For the second consecutive week, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson holds the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings lead and this Sunday, the 2021 series champion will try to do something he’s never done: win a NASCAR Cup Series race at the iconic Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in the GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Neither Larson nor his closest championship challenger, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. have won on the Talladega high banks, which consistently present a one-of-a-kind challenge for the series’ very best, no matter the pedigree.
Drivers have certainly shared the victory hardware this season with six different winners through the opening nine races. But Talladega is a big opportunity for those still looking to hoist their first trophy in 2024. There have been seven different winners in the last seven races at the 2.66-mile track.
Seven of the nine former Talladega race winners entered this weekend – Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Bubba Wallace – are racing for their first win of the season. Blaney, Keselowski and Logano are also hoping to give Ford its first win of the season.
Busch, driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, is the defending race winner. Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford was runner-up to Busch in this spring race last year then came back in the Fall to claim his third victory at the big track. He’s won races at Talladega in all three of NASCAR’s premier series.
Keselowski, who earned his best finish (runner-up) of the season at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend, has six Talladega wins – most among active drivers. He scored his very first NASCAR Cup Series win here in 2009. His last Talladega win came in 2021. A victory this weekend would be both sentimental and crucial to a championship run for the 2012 series champ.
“Talladega has been a special track for me, and I look forward to going there,” said Keselowski, who is still looking to earn his first victory as an owner-driver for the Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing team.
“I think we will have cars that can compete for the win. There are a lot of peripheral circumstances that would add to how special that would be if we were able to do that. From Mustang’s 60th birthday to where we are as a company to where I am at in my career. So, it would be special to be able to win.”
Fellow Ford driver and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, Blaney, is openly optimistic that Talladega Superspeedway represents a good bet – perhaps the best yet – for a Ford Mustang to be celebrated in Victory Lane. Ford has won four of the last nine races at Talladega, and powered Blaney to his crucial Playoff win last Fall.
“The speedways have been pretty good for the Fords for a while,” said Blaney. “Ever since I’ve been in the Cup Series I feel like we’ve always been super strong and really been able to compete and try to control the race.
“It helps when you have fast cars and Ford has brought fast cars,” Blaney continued, adding, “I thought we were really strong at Daytona and I’m sure Talladega is going to be the same way. We’ll all be really strong so you just hope that you can be there at the end of this race and have a shot to win it. I have no doubt in the speed, it’s just about how you execute and try to get through the day.”
Two opposing motivations are fueling Truex and Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott – both with potentially huge positive ramifications. Truex is 0-for-38 at Talladega and the 2017 series champion is more than ready and capable to put an end to this futility at the big track.
Elliott is a two-time Talladega winner and the Georgia-native is unquestionably the ‘Dega fan favorite. Having earned his first win since 2022 last week at Texas, Elliott would love nothing more than to carry that positive momentum into the weekend. He’s ranked fourth in the driver standings – the highest he’s been ranked since the 2022 season finale.
Qualifying is set for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET (on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin – a two-time Talladega winner – won the pole position for this race last year.
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
