The NASCAR Xfinity Series next stop on the schedule is at Talladega Superspeedway for the MoneyLion 300 (Saturday, April 27 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) which presents a new chapter for all the championship contenders. For the first time this season there are no former Talladega winners or pole-winners entered in the race.
Add to that the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus is up for grabs between four of the series hottest drivers – Cole Custer, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier and reigning series champ Tyler Reddick – and this weekend’s 300-miler on the series’ fastest track couldn’t be more wide-open. The highest finisher among those drivers earns the $100,000 check from Xfinity and qualifies for next week’s Dash 4 Cash. In addition, the highest top-three championship contending Xfinity finishers this week at Talladega will also qualify to compete for the big check next week at Dover International Speedway.
Among those talented drivers, Allgaier, in particular, is eyeing this race to get back in Victory Lane. The veteran is on a remarkable run of six consecutive top-10 finishes at Talladega – including a runner-up showing in 2016 and a third-place finish last year. His average finish (10.0) is tops among those with more than one start Talladega and the worst he’s finished since 2011 is eighth (twice). Currently fifth in the championship – 87 points behind leader Reddick. Only two-time race winners Cole Custer (227 laps) and Christopher Bell (428 laps) have led more than Allgaier’s 224 laps this season.
Not only will the JR Motorsports driver Allgaier be a car to watch, Jeffrey Earnhardt will be back behind the wheel of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota this week. Earnhardt, the grandson of the late 10-time Talladega Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series winner Dale Earnhardt, was a major storyline in the series’ first superspeedway race in Daytona Beach in February. He started on the outside pole at Daytona and led a career best 29 laps in the perennial contending JGR No. 18. This will be Earnhardt’s first start for JGR since Texas last month and first Talladega start since a career best 12th-place finish there running a part-time schedule for a different team in 2015.
Championship leader Tyler Reddick is still looking for his first victory as well and Talladega has traditionally been a positive place for him. He finished eighth last year in the Xfinity race and has two top-five finishes in three starts in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series, winning the pole position in his first ever race (2014) at the superspeedway.
Source: Holly Cain | NASCAR Wire Service
