After spending a weekend at NASCAR’s shortest track in Martinsville, they’ll head to the largest, Talladega Superspeedway! The 2.66-mile track has featured some of the most legendary races and most legendary fan reactions in history. From the dominance of Dale Earnhardt Jr to Jeff Gordon edging him out to a victory in 2005.
Lately, there has been no dominant victor at Dega. The last back-to-back victor was Ryan Blaney in 2019 and 2020. Also, a two-time winner will be making just his third start this season after breaking his leg in the #9 car Chase Elliott. So, there’ll be a ton of variety in this plate race, and it’ll be decided by drivers who play nice with their teammates, and end up in the right place at the right time.
Just like last week, I’ll give you five drivers I’m looking out for this week at Talladega Superspeedway. Although I wouldn’t take a whole lot to the bank on this. A track as crazy as this could be anybody’s game. But I think I have some decent reasons for my picks. So, without further delay…
#6 Brad Keselowski
Keselowski burned me last week with a 24th-place finish at Martinsville. But I’m willing to give him another chance here at Dega. He’s got six wins at the superspeedway, and the RFK Racing team is excellent at these plate races. Keselowski almost picked up a win at Atlanta but was narrowly outrun by #22 Joey Logano. I think Keselowski is due for a win, and this could be just the spot to do it if he runs hard as he did back in Georgia.
#9: Chase Elliott
I hate to double dip in the favorites pile, but this will be a real test for Chase Elliott and how recovered he really is from that broken leg. The #9 has recorded two wins here at Dega, including last year. Last week at Martinsville he squeaked into the top 10 after running mid-20s for most of the race. Talladega should free him up a little bit and allow him to get comfortable and find space and do what he does best. As I said, I hate to double dip. Especially since I already did with Keselowski, but those two guys are so good here that you can’t ignore it.
#22 Joey Logano
Speaking of the #22, Logano has been more than good this season. He won the last big plate race as we mentioned a handful of races ago in Atlanta. And battled all the way from the back at Martinsville to finish in second place behind a surprising victor Kyle Larson. Logano has three career wins here at Talladega Superspeedway, and I’d be shocked if he wasn’t at least in the running at some point in the race. I won’t say he’s a lock, because this race can get messy, but he’s as close as it gets.
#23 Bubba Wallace Jr
Things haven’t been great for Wallace this season. It’s been a frustrating grind to stay competitive. But Martinsville was a solid turnaround for him. He finished in the top 10 for the first time this season and picked up some nice stage points in the first. Wallace also has a Talladega win under his belt back in 2021. Plus, he usually finishes inside the top 15 at superspeedways in general. It hasn’t been easy for the #23 team this year, but Wallace had a good weekend last time out, maybe he can build on some momentum here and pull a rabbit out of the hat at Talladega.
#48 Alex Bowman
Alex Bowman is still waiting on his first win this season. He’s come close in some races, in others he’s fallen behind late but still scraped a respectable position out. But Talladega Superspeedway could be the track it gets done. Why? Well, to start he’s done okay at this track with eight career top 10s, finishing fifth in last year’s February race. Secondly, he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Edging out wins and taking advantage of other people’s mistakes or mishaps late in races. He’s avoided big crashes this year, stayed out of pit trouble, and has been a solid all-around driver this year.
If something goes wrong at the top, look at the #48 car to make some magic happen and push for the first-place finish. You need a little dumb luck to win at Talladega, and my favorite driver in the Cup Series is almost known for being an elite opportunist.
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