This may be the most exciting and unexpected race of the NASCAR Playoffs. The YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is a fan favorite in the NASCAR universe. Talladega in general is a chaotic race track. It’s plate racing at its best, and this race will surely deliver to be just as chaotic as the last.
In the spring, the #8 car with Kyle Busch found victory lane with drops of fuel left in the tank before taking the checkered flag. It was helped immensely by missing a pit call and the leaders making errors in front of him in the overtime restart.
In 2022, it was #1 Ross Chastain who took the spring, and #9 Chase Elliott taking the fall. Neither of those drivers are in this year’s playoff, but a track like Dega is built for the field, not necessarily the leaders.
Let’s go through the bubble of the NASCAR Playoffs, who’s below the cutline, and who’s just above it. This could be a chaotic race that raises some drivers above, and sink others well below.
#8 Kyle Busch (-17)
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s been a busy week for Kyle Busch. He just recently sold Kyle Busch Motorsports to Spire and now he looks ahead to a wild ride at Talladega. As we mentioned earlier, he won the spring race here in an unconventional manner. It’s an up-and-down track for him, not dissimilar to most other drivers. In 36 races he’s got a pair of wins and six other top-fives. The end of the year hasn’t been kind to Busch, but you can never count out a two-time champion. On a chaotic track like this, he can put himself amongst the leaders or he can bury himself even further. But it shouldn’t take away from a fantastic first year for Richard Childress Racing.
#12 Ryan Blaney (-11)
Embed from Getty ImagesBlaney didn’t get a great car last weekend and he suffered a wreck that took him out of the race, finishing 28th. He came into the round of 12 -6, and now he’s doubled that deficit. At Talladega, the #12 driver has two wins and three top-fives in 18 races. Could be a solid outing for the team so long as Penske gives him a solid ride.
#45 Tyler Reddick (-3)
Embed from Getty ImagesReddick got his win last round at Kansas that locked him into the round of 12, but you gotta have short-term memory in these playoffs. The #45 driver has a road course to look forward to next week at the Roval in Charlotte, but that doesn’t mean he can count out Talladega. Reddick in seven races here hasn’t graced the top five once, so he’ll be better suited to make ground next weekend. But he’ll have his opportunities here.
#23 Bubba Wallace (-2)
Embed from Getty ImagesAs seen in the photo above, Bubba Wallace found a victory here at the NASCAR Playoffs edition of Talladega in 2021. In 11 races, that win represents his only top-five and top-ten entry. In fact, it’s one of the only two wins of his career (the other being at Kansas). The #23 car made it out of the Round of 16 at the hands of a Joey Logano crash, but he won’t be so lucky with the talent of the drivers both ahead and behind him. We’ll see if he can pull a rabbit out of the hat one more time
#5 Kyle Larson (+2)
Embed from Getty ImagesWell, nobody would’ve figured Kyle Larson would be all the way down here on the NASCAR Playoffs standings. A late wreck racing Bubba Wallace (no, it wasn’t Bubba’s fault) has unfortunately put the #5 driver in this position. The 2021 Cup Series champion has yet to post a win at Talladega, in 17 races he has just one finish inside the top five. It may not be smart to hedge your bets here for Larson, but he did have some strong stages here in the spring before wrecking late.
#6 Brad Keselowski (+8)
Embed from Getty ImagesBrad Keselowski has been great as of late in his #6 Mustang. He’s running a streak of five finishes inside the top 10. Netting a P2 finish at the last Superspeedway at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona. Keselowski and his teammate #17 Chris Buescher, who’s also in the playoffs, have developed a strong chemistry as a draft tandem. The duo will be put to use here at Talladega at some point where Keselowski has six wins and four additional finishes inside the top five. Sunday could be a great day for the Rousch-Fenway-Keselowski team, and get the bossman into victory lane for the first time as a team owner.
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