Highly anticipated Talladega could shake-up the Cup Playoffs
The NASCAR Cup Series takes the 2024 Playoffs to one of the most anticipated races of the season this weekend, Sunday’s YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the world-famous Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway high-banks.
With a non-Playoff driver, Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain claiming the trophy last weekend at Kansas Speedway, now only two races – at Talladega and at the Charlotte ROVAL next week – remain in this round for the 12 Playoff eligible drivers to score a win and automatic ticket to the Playoffs’ Round of 8.
With his runner-up showing at Kansas, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron has taken the lead in the Playoff standings – six points ahead of reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. Hendrick’s Kyle Larson is ranked fourth.
JGR’s Denny Hamlin, Hendrick teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott and Team Penske’s Joey Logano complete the top eight drivers. Elliott and Logano, however, have only a four-point advantage on the Regular Season Champion, 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick for that final spot to advance in the Playoffs.
Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez (-14), Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe (-25) and Team Penske’s Austin Cindric (-29) are all below the cutoff line heading into the weekend. But when it comes to racing on the Talladega high banks anything can happen. And typically, does.
Blaney is the defending race winner, the victory last year setting him up for a Championship 4 Round appearance where he ultimately claimed the title in the Phoenix season finale. In fact, Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford is a three-time winner at the big track and joins Elliott – the 2020 series champion – as the only multi-time Talladega winners in the last 10 races at the track.
Owner-driver Brad Keselowski is the winningest active driver at Talladega – scoring his first career NASCAR Cup Series win there in 2009 and making five additional trips to Victory Lane since. He finished runner-up to Reddick this spring.
Only three current Playoff drivers – Reddick, Byron and Bowman – finished among the top-10 this May.
Among the current Playoff contenders, Blaney, Elliott (two), Hamlin (two) and Logano (three) all have multiple Talladega victories.
Among those four drivers below the cutoff line and needing a solid performance at Talladega to advance their Playoff run, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe brings a strong resume with him this weekend. In seven NASCAR Cup Series starts on the big track, his best finish was fourth in the 2023 spring race and he has finished worse than 15th only once. Briscoe’s average finish of 14.4 is fourth best in the field among drivers with multiple starts – behind only Beard Motorsport’s Anthony Alfredo (9.3), Front Row Motorsports’ Todd Gilliland (12.8) and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott (13.7).
Instead of fearing the unpredictability of a track like Talladega, Briscoe, 29, said he has developed a calm mentality about the style of racing. And interestingly, since 2014 eight of the 10 Talladega Playoff races have been won by drivers ranked below the Round of 8 cutoff line – as Briscoe finds himself this weekend.
“I think you have to have a short memory,” the two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner said. “I’ve gone through different kinds of spectrums of superspeedway racing. I’ve taken the conservative route and I’ve gone the super-aggressive route. And every time I’ve gone the conservative route, I typically end up crashed.
“So, I’m just going to go back to being on the aggressive side. It’s a little tougher with this Next Gen car just because you can’t take runs or do things like you typically would. You’re going to have to try to be up in the mix for stage points and try to just finish the best you can.
“… I’m just going to go with the mindset of being aggressive and trying to lead every lap and trying to make every move I can and hopefully, stay out of the chaos.”
Fifteen different drivers have won the 20 Talladega Playoff races. Team Penske teammates Blaney and Logano are the only current Playoff contenders to win multiple Playoff races at Talladega – both claiming two Playoff victories.
Of note, NASCAR has issued a technical bulletin for the Talladega race weekend with changes to the cars designed to increase safety at the big track. Modifications will be made to the Rocker skirt, Right side roof flap fabric and the Ride side roof rails will be extended to 2” with polycarbonate.
Busch Light Pole Qualifying is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET (USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App). Aric Almirola won the pole position for this race last year. Michael McDowell started on pole at Talladega this spring.
Xfinity Series returns to the unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway
For the first time in two years, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to Talladega Superspeedway for a Playoff race – the United Rentals 250 Saturday at 4 p.m. ET (The CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Aric Almirola won last week’s 2024 Playoff opener at Kansas Speedway but because he is not Playoff eligible- this second race of the three-race round becomes even more pivotal in deciding which eight drivers will advance to the next round.
Playoff driver A.J. Allmendinger won the last Fall Playoff race at Talladega in 2022. Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton is a two-time Talladega winner and joins Playoff rookie Jesse Love, who won at the big track this Spring as the only current fulltime drivers to hoist a Talladega trophy.
Entering the race, Regular Season Champion, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, JR Motorsports Sam Mayer, JGR’s Sheldon Creed, Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, RCR’s Love and SHR’s Riley Herbst sit above the Playoff cutoff line.
Meanwhile, a pair of preseason title favorites – JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier and Kaulig’s Allmendinger are currently just below that cutoff line. Allgaier, a two-time race winner this season, is a single point behind Herbst, has only four top-five finishes in 17 Talladega starts and has never hoisted a trophy there.
A victory this week would similarly go a long way for Allmendinger, who is still racing for his first win of the season and currently sits 10th in the Playoff standings, 13 points below the cutoff line.
“Anything can and usually does happen at Talladega. JR Motorsports has always had an incredibly strong superspeedway program and I know that that will be the case once again on Saturday,” Allgaier said.
“We just need to be smart out there and not get ourselves caught in a bad position in the middle of the pack. If we can keep our nose clean and run up front all day long, I see no reason why we won’t be fighting for the win with our JRM teammates and get ourselves into the next round of the Playoffs once the checkered flag falls.”
Qualifying is set for 11:30 a.m. ET on Saturday (USA Network, NBC Sports App). Austin Hill won the pole position in the Spring race. Mayer won the pole for the last Playoff race at Talladega two years ago.
CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Playoffs’ Round of 8 starts now
The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series begins the final three-race Playoff round to set the Championship Four with Friday’s Love’s RV Stop 225 at Talladega Superspeedway (4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Last weekend’s Kansas winner Corey Heim arrives at the 2.66-mile superspeedway now boasting six wins on the season – double that of any other competitor, The 22-year-old TRICON Garage driver scored the win in the final race of the opening round last week when race leader, ThorSport’s Ty Majeski ran out of gas on the final lap. Heim finished just ahead of Front Row Motorsports’ Layne Riggs, who had won the previous two races but is not among the Playoff drivers.
Regular Season Champion , McAnally-Hilgemann’s Christian Eckes, Majeski and REV Racing’s Nick Sanchez sit safely atop the cutoff mark entering the first race of this all-important round. Rajah Caruth trails Sanchez by eight points just outside the Playoff bubble with Tyler Ankrum and Grant Enfinger both -11 points and Taylor Gray -15 points back.
Enfinger is the only current Playoff driver with a previous Talladega win, earning his trophy in 2016. Former series champion Johnny Sauter – the 2013 Talladega trophy winner – will be competing this weekend for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Brett Moffitt is the defending race winner.
There have been eight different winners in the last eight Talladega races. Heim, Eckes and Enfinger (2) are the only Playoff drivers to have scored top-five finishes at the big track.
Among those entered this week, William Sawalich (No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota) and 18-year-old Connor Zilisch (No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet) are hoping to make their first career superspeedway start. And crowd favorite, veteran Norm Benning is hoping to qualify for his first race of the season.
Cometic Gasket Qualifying is set for 1 p.m. ET Friday (FS2). Chase Purdy is the defending polesitter.
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