Who Can Take a Timely Talladega Chase Triumph?

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NASCAR

Stratta’s Six: Who Can Defy the Odds in the Draft at Talladega?

Sunday has the potential to be the wildest and most unknown day yet in the 2026 NASCAR campaign. As the season begins to wind down, all Chase contenders will have to survive the many mysteries and looming chaos ahead at Talladega Superspeedway. Recent years alone have seen the YellaWood 500 make and break championship-caliber seasons alike. The Alabama high banks prepare to welcome stock car racing’s very best once again. Here are a few drivers who hope to break free of the pack and taste a hard-fought Talladega win.

Ryan Blaney

Can one of the most deft drivers in the draft today seal another victory? Ryan Blaney has tamed Talladega three times before, most recently three years ago en route to the Cup title. On the fringes of competing for another championship, Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford eyes another big day ahead in Alabama.

“We’ll just keep chipping away at it,” Blaney said. “We did a good job [at Phoenix] of getting some good points and finishing well and being in contention to win the race. We’ll just try to do the same thing next week of trying to run well through the stages and find ourselves in a spot to capitalize at the end. It’s better than where we came in, so we just have to keep chipping away at it.”

“I can only speak from my seat. I can’t speak from the people who are in other spots. Whether they’re first, second in points or whatever of trying to protect as opposed to those of us who are trying to gain. I have just tried to approach these speedways as big opportunities and not trying to think about ‘this could be an awful day or not.’ Just try to go control the race and lead laps and have a good day. I do think there’s a little bit of mindsets there that could be different.”

“I always look at and I only say this because I’m a Buckeye and Ohio State did this with Texas earlier this year. They got up early and then they started to protecting that second half and Texas came back and won. You play different when you’re protecting, but I don’t think our mindset changes, at least from this 12 team of you’re always kind of on attack mode, whether you’re 85 points behind like we [we]re or 85 points ahead. You always just go try to do the best job that you can and I think that’s the best way. Just try not to defer from what you usually try to do in your job from each weekend.”

Blaney, now a six-time drafting winner between all three speedways, enters Sunday as the YellaWood 500 favorite. This comes in spite of only being as high as 20th since last winning here in 2023. That same span has seen the 12 crash out three times. In short, Blaney is literally checkers or wreckers when it comes to Talladega. Heading to The Heart of Dixie 40 points out of the Chase lead in fifth, Blaney could see a major course correction day for his championship chances.

Carson Hocevar

From one Talladega darling to another, Carson Hocevar’s viral celebration after his first Cup triumph will live on for years. April saw the Spire Motorsports driver edge ahead of Chris Buescher on the last lap for his breakthrough victory. Now sixth months removed from this memorable feat, Hocevar has a chance to match his childhood hero with a Talladega season sweep.

“Obviously, I’m looking forward to it,” Hocevar said. “I already enjoyed going to Talladega, but coming back after winning will be a really fun experience. That was a big moment for Spire Motorsports, so I know there are a lot of people excited for us to head back there. Dale Jr., was my favorite driver as a kid, and he swept the races in 2002. It would be really cool if I could join him on that list.”

“I love superspeedway racing. From my seat, it’s the most fun we have in the sport. I enjoy the fact you don’t have to worry about car speed. You either get awarded for making a good decision, or you make a bad decision and you go backwards. You aren’t dictated off handling or downforce numbers. It is really methodical racing.”

“I don’t know. I’ll probably not run into the wall again for multiple reasons… I don’t want the win taken away this time. But I don’t know. I hope to do it again. I hope the crowd gets as loud. It would be a lot of fun. I don’t know if anybody has done it since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it in [2002], I think. But yeah, so that would be really cool for me, obviously. We tend to run really well at the superspeedways, and I enjoy those probably the most. Being an Earnhardt fan, both Jr. and Sr., obviously they were really good at those. So it’s fun to at least just have one in the column right now.”

Hocevar and drafting races have been a very successful pairing in 2026. The No. 77 was leading on the last lap of the Daytona 500, earned a pair of top-fives in Atlanta, won Talladega, and wrecked going for second late at Daytona in August. The 77 also looks to extend an active streak of three straight Talladega top-10s. With five standout superspeedway showings already this season, there’s little reason to believe Hocevar won’t be up front again at Talladega.

Tyler Reddick

Another superspeedway savant in 2026 has been Tyler Reddick, who opened the year 2-0 between Daytona and Atlanta. However, 23XI Racing’s No. 45 Toyota almost went six months between victories after their hot start to the year. Reddick finally won again in Phoenix last week, vaulting himself up to seventh in points. Reddick also found Talladega victory lane in the not-so-distant past, showing his superspeedway prowess. Reigniting title dreams for team 45, can Reddick’s path back to the top advance again in Talladega?

“We’ll have to sort it out at the end of the stages,” Reddick said. “We’ll do our best to try and populate at the front as best we can. I think for us, week to week primarily still just focus on trying to win races. If we can have a calm Talladega, get stage points, finish with a car in one piece, I think we’ll have another good points day. Then it will fall to Martinsville.”

“Yeah, it’s still one week at a time. I feel like we did that at the beginning of the year. That won’t change. We’ll just take it one race at a time and try to make the most of each day. Yeah, Talladega is going to paint the picture of where things are going to be. I’d say either way, whether Talladega goes good or Talladega goes really bad, how we approach and show up to Martinsville is going to be the same. We’re going to go in that race with a very big emphasis on being better than we’ve been in the past. Then yeah, whether we’re in it or not when we go to Homestead, same thing. Hopefully we have a smooth Talladega and get even closer. I think we’re going to take one race at a time and get the most out of each day.”

Now seventh in standings and 56 points off the lead, Reddick’s title bid has a lifeline. To keep his chances alive, though, Reddick must find a way to close this gap more at Talladega. In the four races since his win here, the 45 has only seen one top-10 and one 30-point day. Finishing outside of the top-20 may derail Reddick’s championship aspirations just as soon as they were reignited last week. Combined with Reddick’s weak track at Martinsville on the horizon, Talladega is a must-perform race for team 45.

Joey Logano

One of Talladega’s winningest active drivers, Joey Logano wants a fourth Alabama trophy. Team Penske’s No. 22 Ford is always a menace to the competition here, but hasn’t seen victory lane in nearly a decade. Logano ended similar droughts this year at both Richmond and Bristol, though. This proved team 22’s uncanny ability to shine through anywhere. Coming off a quietly great Phoenix race, the wind could be at Logano’s back for another strong day at Talladega.

“We’re more optimistic than we were coming in,” Logano said. “So I kind of thought if we can be 60 out, we’ll probably be in decent shape, and I think we’re 40-something out [44]. So overall, it was a solid day.”

Logano scored 51 points at Phoenix thanks to sweeping both stages and finishing sixth. This high water mark for the 22 team since winning Bristol now has them sixth in the championship. Logano has laps led in 14 of his last 15 trips to Talladega, but only two top-10s in that time. Next Gen Talladega has been even more deceiving for Logano, with a best finish of 16th. Crashes have derailed Logano in two of the last four Talladega races, despite always being a strong contender. Dating back to 2024, Logano is the only driver with over 60% of his laps at drafting tracks ran inside the top-10. The 22 will likely be up front at some point on Sunday, but they have to prioritize finishing there too.

Kyle Larson

Already a two-time Cup champion and one of motorsports’ greatest talents today, there’s not much Kyle Larson hasn’t accomplished. The current Cup Series points leader still remains 0-58 across his career at drafting tracks. However, Talladega’s fall race in particular has seen Larson come close to changing that stat. Trying to put a pitiful Phoenix race behind them, the Hendrick No. 5 crew hopes to rebound at Talladega.

“Talladega, like any superspeedway race, is challenging because there are so many things that can happen outside of your control,” Larson said. “Focusing on what you can control is always an important part of racing at those tracks. As a Chevrolet group, I think we work really well together. We’ve continued to improve how we work together, and I think we’re in a good place.”

Back-to-back Talladega top-fives for Larson led into last fall, where the 5 was leading on the last lap. Running out of fuel, however, Larson coasted across the line in 26th that day. Last Sunday in Phoenix for the 5 was arguably their worst race weekend of the year. Larson now looks to regain championship control at the track with minimal control. Larson finally winning a superspeedway race is bound to happen eventually, why not this time around at Talladega?

Austin Cindric

Can Austin Cindric put an exclamation point on a career-best Chase run with a Talladega win? Team Penske’s No. 2 Ford won the 2025 spring race here, and has been a contender in nearly every start. Cindric owns the win, two top-fives, four top-10s, and 69 laps led in only nine trips to Talladega.

Currently sitting eighth in the championship, this would be a new best-ever points finish for Cindric if he merely maintains his spot. Talladega is a prime opportunity for Cindric to add a win onto what may be a career year. The 2 was leading this race late two years ago before being wrecked out, further proving his superspeedway skills. Can one of the best Next Gen drafters continue his late-season surge with another Talladega trophy?

Further proving just how wild and unknown Talladega is, the last 12 races here have seen 12 different winners. That list includes four of the drivers mentioned above; can Talladega see a lucky 13th new face in victory lane? A tweaked rules package may throw all teams for a loop too. The YellaWood 500 goes green Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Falling the latest it’s ever been in The Chase, Talladega could see the biggest impact of any race so far on the championship trail.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Chris Graythen/Getty Images