FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: TALLADEGA PLAYOFF NOTES
Three events over the course of two days are scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway with all three of NASCAR’s top series conducting playoff races. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series will run a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon with the NASCAR Cup Series set for a Sunday afternoon green flag.
This Week’s Schedule:
Saturday, October 1 – NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 12:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, October 1 – NASCAR XFINITY Series, 4 p.m. ET (USA)
Sunday, October 2 – NASCAR Cup Series, 2 p.m. ET (NBC)
ROUND OF 12 NCS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Charlotte)
1st – Joey Logano (+30 above cut line)
5th – Ryan Blaney (+15)
9th – Chase Briscoe (-4 below cut line)
10th – Austin Cindric (-11)
FORD IN THE NASCAR CUP SERIES AT TALLADEGA
· Ford has 31 all-time series wins at Talladega, including 10 of the last 14, and 11 of the last 16.
· Ford has won at least one Talladega Cup race each of the last 10 years.
· Ford has won 10 of the last 14 Cup races at Talladega.
ROUND OF 12 NXS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 8 Advance After Charlotte)
8th – Ryan Sieg (+1 above cut line)
9th – Riley Herbst (-1 below cut line)
FORD IN THE NASCAR XFINITY SERIES AT TALLADEGA
· Ford has 6 series wins at Talladega.
· The first Ford victory in the series was by Chad Little in 1995.
· Six different Ford drivers have series wins at Talladega.
ROUND OF 12 NCWTS PLAYOFF STANDINGS (Top 4 Advance After Homestead)
2nd – Zane Smith (+21 above cut line)
FORD IN THE NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES AT TALLADEGA
· Ford has 1 series wins at Talladega.
· That victory came in the inaugural series race when Mark Martin won in 2006.
TALLADEGA WINNINGEST PLAYOFF TRACK FOR FORD
No track has been more successful for Ford in the playoff era than Talladega Superspeedway, which has produced nine wins since the postseason format was established in 2004. Here is a list of Ford drivers who have won a playoff race at Talladega: Dale Jarrett (2005); Jamie McMurray (2009); Matt Kenseth (2012); Brad Keselowski (2014 and 2017); Joey Logano (2015 and 2016); Aric Almirola (2018); Ryan Blaney (2019). Second on the list is Homestead and Kansas with seven each.
TEAM PENSKE ROLLING AT TALLADEGA
Team Penske has won 9 of the last 16 NCS races at Talladega Superspeedway. Brad Keselowski started this run by winning in 2014 and registered four victories at the track before joining Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing this season. Joey Logano won in back-to-back seasons (2015-16) while Ryan Blaney has followed suit, winning twice in the last three years at Talladega.
TEAM PENSKE WINS AT TALLADEGA SINCE 2014
2014 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 2)
2015 – Joey Logano (Talladega 2)
2016 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 1)
2016 – Joey Logano (Talladega 2)
2017 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 2)
2018 – Joey Logano (Talladega 1)
2019 – Ryan Blaney (Talladega 2)
2020 – Ryan Blaney (Talladega 1)
2021 – Brad Keselowski (Talladega 1)
KESELOWSKI CLIMBING ALL-TIME TALLADEGA WIN LIST
Brad Keselowski is the winningest active driver at Talladega with six NASCAR Cup Series victories and is tied for second on the all-time list with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. The track’s all-time winner is Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won 10 times during his NASCAR Hall of Fame career.
Ford Talladega Highlights:
BAKER PROVIDES MOORE SUCCESS
The first time Ford went to victory lane at Talladega Superspeedway was May 4, 1975 when Buddy Baker, driving for Hall of Fame car owner Bud Moore, held off David Pearson on the final lap. The win was Baker’s ninth career victory and came after he took the lead with 18 laps to go. One of the key decisions in getting Baker to the checkered flag first came when his team opted for two tires on its final pit stop of the day while Pearson and the Wood Brothers decided on gas only. Even though Pearson steadily gained ground on the final lap, Baker was able to hold on by half a car length to win. That started a streak which saw Baker and Moore win three straight Talladega races.
DAVEY ALLISON’S FIRST WIN
Ford has had many milestone moments at Talladega Superspeedway, including the first NASCAR Cup Series win for the late Davey Allison, who won the Winston 500 on May 3, 1987. The race came down to a restart with 10 laps to go in which Allison found himself behind Dale Earnhardt in the outside lane. Earnhardt bolted to the lead when the green flew and Allison tucked in right behind him through turns one and two. As they came off the second corner, Allison went to the inside and easily passed Earnhardt for what proved to be the winning pass. Terry Labonte ended up finishing second with Earnhardt third. Allison went on to win 19 NCS races, including three at Talladega.
ROBERT YATES RACING’S FINAL WIN
When Dale Jarrett won the UAW-Ford 500 on Oct. 2, 2005 it ended up being the final trip to victory lane for Robert Yates Racing. This race came down to a green-white-checker restart, where Jarrett was positioned fourth. He was still in that spot when they came around to start the final lap, but quickly moved to the outside as Tony Stewart grabbed the lead on the inside lane. The two drivers battled side-by-side down the backstretch before Jarrett powered his way in front. Seconds after getting the lead, Kyle Petty was involved in a single-car accident that brought out the caution as the cars entered turn three. Jarrett was declared the winner after NASCAR verified that he was in front at the time the yellow flag was thrown. The win was RYR’s 57th triumph in the NASCAR Cup Series, and came six years after the team won its only championship with Jarrett in 1999.
FORD’S NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT TALLADEGA
1975 – Buddy Baker (Sweep)
1976 – Buddy Baker (1)
1979 – Bobby Allison (1)
1983 – Dale Earnhardt (2)
1985 – Bill Elliott and Cale Yarborough
1987 – Davey Allison and Bill Elliott
1989 – Davey Allison and Terry Labonte
1992 – Davey Allison (1)
1994 – Jimmy Spencer (2)
1995 – Mark Martin (1)
1997 – Mark Martin (1)
1998 – Dale Jarrett (2)
2005 – Dale Jarrett (2)
2009 – Jamie McMurray (2)
2012 – Matt Kenseth (2)
2013 – David Ragan (1)
2014 – Brad Keselowski (2)
2015 – Joey Logano (2)
2016 – Brad Keselowski (1) and Joey Logano (2)
2017 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (1) and Brad Keselowski (2)
2018 – Joey Logano (1) and Aric Almirola (2)
2019 – Ryan Blaney (2)
2020 – Ryan Blaney (1)
2021 – Brad Keselowski (1)
FORD’S NASCAR XFINITY SERIES WINNERS AT TALLADEGA
1995 – Chad Little
1997 – Mark Martin
2002 – Jason Keller
2009 – David Ragan
2015 – Joey Logano
2017 – Aric Almirola
FORD’S NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT TALLADEGA
2006 – Mark Martin
