NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Will Rise Up in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega?
What may be the tense weekend of the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs lies ahead from Talladega. The YellaWood 500 has the chance to put its winner within arm’s reach of the Bill France Cup, and give them two extra weeks of preparation. Who can win big in the nerve-inducing Alabama marathon? Here are a few drivers to keep watch for in Sunday’s YellaWood 500.
Ryan Blaney
The defending YellaWood 500 winner, Ryan Blaney may just be Talladega’s best active driver. Last October was the Penske’s driver’s third Talladega triumph, and began a path leading him to the 2023 Cup. Ryan Blaney has been far from a slouch on superspeedways this year too. The 12 has a pair of podium finishes between both Atlanta dates, including third just four weeks ago.
“Obviously stage points are really important,” Blaney said. “But you know, with the fuel mileage game there now, it’s always tricky with how you approach that. We’ll try and get some stage points, try and cycle, but the intensity level’s still high through the whole race. Everyone’s trying to position themselves up near the front at any part of the race. I don’t think the playoff race intensity goes down when guys try to save, that’s just not really something you can do anymore. It’s just so hard to go from the back to the front at this place. I still think it’s going to be exciting to watch like every Talladega race. Hopefully it gets kind of active with three lanes there. It’s kind of been tough to get three lanes, just because the track’s so big. Handling is not a big deal there, but I think it’ll be exciting as usual.”
Blaney enters Talladega second on the Playoff grid, 28 points clear of the cut line. Expect all three Penske cars to find each other at some point Sunday. Blaney is one of three Fords tied as the co-favorite for victory lane as well. If the Mustang trio can remain rolling into the closing laps, they may stay unbeaten just like Atlanta in September.
Chase Elliott
Much like the heyday of Jr Nation two decades ago, Chase Elliott heads south as the crowd favorite with great odds too. The two-time Talladega winner most recently took this race two years ago, just edging ahead of Ryan Blaney at the line. Elliott is well aware that no past success translates to anything Sunday though. He will have to find a groove and maintain a cautious balance with a precarious Playoff position.
“Talladega, whichever round it falls in every year, is always unpredictable,” Elliott said. “You just don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot out of your hands in that race.”
The Napa No. 9 Chevrolet did maintain ground as a top eight driver in Kansas, with a quiet ninth-place day. The next two weeks provide ample opportunity for the Georgia native to break back into victory lane, with two of his best tracks. Elliott cannot afford to wreck out of Talladega though. He must weigh the options of going for a checkered flag and chasing points.
Joey Logano
Perhaps the modern era’s superspeedway Pied Piper, Joey Logano hopes to remain undefeated this weekend. The Penske No. 22 won the most recent drafting race in Atlanta last month, and eyes a Round of 8 berth with another victory.
Logano is far from a stranger to Talladega success, he has three past wins including two fall race trophies. With their speed deficit shown all year, the great draft equalizer may just be Logano’s last chance at making the elite eight.
Kyle Busch
One may be impressed to learn that the best superspeedway average running position in the Next Gen era belongs to Kyle Busch (12.6). The No. 8 Chevrolet won at Talladega last spring, and has laps led in each start here over the last two years. Busch’s veteran experience knows that some of the most psychologically draining time of the year lies ahead in Sunday’s 500 miles.
“I would say the racing at Daytona and Talladega is more mentally taxing than physically demanding,” Busch said. “The mental aspect of just sometimes riding in line, saving fuel, and how much you’re paying attention to everything going on around you while trying to make sure that you’re making the right moves to get yourself in a position to strategically get stage points and a great finish on the day.”
Can Kyle Busch extend his consecutive winning seasons record to 20 years? The answer is yes, but a lot of outside factors will have to fall in his favor. Busch was 33 laps away from making that dream a reality in Kansas, and he’s lost a pair of superspeedways by the slimmest of margins this year. Talladega may be a prime opportunity for this RCR team to taste the highs of winning once again.
Austin Cindric
If anyone in the Playoffs has Talladega circled as just about a must-win, it’s Austin Cindric. The Penske deuce has led laps in each superspeedway start this season, including 92 from Atlanta last month. Another lightning-quick Ford from the Penske stable, Cindric is walking into Talladega confident of another banner day.
“I think the speed in our Fords have been really good at speedway events,” Cindric said. “I feel like a superspeedway win for our company’s been kind of a long time coming this year, with that kind of showing from start to finish in the season. So yeah I have a lot of confidence whether if it’s in myself and my teammates to and and the guys back at the shop to build those racecars and be able to execute that well.”
If not for a prolonged final pit stop, Cindric would have been with his two teammates deciding the Atlanta win amongst themselves. This error was the only blip on an otherwise stellar Sunday for the 2 crew. Should Cindric be anywhere near the front of the train late this time, a Round of 8 upset for the ages may come from his hands.
William Byron
With a pair of wins at both Daytona and Atlanta, William Byron only has Talladega left to complete the superspeedway trifecta. Driver 24 has been close to an Alabama trophy before, being second in this race one year ago. Byron boasts an active streak of three-straight Talladega top-10s, also with laps led in four of the last five races here. Following a strong day at Kansas, Byron is brimming with excitement at continuing the hot run in Talladega.
“It’s a good feeling knowing how many points we got in Kansas before heading into Talladega this weekend, but we can’t relax any just because of that,” Byron said. “It’s the Playoffs so every point is going to matter even more. Talladega is a track we’ve always run well at. It’s a superspeedway that handling is a bigger factor than it is at say Daytona. It’s still a place where anything can happen though. Hopefully we can have another solid points day and be sitting in a really good spot heading into the Roval.”
Kansas saw a return to early season dominant form for Byron, ending with a runner-up result. A win is far from needed at this point for the 24, but team morale would skyrocket with another trip to victory lane. Talladega has begun late season surges to the championship. Points leader Byron hopes history repeats itself with team 24.
Sunday could see a performance that builds a championship foundation, or may just as easily see one team’s season come crashing down. Don’t miss a lap of the heart-pounding action, with the green flag scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The YellaWood 500 is never short on tempers, tension, and trepidation across the entire field.
Written by Peter Stratta
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