NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Will Tame the Yellawood 500 at Talladega?
One of the biggest wildcard races of the season lies ahead for NASCAR’s best–Talladega. High-intensity racing inches apart will have everyone on pins and needles for 500 miles on Sunday. Playoff drama is sure to be intense as well, with 11 guys gunning for seven spots. Who are some favorites for the Yellawood 500? Let’s take a look at some of the best drafters today to see which one can outlast competitors in Alabama.
Brad Keselowski
The only driver with four Playoff top-10s, the stars may be aligning for a Brad Keselowski win. The 6 has been a contender in every superspeedway race this season, with four top-10s in five starts. The RFK Racing Ford also has laps led in all five races. Keselowski was a close runner-up in March’s Atlanta race, and pushed teammate Chris Buescher to the Daytona win last month.
“We’re in the hunt with both cars,” Keselowski said. “It’s an exciting time for all of us at RFK. Hopefully we can go to Talladega and repeat what we did there at Daytona this past summer. Looking forward to Talladega, it’s a good track for us, especially coming off the Daytona 1-2 finish. We got great momentum and great processes for being fast on superspeedways. I’m ready to see what we can put together.”
Six career Talladega wins for driver 6 is tied for second-most all time with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Keselowski’s most recent triumph also came at Talladega, two-and-a-half years and 92 starts ago. Nearing 100 races since that last win, Talladega provides Keselowski a prime chance at breaking through into victory lane again. There is ample reason oddsmakers have the 6 listed as the favorite this week.
Denny Hamlin
Never one to be counted out on any superspeedway, Denny Hamlin is going for a Talladega triple. Hamlin most recently won in Alabama three years ago, and was the polesitter in the spring. The 11 has a seven-race stretch of laps led at Talladega. This only further cements Hamlin’s status as one of the best in the draft today. Hamlin is well aware that this history means little once the green flag drops on Sunday though.
“Talladega is just so unpredictable,” Hamlin said. “Everyone wanted to maximize their points at Texas last week because Talladega and the Roval are very iffy. We feel pretty good about the position we’re in, but we still have to go into this week trying to get Stage points. We have to put ourselves in a good position to get another good finish before the Roval.”
Hamlin has been very hit-or-miss on superspeedways in the Next Gen car, with one Talladega top-five in three starts. The Toyota driver enters Sunday in a comfortable points spot 37 above the cut line. As a result, Talladega is far from a must-win for the 11. Hamlin must still survive however if he is to have any shot at the Round of 8.
Ryan Blaney
12 months ago in the fall Talladega race, Ryan Blaney led at the white flag. The Penske No. 12 would only come up short by mere feet to Chase Elliott. Talladega would have been Blaney’s first win of 2022. Fast-forwarding to April, the 12 was in contention again on the last lap. This only ended though with Bubba Wallace spinning off Blaney’s bumper though. Blaney went in-depth describing patience needed and making the right moves to win at Talladega. Choosing the correct positions to tame Talladega is a feat Blaney has done twice before.
“I think you kind of just understand whatever situation you’re in,” Blaney said. “Whether you’re the leader coming down to the end, whether you’re in the top couple rows, if it’s side-by-side. Then I think if you’re 10th on back your mindset changes a little bit. You have to be more aggressive to try to get to the front, but it’s all about positioning. I feel like the last pit stop happens and you have to be in a pretty good position. That’s what we’ve been able to do the last couple races there.”
“I look back at the spring race this year and the fall race last year. We did a really good job in the last Stage of being there and having a good strategy day. We kind of established ourselves up front. Our car is fast enough to where you can lead a lane well or you can push well to try to move a lane. You’re not really doing anything if you’re not in the first three rows of a lane. If you’re the third guy in a lane, you’re helping the second-place guy push the leader of the lane. Those are the only three cars that matter. If you’re fourth on back, your job is just to stay as tight as you can. You don’t want to be shoving on the guy in third and push him through second and first and cause a wreck. You see that all the time, but your sense of urgency definitely changes with wherever you’re at.”
“I’ve always been most comfortable leading these races coming down to the end. It’s harder to defend in this car if you’re the leader, that’s for sure. But trying to find yourself in the first two rows is huge. Yeah, it is hard to be patient. It’s one of those things you have to be understanding of the situation and be patient, if you are in the second row, of not going too soon.”
“Honestly, I look back in the spring and I probably went a little early on the 23 into one. We still had pretty much a whole lap to go. But it’s hard not to take those runs if you have them and try to establish yourself in the lead in case there is a wreck and you want to be leading. It is hard to kind of discipline yourself sometimes when you want to go. But I feel like patience pays off a lot at those racetracks, especially throughout the race. For the first two-thirds of the race patience is huge. Then you get more aggressive at the end but have to pick your spots wisely.”
Fords will be fast and have the numbers to team up Sunday. It may just be a long 500 miles for the competition. Blaney was one bad block away from a win in the spring. He was within eyesight of last year’s Talladega win too. The lone Penske Ford left in the Playoffs should be lights-out quick again in Alabama.
Kyle Busch
The biggest beneficiary of Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace tangling in April was Kyle Busch. In his first Talladega start with Richard Childress Racing, Busch picked up career win number two in Alabama. This was Busch’s first Talladega checkered flag in 15 years. The 8 has been a standout in several superspeedways this season. Busch led laps at the Daytona 500 and earned three more top-10s between Daytona summer and both Atlanta races. Busch is well aware that his April victory was a case of right place and right time paying off. Ideally for Busch, the 8 will only be stronger in their second time around Talladega.
Busch is desperately in need of a strong performance Sunday, falling to 12th in points after an early Texas crash. 17 points below the cut line is not must-win territory. It does however put the RCR 8 on the offense for the next two weeks. It only took Busch leading three laps to win here before. It will be fascinating to see if their strategy changes with this perilous points hole.
Chris Buescher
Few are heading to Talladega with more confidence than Chris Buescher. The RFK Racing No. 17 Ford won the most recent superspeedway race at Daytona, and has been close at Talladega. If Buescher and teammate Brad Keselowski find each other at any point Sunday, passing them may prove to be impossible. This was RFK’s plan in February’s Daytona 500 and how they got a 1-2 result four weeks ago in Florida. Fords are the manufacturer to beat on superspeedways, and RFK appears to be the team to beat as well.
“The way I see it, the superspeedway races always have a certain amount of unpredictability,” Buescher said. “But where I am at is I know RFK will be bringing fast Fords to that race. I know we will be in contention to win it, assuming we can survive the chaos.”
“I think (superspeedway racing) is what is going to make (the Playoffs) maybe a little less stressful for us than some others. That can change in a heartbeat with one bad day before we get to the Roval. But as of right now, I am very excited for this round. I am proud of what everyone has done to get us to this point. I’m also proud to say we will look at the racetracks coming up as opportunities at each and every one of them. I don’t have one coming up that has me stressed out or down about it or thinking we just have to get through it and get to the next one.”
Buescher’s career-best Talladega showing was April’s 3rd-place run. Entering the second race of the Round of 12 third in points, Buescher is poised for another banner day. Should he survive the inevitable carnage, a second-straight superspeedway win could be in the cards for the 17.
Bubba Wallace
The leader at the white flag in April was 2021 fall Talladega winner Bubba Wallace. Heading back to the site of his maiden career triumph, Wallace has maximum momentum. A week ago at Texas, the No. 23 Toyota was on pole and led a career-best 111 laps. Perhaps his best-executed race to date saw Wallace finish third.
Always a threat at both superspeedways, Wallace has led in seven of the last eight Talladega races. Before being wrecked on the last lap, Wallace paced the field for 35 laps five months ago. Wallace did ultimately take blame for that incident that cost him and Blaney the win.
Team 23 heads to Talladega two points below the cut line. Wallace has an excellent chance ahead of him to make up points and potentially take career win number three.
Playoffs aside, Talladega has the potential for a breakthrough surprise winner who few could predict. The Yellawood 500 will go green at 2:00 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. With the tight battle at the Round of 8 cut line currently unfolding, 500 miles on Sunday will be wall-to-wall drama and excitement.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to James Gilbert/Getty Images
