By David Morgan, Associate Editor
TALLADEGA, Ala. – The second round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs enters the gauntlet.
Following the opening race of the Round of 12 last weekend at Kansas that saw Ross Chastain play spoiler, keeping victory out of the hands of any of the championship contenders, Talladega looms large as the postseason hits the halfway mark with Sunday’s running of the Yellawood 500.
Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Alabama has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full display over the past half-century, leading to some of the most memorable moments in NASCAR history.
Anyone in the field has a chance at the win as long as they can be in the right place at the right time. Sunday’s race should be no different. While there will be favorites, any of the cars still running in the closing laps could pull off the win. There is a reason fans come from far and wide to witness racing at Talladega and that unpredictability is a big part of it.
Given the unpredictability that Talladega brings, even the best laid plans could go awry in a split second, leaving some of the Playoff drivers in dire straits heading into the final race of the round at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Of the 12 Playoff drivers, no one is truly safe heading into the 188-lap event, which kicks off at 2:00 pm ET Sunday.
Last weekend’s runner up, William Byron is the driver with the biggest safety net heading into Talladega with a 34-point advantage over the cut-off line, but even that might not be enough of a buffer by the time the checkered flag falls at Talladega.
Following a poor showing at Kansas, regular season champion Tyler Reddick finds himself below the cut-off line heading into the weekend as he will look to pull off the season sweep and put his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota in victory lane to punch his ticket to the Round of 8.
Below him, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric will have some work to do on Sunday to make up their double-digit deficits to the cut off line. Suarez sits 14 points back, with Briscoe and Cindric sitting 25 and 29 points in arears, respectively.
Staying Grounded
Given the increasing number of cars getting airborne on superspeedways recently, NASCAR will implement some changes to the Cup Series cars for this weekend’s race at Talladega in the hopes of keeping the cars on the ground.
Prior to the race at Daytona, a shark fin was added to the right side back glass, but didn’t provide the results intended, so the sanctioning body has taken it a step further for this race.
The two-inch high shark fin will now run along the right side roof rail to help deflect more air in the event a car gets sideways and reduce the lift the car may be experiencing at that moment. In addition, a piece of fabric will be added to the interior of the right-side roof flap to help catch more air and act as a parachute, once again in an effort to help the vehicle stay grounded.
An aluminum addition will also be added to the bottom of the rocker box on the right side to decrease the amount of air allowed through if the car should slide sideways.
By the Numbers
What: Yellawood 500, NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 31 of 36
Where: Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Alabama (Opened: 1969)
TV/Radio: NBC, 2:00 pm ET / MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
Track Size: 2.66-mile tri-oval (Turns banked 33 degrees, Tri-oval banked 16.5 degrees)
Race Length: 188 laps, 500.08 miles
Stage Lengths: 60 laps each (First two stages); 68 laps (Final stage)
April 2024 Race Winner: Tyler Reddick – No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota (Started 18th, 13 laps led)
October 2023 Race Winner: Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Team Penske Ford (Started 10th, eight laps led)
Track Qualifying Record: Bill Elliott – 44.998 seconds, 212.809 mph – April 30, 1987
Top-10 Highest Driver Rating at Talladega:
- Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Team Penske Ford – 91.0
- Chase Elliott – No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 90.0
- Brad Keselowski – No. 6 RFK Racing Ford – 88.1
- Joey Logano – No. 22 Team Penske Ford – 87.5
- William Byron – No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 86.0
- Noah Gragson – No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford – 84.4
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 81.8
- Kyle Busch – No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Toyota – 81.5
- Todd Gilliland – No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford – 80.3
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet – 78.9
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings
- William Byron (+34 over cut-off line)
- Ryan Blaney (+28)
- Christopher Bell (+28)
- Kyle Larson (+18)
- Denny Hamlin (+11)
- Alex Bowman (+8)
- Chase Elliott (+4)
- Joey Logano (+4)
——————————————————————————————————————–
- Tyler Reddick (-4 below cut-off)
- Daniel Suarez (-14)
- Chase Briscoe (-25)
- Austin Cindric (-29)
From the Driver’s Seat
“I’ve always felt like speedway races were in my wheelhouse. I’ve always focused on doing what is needed to make sure we’re there at the end. When we’re successful at that is when we get the finishes we deserve. If a driver can get to the final five laps with their patience intact, there’s a higher chance of competing for a win,” said Corey LaJoie
“You’re thinking through a lot. You’re listening to the spotter, looking for an opening to get in another lane that may be faster, or leapfrog a slower car, all while watching what is happening ahead so you don’t get caught in a wreck. You’re also trying to pay attention to what your car is doing when you’re being pushed versus being the pusher, if it handles any differently up high or down on the bottom. It’s a lot.
“You go through that every race but everything moves quicker at a superspeedway. At least at Talladega, you’ve got a little more room to work with if something does go wrong. It’s chaotic, but that’s what makes for an entertaining race.”
Last Time at Talladega
Like a Michael Jordan drive to the basket, Tyler Reddick channeled his 23XI Racing co-owner on the final lap at Talladega, weaving his way through the chaos to get to the finish line first and score the win in the March 2024 running of the GEICO 500.
Heading into the final lap, it was shaping up to be a battle of the Fords and Toyotas, with pole-sitter Michael McDowell and six-time Talladega winner Brad Keselowski leading the Blue Ovals on the bottom lane, with Reddick leading what was left of the Toyotas on the high line.
As they powered off Turn 4 for the final time, Reddick was running fourth, with McDowell and Keselowski looking to settle it amongst themselves. Blocking for all it was worth, one final block by McDowell in which he wasn’t quite clear sent McDowell around in front of the field and opened the door for Reddick to sneak his way through.
With Keselowski slowed just enough by McDowell spinning across his nose, Reddick was home free, powering around the outside of the six-time Talladega winner and Noah Gragson to beat them both back to the line, banking his first win of the season and sixth of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
“Man, it’s incredible,” Reddick said. “Everybody on this 45 Jordan brand Toyota Camry worked really hard today. It didn’t really work out in that third stage for us, but we were able to fight and defend our track position. Was that crazy, fans? Chaos. That’s Talladega for you.
“Got to give a lot of credit to Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex [Jr.]. It was just us Toyotas left and they pushed me with everything they had. Huge credit to Martin and Ty. Without those pushes, we don’t win this race.”
The win was also the first with Jordan in attendance, who was ecstatic on pit road afterwards, thrusting his fist in the air as the team celebrated around him. The NBA Hall of Famer was all smiles, joking about turning around his streak of bad luck with his team with him at the track.
“Denny [Hamlin] keeps saying I was bad luck when I come to the track and today, we proved him wrong,” Jordan said with a grin.
“This is like an NBA playoff game for me. Obviously for the fans that support the sport itself. We’ve been working hard trying to get ourselves where we can compete against all of the top guys in this sport. We’ve done a heck of a job just to be where we are and for us to win a big race like this, it means so much to me for the effort that the team has done.
“Look, I’m all in. I love it. It replaces a lot of the competitiveness that I had in basketball, but this is even worse because I have no control. If I was playing basketball, I’d have total control, but I have no control, so I live vicariously through the drivers and the crew chiefs and everybody. I’m very happy for 23XI. 110%”
Gragson finished the day in third-place to score his best finish of the 2024 season, followed by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Alex Bowman, Anthony Alfredo, William Byron, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Hemric, and Harrison Burton rounding out the top-10.
Weekend Schedule (All Times Eastern)
- Saturday, October 5
- NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying (1:30 pm – USA Network)
- Sunday, October 6
- Yellawood 500 at Talladega (2:00 pm – 188 laps, 500.08 miles – NBC)
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