s updated standings, Larson remains safe at +35, while Byron (–15) and Elliott (–23) sit below the cut line. With one race left before Phoenix, both now face a must-win situation at Martinsville.