Talladega II Event Info:
Date: Sunday, Oct. 19
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Lincoln, Alabama
Format: 188 Laps, 500.08 Miles, Stages: 60-120-188
TV: NBC
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 11:30 a.m. ET, Xfinity Qualifying (CW App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 1:30 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 4 p.m. ET, Xfinity Race (CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Race (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
- Talladega hosts its annual fall race date this weekend as the middle race in the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series Playoffs.
- Sam Mayer sits fourth in the playoff standings with 3050 points, +8 points to the cutline, while Sheldon Creed is in sixth place with 3029 points, -21 points below the cutline.
- Mayer (10.7) holds the second highest average finish among full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers this season, behind only Connor Zilisch (7.7).
- Mayer has finished inside the top 10 in five of his previous 10 starts and has tied his career-high with 13 top-five finishes this season (also 2023).
- Mayer (7.4) also has the third highest average starting position among full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers this season, behind Zilisch (5.9) and Justin Allgaier (6.4).
- He has started inside the top 10 in nine of his last 10 starts dating back to his lone pole of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in late July.
- Since the beginning of the Xfinity Series playoffs, Creed has a pair of top-five results at Bristol (2nd) and Kansas (5th), and an average finish of 7.3.
- Cole Custer has led a lap in his last four starts at Talladega Superspeedway dating back to 2021.
Cole Custer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: Sysco RaceTrac
Sheldon Creed Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jonathan Toney
Partner: Road Ranger
Sam Mayer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Jason Trinchere
Partner: Audibel
Custer at Talladega (Cup)
Starts: 7
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
- Custer makes his eighth Cup start at Talladega this weekend, where he has a 19.9 average finish, and finished 13th earlier this year. His lone top-10 finish came in the spring of 2021 when he finished 10th.
- He earned his best career start earlier this spring, P12, and he boasts a 24.3 average starting position.
- Custer has also made six NXS starts at Talladega, including three top-10 finishes.
Creed at Talladega (Xfinity)
Starts: 6
Wins: —
Top-10s: 4
Poles: —
- Creed is set to make his seventh Xfinity start at Talladega on Saturday, where he has four career top-10 finishes. His best finish came in the spring of 2023 when he finished 2nd and led 11 laps.
- He has started inside the top 10 in five of his six career starts at ‘Dega, and he boasts an average starting position of 5.7.
- Earlier this year, Creed started 11th and finished ninth in his Ollie’s Ford even leading nine laps.
Mayer at Talladega (Xfinity)
Starts: 7
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —
- Mayer is in line for his eighth Xfinity start at Talladega this weekend, a track where he has finished in the top 10 one time, a P2 finish in the fall of 2022.
- His best career starting position is 12th, which he has done twice (2021 & 2024), and he holds an average qualifying effort of 16.6.
- Mayer drove from 34th to 14th in the spring race earlier this season at Talladega.
Where They Stand
Cup Points Standings (41: 33rd): Custer is tied for 33rd in the Cup Series points standings with Noah Gragson with 422 points heading into Talladega this Sunday.
Xfinity Points Standings (41: 4th, 00: 6th): Sam Mayer sits fourth in the playoff standings with 3050 points, +8 points to the cutline, while Sheldon Creed is in sixth place with 3029 points, -21 points below the cutline.
