Talladega Superspeedway Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase drivers were split heading into Talladega Superspeedway after wild weeks at Kansas Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. Some needed to run up front and had no other choice but to win, while others just had to protect their position. One such driver that simply needed to protect his Chase position heading into the Hellmann’s 500 was Kyle Busch. Busch entered the Kansas race weekend fifth in the Chase standings, 17-points ahead the Chase cutoff for the Round of Eight.Read More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – If Joey Logano’s victory in Sunday’s Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was decisive—in relative terms—the race between Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon for the final spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup’s Round of 8 was anything but. In an overtime race that went four laps past its scheduled distance, Logano surged ahead after a restart on Lap 191 at the 2.66-mile track and beat runner-up Brian Scott to the finish line by .124 seconds. Hamlin’s margin over Dillon forRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor On the outside looking in heading into Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega, Austin Dillon needed strong runs or a win to be able to advance onto the next round of the Chase, but when the checkered flag flew, he found himself still in the bottom four and eliminated from championship contention. Dillon started the day tied with eventual winner Joey Logano in the points, with Logano having the tiebreaker as a result of a higher finish in the three races of the Round of 12,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor For the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie class, all eyes were on Chase Elliott to see if he would be able to advance onto the next round of the Chase, but when the checkered flag flew, it was another rookie that took home top billing from Talladega. So, which rookie was it that finished the best at NASCAR’s biggest track? That would be Brian Scott and his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports team. Entering the day, Scott’s previous best finish was a 12th place resultRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Just 13 points to the good entering Sunday’s Round of 12 cutoff race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Martin Truex Jr. gave himself as much of a cushion as possible, winning the pole for the Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway during Saturday’s knockout qualifying session. Seventh in the Chase standings, and 13 points ahead of Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, Truex covered the 2.66-mile distance in 49.508 seconds (193.423 mph) to claim the Coors Light Pole Award forRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – In the race that decided the lineup for the Round of 6 in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, Alabama native Grant Enfinger stole the thunder from the playoff drivers in Saturday’s Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. With a strong push from GMS Racing teammate and Chase driver Ben Kennedy after a restart on Lap 93 of 94, Enfinger surged to the front and stayed there in the face of a last-lap challenger from another teammate, Spencer Gallagher, whoRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The dreams of a championship for two drivers in the first ever NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase came to an end at Talladega Superspeedway. The Fred’s 250 presented by Coca-Cola was the first elimination race in the history of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. John Hunter Nemechek entered the final race in the Round of Eight just 15-points behind the Chase cutoff. Nemechek was 16th in the first practice, and fifth fastest in the final practice. In qualifying, he was able to putRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – In a sense, Chase Elliott comes to Talladega Superspeedway with the greatest amount of freedom, simply because he has the largest challenge to overcome and the narrowest path to do so. After unfortunate results at Charlotte and Kansas, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader is 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, 25 points behind Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, who are tied for eighth. After the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday (2 p.m. ET on NBCSN),Read More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer At only 18-years old, Austin Cindric has already had a very diverse and successful career in auto racing. This weekend, Cindric will add to the variety of tracks he has competed on when he attempts to qualify his No. 2 Pirtek Ford F-150 for Brad Keselowski Racing in the Fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola at Talladega Superspeedway. Cindric has competed in rally cars in both the Red Bull Global Rallycross Lites, where he has four wins and finished second in points in 2015, and theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor In the late 1980’s, Bill Elliott and his Harry Melling owned Ford Thunderbird was a dominant force at the restrictor place tracks, with his brother Ernie Elliott serving as engine builder and supplying a powertrain that was unmatched throughout the NASCAR Winston Cup Series garage. Elliott had won the season opening Daytona 500 in 1985 and tacked on additional wins at Atlanta and Darlington in the weeks that followed, but when the series rolled into Talladega in May, Elliott and his team would leave everyoneRead More