NCS AT TALLADEGA: Team Chevy Advance

RACE #2 OF NCS PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 12: TALLADEGA

Another non-playoff contender win means all 12 NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) playoff drivers are still looking for a win to secure a spot in the Round of 8. That next opportunity for a guaranteed ticket into the next round comes on Sunday in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. NASCAR’s longest oval has held a spot in the NCS playoffs since its debut in the series in 2004, with 2022 marking the sixth consecutive year that the 2.66-mile Alabama venue has hosted the fifth race in the 10-race post-season stretch.

 

A look at where the Team Chevy NCS playoff drivers stand heading into race two of the Round of 12, including season numbers and career stats at Talladega Superspeedway:   

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 – 2nd in Playoff Standings (25-points above cutline)

 

Victories: 2

Top-Fives: 10; Top-10s: 16; Laps Led: 585;

Average Finish: 14.2; Stage Wins: 5

 

At Talladega Superspeedway:

Victories: 1

Top-Fives: 1, Top-10s: 1; Average Finish: 19.571

 

 

Of Note:

– The 2022 season marks Chastain’s first career appearance in the NCS playoffs.

– Chastain has already scored a win at one of the Round of 12 tracks in 2022, with his second-career NCS win coming at Talladega Superspeedway in April.  

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 3rd in Playoff Standings (23-points above cutline)

2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion

 

2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion

Victories: 2

Top-Fives: 11; Top-10s: 16; Laps Led: 360; 

Average Finish: 13.6; Stage Wins: 4

 

 

At Talladega Superspeedway:

Top-Fives: 1; Top-10s: 3; Average Finish 23.133

 

Of Note:

– The 2022 season marks Larson’s sixth appearance in the NCS playoffs, with 2021 bringing Larson his first trip to the Championship 4.

– During the playoff era (2004-present); Larson leads the series in ‘multiple playoff race wins in a single season’ with five in 2021 (Bristol, Charlotte ROVAL, Texas, Kansas, Phoenix).

– In 2021, Larson took the wins at two of the three tracks that are in the Round of 12, including both the playoff and All-Star races at Texas Motor Speedway; and the annual race at the Charlotte ROVAL.

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 – 6th in Playoff Standings (11-points above the cutline)

 

Victories: 1

Top-Fives: 6; Top-10s: 11; Laps Led: 247;

Average Finish: 16.3; Stage Wins: 2

 

 

At Talladega Superspeedway:

Top-10s: 1; Average Finish: 22.091

 

 

Of Note:

– The 2022 season marks Suarez’s first career appearance in the NCS playoffs.

– Suarez has three top-five finishes on road course circuits in 2022 including his first-career NCS win at Sonoma Raceway; and fifth-place finishes at Road America and Watkins Glen. 

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 7th in Playoff Standings (11-points above cutline)

 

2022 NASCAR Cup Series Regular-Season Champion

Victories: 4 (series-leading)

Top-Fives: 11; Top-10s: 18; Laps Led: 763

Average Finish: 11.8; Stage Wins: 5

 

 

At Talladega Superspeedway:

Wins: 1; Top-Fives: 4; Top-10s: 6; 

Pole Wins: 3; Average Finish: 16.538

 

 

Of Note:

– The 2022 season marks Elliott’s seventh consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.

– Elliott has advanced to the Championship 4 the past two seasons, winning his first career NCS Driver Championship in 2020.

– Six of his 17 career NCS wins have come in the playoffs.

– Elliott has won at two of the three tracks in the Round of 12, including Talladega Superspeedway (2019); and a two-time winner at the Charlotte ROVAL (2019 and 2020).

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 10th in Playoff Standings (8-points below the cutline)

 

Victories: 2

Top-Fives: 5; Top-10s: 9; Laps Led: 713; 

Average Finish: 16.5; Stage Wins: 4

 

At Talladega Superspeedway:

Top-Fives: 2; Top-10s: 2; Average Finish: 19.000

 

 

Of Note:

– The 2022 season marks Byron’s fourth consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.

– Bryon’s career-best finish in the NCS playoffs came in 2021, finishing the season 10th in the final standings.

– Byron scored top-10 finishes in all three races of the Round of 16 including an eighth-place at Darlington Raceway; sixth-place at Kansas Speedway; and third-place at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 – 12th in Playoff Standings (26-points below the cutline)

 

Victories: 1

Top-Fives: 4; Top-10s: 12; Laps Led: 136; 

Average Finish: 16.1; Stage Wins: 2

 

 

At Talladega Superspeedway:

Top-Fives: 1; Top-10s: 4; Average Finish: 24.429

 

 

Of Note:

– The 2022 season marks Bowman’s fifth consecutive appearance in the NCS playoffs.

– Bowman has raced his way into the Round of 12 in each of his NCS playoff appearances; making it to the Round of 8 in the 2020 season to score a career-best sixth in the final standings.

– Two of Bowman’s 12 top-10 finishes of 2022 came in the Round of 16, recording a 10th-place finish at Darlington Raceway and a fourth-place finish at Kansas Speedway.

Chevrolet All-Time NASCAR Cup Series

Championships:

 

Manufacturer Championships:

1st Chevy Title: 1958

Most Recent Title: 2021

Highest Number of Consecutive Titles: 13 (2003-2015)

 

Driver Championships:

1st Chevy title: Buck Baker (1957)

Most Recent: Kyle Larson (2021)

Highest Number of Consecutive Titles: 7 (2005-2011)

REDDICK ON TOP AT TEXAS

 

 

In similar fashion as the series’ opening playoff round, the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 saw a non-playoff contender steal the show. Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Camaro ZL1 followed up a disappointing early departure from the playoffs in the best way possible, taking the victory in the NCS Round of 12 opener at Texas Motor Speedway. Reddick’s third victory of the season is second-most of the series’ 19 winners, just behind fellow Chevrolet driver Chase Elliott. The 26-year-old California native’s triumph took Chevrolet to its 17th win of 2022 in NASCAR’s premier series, extending its lead as the winningest manufacturer of the NCS season. 

 

BOWTIE LOOKING FOR A TALLADEGA REPEAT 

The Bowtie brand is returning to Talladega Superspeedway as defending winners in all three NASCAR national series. In April, the series made its first stop of the season at the 2.66-mile Alabama venue for a doubleheader race weekend featuring the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS); while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) will make its return to the track for the first time since October 2021.

 

Ross Chastain and the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 team might have only led one lap in the spring NCS Talladega event, but it was the most important lap of the race. Taking the white in the third position and aligned with fellow Chevrolet drivers Erik Jones and Kyle Larson; a battle among the top-two opened the door for Chastain to pilot his Chevrolet-powered machine to the front, taking the checkered flag by a mere .105-seconds to capture his second NCS win of 2022. Chastain’s victory gave Chevrolet its 42nd all-time win at Talladega, extending its record as the winningest manufacturer in NASCAR’s premier series at the track.

 

In a triple overtime finish, JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson record his first-career NXS win at Talladega in the series’ April event. Gragson’s victory came after narrowly edging out Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of seven-time NCS Champion Dale Earnhardt, who was piloting a black No. 3 Chevrolet as a special entry for Richard Childress Racing. Gragson delivered Chevrolet its 21st win in 33 NXS races at Talladega, the most of all manufacturers, as well as extending the Bowtie brand’s win streak at the track to seven in a row.

 

In the NCWTS most recent appearance at Talladega (October 2021), the series saw a first-time winner hoist the trophy in the Chevrolet Silverado 250. Driving a part-time schedule for Chevrolet team Young’s Motorsports, Tate Fogleman scored a playoff race upset, taking the lead on the final circuit from then race leader, John Hunter Nemechek, to score his first career NCWTS win in 46 starts in the series. 

GRAGSON GOES FOUR-IN-A-ROW, TIES RECORD

 
 

Noah Gragson and the No. 9 JR Motorsports Camaro SS team started the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs in the same winning fashion as the team concluded the series’ regular season. In the NXS Round of 12 opening race at Texas Motor Speedway, Gragson continued to prove he is a championship contender, leading a race-high 85 laps en route to his series-leading seventh NXS victory of 2022. The victory – which punched his ticket to the Round of 8 – was also the 24-year-old Nevada native’s fourth consecutive victory. Gragson became just the second driver in series’ history to win four consecutive NXS races, joining Sam Ard on that elite list, who accomplished that feat in 1983. Gragson’s triumph gave Chevrolet its 20th win in 27 NXS races this season; and the manufacturer’s 497th all-time in NXS competition, one step closer to its milestone 500th victory.

PLAYOFF POINTS UPDATE: ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO

The Talladega Superspeedway race weekend marks the second of three races in each of the three NASCAR national series’ respective playoffs, with the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series in the Round of 12, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is down to the Round of 8.

 

An eventful 500-miles at Texas Motor Speedway provided for a shakeup in the NCS driver points standings, but one thing that remained the same was Chevrolet drivers leading in numbers above the playoff cutline. Collecting top-five finishes and crucial stage points in both stages, Ross Chastain took second in the playoff points standings with a 25-point cushion over the cutline. Just behind Chastain in third is 2021 NCS Champion Kyle Larson, who recorded his 16th top-10 finish of the season and increased his points advantage to 23-points over the cutline. Entering the Texas race weekend below the cutline in 11th, Daniel Suarez made a big jump in the standings to the sixth position and an 11-point advantage above the cutline. The 2022 NCS regular-season champion Chase Elliott fell in the standings after an incident forced the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 to retire from the race early, but he still remains above the cutline in the seventh-position (11-points above the cutline). Rounding out the Chevrolet playoff field includes William Byron in 10th (8-points below the cutline) and Alex Bowman in 12th (26-points below the cutline).

 

With race one of three in the books for the opening round of the NXS playoffs, the Bowtie brand continues to control the driver standings, with Chevrolet drivers currently occupying six of the top-eight positions in the standings. Leading the way is Noah Gragson, who’s Texas win already secured his spot into the Round of 8. 2021 NXS regular-season champion AJ Allmendinger is in second with a 47-point advantage on the cutline; with Chevrolet drivers Austin Hill, Josh Berry, Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer taking the fourth- through seventh-spots in the standings, respectively.

 

In the NCWTS Round of 8, GMS Racing’s Grant Enfinger represents Chevrolet in the title hunt. While continuing his top-five streak in the series’ playoffs – recording a fourth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway – Enfinger still remains on the outside looking in, but just 15-points below the cutline.

 

Defending NCS and NXS Manufacturer Champions, Chevrolet, continues to pull away in the manufacturer points standings as the Bowtie brand looks to repeat its championship title. After a sweep of the wins at Texas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet extended its lead to 92-points in the NCS manufacturer points standings and 131-points in the NXS manufacturer points standings.

NCWTS ROUND OF 8: RACE TWO

 

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will make its return to the track this weekend, with Saturday’s Chevy Silverado 250 marking race two of the series’ Round of 8. Chevrolet’s playoff contender Grant Enfinger and his No. 23 GMS Racing Silverado RST team are riding the momentum of a strong, consistent run in this season’s playoffs, scoring top-five finishes in all four of the playoff races thus far. Enfinger’s next chance at a win to secure his spot in the Championship 4 comes at his home track of Talladega Superspeedway. The 2.66-mile superspeedway delivered Enfinger his first career win in the series in 2016, also behind the wheel of a GMS Racing Chevrolet-powered machine. 

BOWTIE BULLETS

·       Victories by active Chevrolet drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway include:

       Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro ZL1 (2022)

       Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 (2019)

       Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Camaro ZL1 (2017)

 

·       Chevrolet is heading into the Talladega Superspeedway as defending winners at the track following Ross Chastain’s victory in the April 2022 NASCAR Cup Series race. Chastain’s victory was celebrated by a strong showing by the Bowtie brigade, with six drivers from four different Chevrolet teams taking top-10 finishes.

 

·       In 106 NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers in race wins (42) and pole wins (37). Of those wins includes a record streak of 13 consecutive trips to victory lane, captured by five different drivers in Chevrolet-powered machines from April 1999 to May 2005.

 

·       In his nine career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Chevrolet driver Ty Dillon leads all active drivers in the series in average finishing position at the 2.66-mile Alabama Superspeedway with a 14.333.

 

 

 

 

·       Tyler Reddick’s win – his third of the 2022 season – delivered Chevrolet its manufacturer-leading 17th win in 30 NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races. The Bowtie brand also continues to lead its manufacturer competitors in top-fives (71), top-10s (132), laps led (3,533) and stage wins (24).

 

 

 

·       Seven Team Chevy drivers have combined 24 NASCAR Cup Series stage wins:

       Tyler Reddick 2 – Fontana x2

       Alex Bowman 1 – Las Vegas, Kansas

       Ross Chastain 4 – Las Vegas, Darlington, Charlotte, Pocono, Richmond

       William Byron 4 – Phoenix, Atlanta, Talladega, Darlington

       Daniel Suarez 2 – COTA, Charlotte

       Chase Elliott 3 – Martinsville x2, Charlotte, Atlanta x2

       Kyle Larson 4 – Bristol, Sonoma, Pocono, Texas

 

·       Reigning NASCAR Cup Series and NASAR Xfinity Series Manufacturer Champions, Chevrolet, continues to lead in the manufacturer points standings in both series. The bowtie brand leads the NCS manufacturer points standings by 92-points, with the manufacturer’s lead in the NXS standings expanding to 131-points.

 

 

 

 

·       With its 40 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturer Championships, 33 NASCAR Cup Series Driver Championships, and 831 all-time NASCAR Cup Series wins, Chevrolet continues to hold the title of winningest brand in NASCAR.  

FOR THE FANS

·       Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display in the Fan Midway at Talladega Superspeedway. 

·       Fans can check out an assortment of Chevrolet vehicles including: Camaro ZL1, Silverado 2500 LTZ, Silverado ZR2, Blazer RS, Tahoe Z71, 2023 Corvette Z51, Pink Silverado 1500 High Country.

·       At the Chevrolet Display, fans can also view Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Camaro ZL1 show car.

 

Team Chevy Driver Appearances at the Display:

Sunday, October 2

·       Tyler Reddick: 9:15 a.m.

·       Chase Elliott: 9:45 a.m.

 

Chevrolet Display Hours of Operation:  

Friday, September 30: 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Saturday, September 24: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Sunday, September 25: 8 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.  

 

Tune In: 

NBC will broadcast the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 2. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 

USA Network will broadcast the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks 300 at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 1. Live coverage can also be found on the NBCSports Gold App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

 

FS1 will broadcast the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevy Silverado 250 at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 1. Live coverage can also be found on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. 

QUOTABLE QUOTES

ROSS CHASTAIN, NO. 1 JOCKEY CAMARO ZL1

How do you think Talladega will go for you?

“Unfortunately, my belief is when you win a superspeedway race, you have to pay it back for a long time so you don’t finish good for a long time. So I’ll be very lucky if I get to finish that race. If I can just stay on the bottom again and they move out of my way and I take the checkered flag in first, that would be great. Spring Talladega was wild. We’ll always have good memories but I’ve had a lot of wrecked racecars there.”

 

Do you feel confident since you won the Spring race?

“No, I don’t feel confident just because I won the race there earlier this year (laughs). That was pure luck, it’s still hard for me to believe it happened.”

 

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BASS PRO SHOPS / TRACKER OFF ROAD CAMARO ZL1

How much more confidence do you have going into Talladega coming off a strong finish there in the Spring, and a recent win at Daytona International Speedway?

“I always feel like you’ve got something when you win on a certain type of track. Obviously, there’s a lot of luck involved as well, but the important thing is that there are opportunities to make your own luck. We’re going to work hard. We’ve just got to stay focused and see if we can play the same kind of chess match that we did earlier this year. Anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway, but we’re going to do what we can to use momentum at the very end of the race to take advantage of positions.

 

 

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Larson on if drivers might play it safe and run behind the main pack this weekend:

“I don’t think so just because there’s so many stage points on the line. Yes, there might be a couple that do that, but I feel like you typically don’t see that. I think there’s so many stage points on the line that if you can get those points then, even if you wreck, you’ll have a decent points day out of it. I see everybody racing pretty hard.”

 

CLIFF DANIELS, CREW CHIEF, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Daniels on if strategy or luck helped with their fourth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in April:

“I would say more luck because we were able to stay out of the wrecks. From a strategic standpoint, everything we accomplished that race is the exact strategy we try to implement every speedway race. We try to get up front and stay up front. We try to have a good driving car that can pass and draft and do all the things you need it to do. We try to be on the right side of pit strategy while working with our teammates and other Chevrolet teams. From a pure strategic standpoint, we target that every single speedway race.”

 

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

Elliott on racing at Talladega:

“It’s obviously not an ideal situation to be where we’re at in the points heading into Talladega (Superspeedway), but it is what it is. I’ve said for years that no one is safe in these playoffs. We’ve been in similar situations in the past, so we know what we need to do these next two weeks to put ourselves in a good position to advance. I know we’re fully capable of getting the job done. We’ve proven it time and time again.”

 

ALAN GUSTAFSON, CREW CHIEF, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1

Gustafson on Talladega:

“We were able to learn a lot when we were at Talladega (Superspeedway) in the spring to really improve our superspeedway program. That was our goal going into the race, knowing we’d be coming back here in the playoffs. For us, it’s about getting maximum points this weekend, minimizing our mistakes and making sure we survive until the end. If we do that, we’ll have just as good a shot as anyone to get the win and lock ourselves into the next round.”

 

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

Byron on how to balance racing at Talladega:

“Racing at Talladega (Superspeedway) is more about how well you can push someone and how well your car can receive a push. It’s a track where you really have to be able to work with other cars to not only get to the front but also stay up there. We were running up front in the spring race and lost our help in the end to stay up front, unfortunately. Once you get back in traffic, it’s a lot harder to make your way forward. With how close the points are right now; I think stage points are going to be even more crucial Sunday than they normally are in this race. With everyone trying to get every point they can, you don’t want to put yourself at risk of not finishing the race either just trying to get a stage point. It’s a fine balance for sure.”

 

 

RUDY FUGLE, CREW CHIEF, NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CAMARO ZL1

Fugle on preparation for Talladega:

“Talladega (Superspeedway) is a track where balance comes more into play than a place like Daytona (International Speedway). It’s a fine line between finding speed for qualifying, but also having the handling of your car right to keep you up front during the race. We’ve only had qualifying for two superspeedway events this year, but we have a good notebook on what adjustments we made from Saturday to Sunday. We ran really well in the spring race at Talladega earlier this year, and those notes are going to be a huge help even though the weather will be different this time around. We’ll also run the same tire that we ran not only at Talladega this year, but also at Daytona as well. This is probably one of the tracks in the playoffs that we have the most notes on and can prepare for.”

 

TY DILLON, NO. 42 SUNSEEKERRESORTS.COM CAMARO ZL1

Dillon’s thoughts on racing at Talladega Superspeedway:

“I’m pretty pumped to head back to Talladega this weekend with our Sunseeker Resorts Camaro. In every superspeedway race we’ve ran this season, our Petty GMS team has brought some really fast cars, and it shows with both of our teams. We were able to hook up with our teammate and get to the front of the pack in the spring, and also had a good run going for us at Daytona until we got caught up in the big one. This time around, I’m hoping that we can put together another strong effort and hang in there through all 500 miles so we have a shot at the end.”

 

ERIK JONES, NO. 43 FOCUSFACTOR CAMARO ZL1

“I think Talladega will be really good for us. Superspeedway’s, every race this year we’ve been really, really fast and really strong and had a shot to win and just haven’t closed it out. Hope this is the one. I think it’s a race we can win for sure going in. I think we all feel really confident. I feel really confident in my superspeedway ability, feel really confident in what we are bringing car wise to the superspeedway’s right now. I think Talladega plays in our hand a little bit more than Daytona with the speed we’ve had. I’m excited for that and hopefully we can go there and get a win with our FOCUSfactor Chevy.” 

 

DANIEL SUAREZ, NO. 99 TOOTSIE ORCHID LOUNGE CAMARO ZL1

Thoughts on Talladega?

“Talladega is very unpredictable and a lot of things can happen as we all know. As a driver you can put yourself in good positions and bad positions. You just have to be smart and keep yourself in good positions all day. Of course there is a lot of luck in that. If we can break even in Talladega we will be in good shape. I know the following week on the ROVAL at Charlotte we will be top-five and I expect to race for the win.”

 

How important are stage points?

“They weren’t as important in the first round, but in this round I think they are definitely a must. You have to earn stage points if you want to advance. We know that and it’s a priority. That starts in qualifying on Saturday, so you have to qualify well to start in a good spot and have a good pit stall then keep track position all day. We did that at Texas on Sunday.”

 

Can you win this championship?

“Somebody has to win it! You know at the beginning of the year (Trackhouse founder and owner) Justin Marks said something that really sticks with me. ‘Why not us?’ We might not have the experience in terms of years like many of the other teams have, but what we do have are the people, the corporate partners and the manufacturer support from Chevrolet to win this so why not? We haven’t gotten here by just luck. We have to continue to do our thing and see where all of this is going to take us.”

 

Thoughts on the remaining two races in the Round of 12 – Talladega and the Charlotte ROVAL?

“You know Trackhouse Racing has won at a superspeedway race when Ross (Chastain) won at Talladega earlier this year and then both of us have won on road courses this year, so we feel very confident in our setups and how we will race in the next two races.”

 

GRANT ENFINGER, NO. 23 CHAMPION POWER EQUIPMENT SILVERADO RST

Enfinger ‘s thoughts on racing at his home track during the Round of 8:

“Talladega is always a special place for me, so I’ve been looking forward to this weekend for a while. Jeff Hensley and the guys have our Champion Power Equipment Chevy as prepared as we can possibly be. Speedway racing is always chaotic, but hopefully we have the speed and make the right decisions to get some valuable stage points and contend for a win. Roll Tide!”

 

JACK WOOD, NO. 24 LOGITECH G SILVERADO RST

Wood’s thoughts on superspeedway racing in the Truck Series:

“There are a lot of unknown variables that come along with superspeedway racing, but I think Talladega provides us with a great opportunity to capitalize. I wasn’t able to get much experience racing in the pack there last season as we had a mechanical failure, but I learned a lot earlier this year at Daytona and Atlanta that I look forward to using this weekend. Our main goal has to be all about surviving, so if we can avoid ‘the big one’ and put ourselves in a good spot to be there when it counts, that is going to pay huge dividends. I’m looking forward to taking on this challenge with my No. 24 Logitech Silverado RST.”

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