Talladega Preview

Background

The NASCAR Cup Series is set to take on the treacherous Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. With “the big one” remaining imminent, we are sure to see some tempers rise, bad blocks, and close finishes. Last year it was Kyle Busch taking the checkered flag in this race, his 2nd for RCR, but this year seems to have a different story.

So far in the season the Hendrick cars have been outright dominating, winning 5/9 races so far in the season and if they aren’t winning, they have been up front contending for the lead at some point. In the only other superspeedway race this year, Hendrick finished 1-2 with William Byron taking the win. 

Chevy in general has also seemed to be great as a whole. Atlanta, which runs the superspeedway package, was won by Daniel Suarez in a Chevy in that iconic three wide finish which included another Chevy, Kyle Busch. I fully expect Chevy to come into this weekend feeling good about their speed and could likely win at least the first two stages.

Drivers to Watch

Hendrick Cars -

Rather than listing all of the Hendrick drivers and making a case, it’s easier to put them as one. In equal cars, they all share similar speeds and skill on these kinds of tracks. While Larson may be the worst of the bunch, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the 5 in victory lane. Byron, as mentioned before, won the Daytona 500 this year and finished top 10 in both Talladega races last year which includes a 2nd place finish. Chase Elliott is coming off a big win snapping a nearly 2-year long winless streak and that momentum will carry to a track he has typically run up-front at and has a 2019 win at. Alex Bowman is the most consistent of the bunch at these tracks and will probably take the lead at some point. 

Ryan Blaney -

It's hard to talk about Talladega without mentioning Ryan Blaney. He is the reigning Talladega winner with his playoff win there last year. Outside of this he has two other wins at this very track with both having a difference of 0.007 seconds from him and 2nd place. A lot of those on X have called to attention that those Blaney has beaten by an inch in his 3 Dega wins are all guys that would’ve been cool to see win with them being Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Kevin Harvick. So keep note if Blaney is running 2nd to someone with a good story to win.

Christopher Bell -

For some reason, Bell has figured out how to be crazy fast in superspeedway races, but he throws them away with a bonehead move more than often. He finished 3rd in the Daytona 500, but limited success on a superspeedway outside of that. I would look for Bell with speed, but don’t expect a great finish from him.

Corey Lajoie -

Corey is about the exact opposite from that description of Bell. Very rarely will you see Lajoie running up front early in the race, instead he chooses to lay back until the end of the race. At the end he strikes and makes up any position he can. Although he faces criticism for racing over his head whenever he does make it to the front and facing a bad year compared to his teammates, I think Corey could turn it around here considering in the last two typical superspeedway races (Talladega and Daytona) he’s finished in the top 5.

Pick to Win

The belly of the beast is that this is an impossible race to predict. Any prediction is nothing more than a mere guess because of the nature of this racing and never knowing who will be involved in the big one and all cars being in contention with the draft. However, I’m here to do my best at predicting. That said, my pick to win this weekend is Ryan Preece. I haven’t mentioned Ford or SHR at all so far which is always the reason you go for them. I have no stats to back this up with, just a gut feeling. Preece is a smart and experienced driver that knows when to make a move and how to stay awake from wrecks. I think Preece will survive the chaos and end up being in the front when it’s all said and done