Search
  • Next Race: YellaWood 500
  • The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
  • The Date: Sunday, October 4
  • The Time: 2 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 500 miles (188 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 188)

alladega Superspeedway offers unique challenge to Playoff contenders

The unexpected is expected when it comes to this Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The stakes are high and the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Round of 12 standings are tight as the series heads to Alabama. Last season’s Playoff race at the massive 2.66-mile superspeedway had 110 green flag passes for the lead – the most in this event since 2013.

The 2020 season marks the fourth consecutive year Talladega Superspeedway will host the fifth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs (2017-2020) – race No. 31 of the season. Talladega is the third different track to host the fifth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, joining: Charlotte Motor Speedway (from 2004 – 2014) and Kansas Speedway (from 2015 and 2016).

Talladega Superspeedway has participated in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs since its inception into the series in 2004 (Playoff Era 2004-Present). Talladega hosted the third race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs from 2004 – 2005, the fourth race from 2006 – 2008, the seventh race from 2009 – 2010, the sixth race in 2011, the fourth race in 2012 and then back to the sixth race in the postseason from 2013 – 2016. During the 2014-2016 seasons in the ‘elimination style’ Playoff format the sixth race of the Playoffs also served as the cutoff race for the Round of 12.

A total of 12 different drivers have won the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff races at Talladega Superspeedway; six of the 12 are active this weekend. Brad Keselowski (2017, 2014), Clint Bowyer (2010-2011), Jamie McMurray (2009, 2013) and Joey Logano (2015-2016) lead the series in Playoff wins at Talladega with two victories each. 

During the Playoff Era (2004-Present), the winner of the Talladega Superspeedway Playoff race has never gone on to win the title in the same season. But twice the Talladega Playoff race winner has finished runner-up in the championship standings at the end of the season: Jeff Gordon (2007) and Joey Logano (2016). 

A total of 12 different drivers have won the NASCAR Cup Series fifth race in the Playoffs; eight of the 12 are active this weekend. Hendrick Motorsport’s driverJimmie Johnson leads the series in wins during the fifth race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with three victories (2004, 2005, 2009 – all at Charlotte Motor Speedway).

Twice the winner of the fifth race in the Playoffs has gone on to win the title later that season; both happened at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 2009, Jimmie Johnson won the fifth race in the Playoffs from the pole at Charlotte and then went on to win his fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title – it was his third of four wins in the 2009 postseason. Then in 2014, Kevin Harvick won the fifth race in the Playoffs from the seventh starting position at Charlotte Motor Speedway and went on to win his first career NASCAR Cup Series title – it was his first of three wins during the 2014 postseason.

The worst finish in a Playoff race at Talladega by a driver that went on to win the title that same season was 24th by Jimmie Johnson in 2006. Last season’s champ, Kyle Busch finished 19th in the fifth race of the 2019 Playoffs at Talladega.

Five times a non-Playoff driver has won the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway – the most of any Playoff track:

  • In 2005, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett won the Playoff race at Talladega; he was 14th in points.
  • In 2006, Brian Vickers won the Playoff race at Talladega; he was 16th in points.
  • In 2009, Jamie McMurray won the Playoff race at Talladega; he was 22nd in points.
  • In 2011, Clint Bowyer won the Playoff race at Talladega; he was 13th in points.
  • In 2013, Jamie McMurray won the Playoff race at Talladega; he was 14th in points.

Twice a non-Playoff driver has won the fifth race in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff:

  • In 2010, Jamie McMurray won the fifth race in the Playoffs at Charlotte; he was 14th in points.
  • In 2013, Brad Keselowski won the fifth race in Playoffs at Charlotte; he was 16th in points.

In total Talladega Superspeedway has hosted 102 NASCAR Cup Series races, 16 of the which have been Playoff events. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway was held on Sept. 14, 1969 and won by Richard Brickhouse driving a Dodge for car owner Ray Nichels. The 102 series races at the high-banked superspeedway has produced 44 different pole winners and 49 different race winners – 12 of the 49 race winners are active this weekend. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in victories at Talladega with 10 wins (1983, 1984, 1990 sweep, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999 sweep and 2000). Playoff contender Brad Keselowski leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers at Talladega with five wins (2009, 2012, 2014 Playoff race, 2016, 2017 Playoff race); followed by his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano with three wins (2015 Playoff race, 2016 Playoff race and 2018). The youngest series winner at Talladega is Bobby Hillin Jr (07/27/1986) at the age of 22 years, 1 month, 22 days and the oldest series winner is Harry Gant (05/06/1991) at the age of 51 years, 3 months, 26 days.

Trying to Advance: Playoff race No. 5 clinch scenarios

The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs have reached the halfway point this weekend with the fifth race in the postseason – the YellaWood 500 – this Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Heading into this Playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway only one of the 12 postseason challengers (Kurt Busch) has clinched a spot in the Round of 8, leaving seven spots still up for grabs with two races to go (Talladega and the Charlotte Roval).

Already Clinched

The following driver has clinched a spot in the 8-driver field of the next round: Kurt Busch.

Can clinch via Points

If there is a new winner, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the 6th winless driver in the standings.

o   Kevin Harvick: Would clinch with 52 points

o   Denny Hamlin: Would clinch with 54 points

o   Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Joey Logano: Could only clinch with help

If there is a repeat winner, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the 7th winless driver in the standings.  They would also clinch if there was a new winner among Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano or Chase Elliott and being 56 points above the 6th winless driver in the standings.

o   Kevin Harvick: Would clinch with 48 points

o   Denny Hamlin: Would clinch with 51 points

o   Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Chase Elliott: Could only clinch with help

o   Alex Bowman: Could only clinch with help (and cannot clinch if Joey Logano or Chase Elliott win)

Can clinch via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

o   Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon 

  • Next Race: Ag-Pro 300
  • The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
  • The Date: Saturday, October 3
  • The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBCSN, 4 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 300.58 miles (113 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 113)

Briscoe becomes Round of 8 bound as ‘Dega looms

The NASCAR Xfinity Series returned to Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend, where Chase Briscoe was victorious, once again, and clinched his spot in the Round of 8 of the Playoffs.

Briscoe’s win marked the eighth of the season for him and the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team. Briscoe is the eighth different driver in series history to win eight or more races in a single season, and to boot, it is the second time this season that he won back-to-back races. He also swept the Las Vegas Motor Speedway race weekends in 2020, winning back in February too.

Briscoe’s dominance as not been surprising though, as he and his Ford teammate Austin Cindric, have won a large portion of the races (13) this season.

This weekend, the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the Ag-Pro 300 (4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on Saturday, October 3 to kick off a string of “Wild Card” races to end the season.

Expecting the unexpected is part of the game when racing at Talladega but Briscoe gets to head into the race weekend with a little less worry than the rest of the Playoff field fighting to make it to the next round.

Another driver looking forward to this weekend at Talladega is, Justin Haley, driver of the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, the Playoff contender won at the Alabama track earlier this season. His Kaulig Racing teammate Ross Chastain finished behind him in second.

Cindric finished fourth earlier this season at Talladega and Noah Gragson finished 10th. The four of them were the only current Playoff drivers to finish in the top 10.

Taking a closer look at Talladega

Going through past NASCAR Xfinity Series performances at the track, it is no wonder so many competitors call this event a ‘wildcard’. Talladega Superspeedway is unlike anything else the series competes on.

The giant raceway is a 2.66-mile high-banked paved track located in Talladega, Alabama. The track has 33 degrees of banking in corners with 16.5 degrees of banking on the frontstretch and two degrees of banking on the backstretch. The frontstretch is 4,300 feet and the backstretch is 4,000 feet.

Talladega has hosted 29 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts dating back inaugural event on July25, 1992. The first Xfinity race at Talladega was by Ernie Irvan in the No. 4 Chevrolet that he owned. The 29 Xfinity races at Talladega have produced 21 different pole winners and 24 different race winners. Martin Truex Jr. leads the series in wins at the track with three victories and Joe Nemechek leads the series in poles with five. Nemechek is also tied with Joey Logano for the most top fives (seven) and Nemechek holds the record for the most top 10s (nine).

NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin holds the Xfinity Series race record at the track at 168.937 mph on April 26, 1997.

Three times in series history the race winner has only led one lap, most recently in 2018 when Spencer Gallagher won.

Chevrolet has the most wins by a manufacturer with 16 and Joe Gibbs has the most wins as a car owners with five.

Only two of 28 races have been won from the pole (1998, 2008).

This weekend’s race will be 300.58 miles and 113 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 25 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 50. Chase Briscoe will lead the field to green with Gragson joining him on the front row.

Clinch Scenarios: Getting wild at ‘Dega

With two races left in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Round of 12, Chase Briscoe is the only driver as of now that has clinched a spot in the eight-driver field of the next round of the Xfinity Series Playoffs, leaving seven spots still up for grabs.

Can clinch via Points

If there is a new winner, the following drivers can clinch by being 56 points above the sixth winless driver in the standings.

  •  Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley
  • Brandon Jones: Could only clinch with help

If there is a repeat winner, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points about the seventh winless driver in the standings. They would also clinch if there was a new winner among Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Brandon Jones, or Ryan Sieg and being 56 points above the sixth winless driver in the standings.

  • Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Brandon Jones
  • Ryan Sieg: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:

  • Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton, Ross Chastain, Michael Annett, Riley Herbst, and Brandon Brown
  • Next Race: Chevrolet Silverado 250
  • The Place: Talladega Superspeedway
  • The Date: Saturday, October 4
  • The Time: 1 p.m. ET
  • TV: FS1, 12 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • Distance: 250.04 miles (94 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 94)

Elimination approaches at Talladega

Hattori Racing Enterprises’ Austin Hill rebounded last Friday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, using a final restart in the World of Westgate 200 to earn his first Playoff win of 2020. Hill started 11th and after a rough weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway prior, his eyes were on a win in Sin City.

Hill won this race last season, too, so he had that momentum on his side. Hill bested Sheldon Creed, who led a race-best 89 of 134 laps but ended up finishing runner-up.

Tanner Gray had a career night, finishing third, followed by Stewart Friesen and Chandler Smith. Playoff drivers Grant Enfinger, Zane Smith, Christian Eckes, Matt Crafton and Tyler Ankrum rounded out the top 10.

As far as the rest of the Playoff contenders go, Todd Gilliland finished 13th, Brett Moffitt was 15th and Ben Rhodes finished 23rd.

The Chevrolet Silverado 250 on Saturday (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be the final Round of 10 race, giving drivers one last chance to clinch their spot in the next round.

Saturday’s race will be 250.04 miles and 94 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 20 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 40.

Creed will lead the field to green with Hill joining him on the front row.

Clinch scenarios: ‘Dega drama

With Talladega as this season’s Round of 10 cutoff race, only Austin Hill has officially clinched a spot in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs with his win last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Keep in mind, non-Playoff driver Sam Mayer took the checkered in Bristol as a result seven spots are still available.

Can clinch via Points

If there is a new winner, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the seventh winless driver in the standings

  • Sheldon Creed: Would clinch with 10 points
  • Brett Moffitt: Would clinch with 18 points
  • Zane Smith: Would clinch with 23 points
  • Grant Enfinger: Would clinch with 31 points
  • Tyler Ankrum and Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 47 points
  • Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes and Todd Gilliland: Could only clinch with help

If there is a repeat winner, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the eighth winless driver in the standings. They would also clinch if there was a new winner among Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton or Christian Eckes and being ahead of the seventh winless driver in the standings.

  • Sheldon Creed: Would clinch with three points
  • Brett Moffitt: Would clinch with 12 points
  • Zane Smith: Would clinch with 17 points
  • Grant Enfinger: Would clinch with 25 points
  • Tyler Ankrum and Matt Crafton: Would clinch with 41 points
  • Christian Eckes: Would clinch with 50 points
  • Ben Rhodes and Todd Gilliland: Could only clinch with help

Can clinch via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone.

  • Sheldon Creed, Brett Moffitt, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger, Tyler Ankrum, Matt Crafton, Christian Eckes, Ben Rhodes and Todd Gilliland

Cobb planning double duty weekend

Jennifer Jo Cobb is gearing up for a busy weekend of racing ahead. Cobb will run the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway before heading to Blytheville, Arkansas for some land speed racing at the East Coast Timing Association’s Horsepower Harvest event. Cobb is celebrating her 10th full-time season as the only female driver/owner in any of the top three series. Cobb will run the No. 10 Fastener Supply Company Silverado on Saturday. On Friday, in Arkansas, she will pilot the 2018 Attends Ford Fusion, a former NASCAR stock car, for Aaron Brown’s The Garage Shop. She hopes to set the record for the fastest woman ever in a NASCAR stock car at any event.

Gus Dean return to Gander Trucks with Hill Motorsports

Gus Dean will return to the Gander Trucks this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, the scene and the site of his 2016 ARCA Menards Series victory. MASHONIT Apparel Co. will be on track with Dean. He will also proudly honor officer Corey Whelihan. His badge will be showcased on the No. 56 Chevrolet Silverado and his name will be above the passenger door.

source – NASCAR communications

This function has been disabled for CheckersToWreckers.com.