Talladega Superspeedway moves into the Round of 8 in the Cup Series playoffs for the first time Sunday.

The 2.66-mile oval has played host to a playoff race for the past 21 seasons and served as the middle race of the Round of 12 nine times from 2014-24. Talladega was the second-round cutoff race in 2015 and ’16.

With a propensity for producing massive wrecks, victory lane at Talladega always has featured a certain randomness, and the current stretch is one of the most unpredictable since its opening in 1969.

One never knows what surprise Talladega Superspeedway will unleash next.

The past 10 races at Talladega have featured 10 winners, the longest streak without a repeat winner in track history. Only two of current playoff drivers have won in that span (Ryan Blaney in October 2023, Chase Elliott in October 2022).

The winner has led no more than 19 laps in the past nine races at Talladega, and it’s been 10 races since the driver leading the most laps won.

With Last Vegas Motor Speedway winner Denny Hamlin locked into the Championship 4, stage points will be highly coveted among the seven drivers trying to capture one of the three remaining title-eligible berths in the finale at Phoenix Raceway. But stage winners tend to struggle at Talladega — only twice has a Stage 1 winner won the race; a Stage 2 winner has won three times.

AUTO: OCT 12 NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400

Joe White stated on social media that he had been fired a few days after Ty Dillon’s incident with William Byron at Las Vegas.

The track is known for calamity, but there have been only four caution flags in each of the last four races at Talladega. In the April 26 race won by Austin Cindric, the race ended with a 62-lap green-flag run.

Brad Keselowski has a series-high six victories among active drivers at Talladega.

Playoff drivers with wins at Talladega: Ryan Blaney (three), Joey Logano (three), Chase Elliott (two), Hamlin (two)

Here are the playoff standings relative to the cutline with two races remaining in the third round: Kyle Larson plus-35, Christopher Bell plus-20, Chase Briscoe plus-15, William Byron minus-15, Elliott (minus-23), Logano (minus-24) and Blaney (minus-31).

NASCAR Cup Series Hollywood Casino 400 Presented by ESPN BET

Ryan Blaney is last among the playoff drivers, 31 points below the cutline entering Sunday’s race.


Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway

(All times Eastern)

START: The green flag is scheduled to wave at 2:28 p.m.

PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 11 a.m. … The drivers meeting will be at 1:10 p.m. … Driver introductions will be at 1:35 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed at 2:09 p.m. … The command to start engines is scheduled to be given at 2:16 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 188 laps (500.08 miles) on the 2.66-mile oval in Talladega, Alabama.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 60. Stage 2 ends at Lap 120.

PURSE: $9,797,935

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 40 cars entered at Talladega Superspeedway.

TV/RADIO: NBC and Peacock will broadcast the race starting with Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. (click here for information on signing up for Peacock). … Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.

FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Morning rain showers with sunshine in the afternoon. The high will be 75 degrees. There is a 70% chance of rain in the morning. It’s expected to be 74 degrees with an 8% chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.

LAST TIME: Austin Cindric outdueled Ryan Preece by 0.022 seconds to earn a playoff spot with a victory in the April 26 race.

LAST YEAR: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off Brad Keselowski in overtime to win the Oct. 5, 2024 race. Third-place finisher William Byron was the highest-finishing playoff driver.



Read the full article here

Leave A Reply