NASCAR Cup Series

Dodging The Talladega Wildcard… Following the opening Round of 12 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) Playoffs race at Dover, Toyota playoff drivers Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. sit third and fourth, respectively in the postseason standings heading into Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Both Busch and Truex need quality finishes to keep themselves in the best position to advance to the Round of 8 after Kansas Speedway next week. Toyota last registered a win at Talladega in 2014 when Denny Hamlin captured a win in the spring event. Busch also earned a Toyota victory at Talladega in 2008.

The two-time Xfinity champion has 10 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) starts at Talladega with an average finishing position of 11.4. In 10 MENCS starts, Stenhouse has scored one win, four top-five and six top-10 finishes and completed 99.1% of the laps.

Bayne will make his 16th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) start at Talladega this weekend. In 15 previous starts, Bayne has an average finish of 26th with three top-10s.

Paul Menard and the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy team head to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend hoping their No. 21 Ford Fusion will be as fast as it was in April when Menard scored a Stage win, led eight laps and was consistently among the front runners before being swept up in a Talladega “Big One” multi-car crash with just over 20 laps left to run.

Regan Smith: “Talladega is one of my favorite places to race at because I enjoy drafting on the speedways.  I’ve had some success at Talladega, so that’s always nice and gives you a little confidence going into the weekend."

Alex Bowman on if the No. 88 team can find success at Talladega: “You are still at the mercy of everybody else’s race and everybody else’s mistakes. I think we can go there and run really well, but you kind of never know. It’s kind of just like hold it to the mat and hang on. Hopefully, we stay out of trouble. We will just have to wait and see.”

Martin Truex Jr. knows all too well about the Talladega Superspeedway saying, “Expect the Unexpected.” His status record in the last four visits to the 2.66-mile tri-oval is marked in red, an ominous motorsports color that indicates a DNF (did not finish).

Since September of 1969, Talladega Superspeedway has been the place for heart-stopping racing entertainment. With the draft keeping drivers tightly together at 200 mph, it is no surprise that the track has earned a name for itself as NASCAR’s Most Competitive track. The 2.66-mile tri-oval boasts several of the sport’s records, including 88 lead changes (twice) and a tie for the closest finish in a points race when Jimmie Johnson beat Clint Bowyer by .002 seconds in the 2011 GEICO 500. The competition is so intense that races at Talladega are often considered unpredictable as the mammoth track has produced its share of the most unexpected winners, and a few crazy “Big One” incidents along the way.

Talladega Preview: The Series returns to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s 500-mile race around the 2.5-mile track. In 25 starts at Talladega, Hamlin has secured five top-five and nine top-10 finishes, and captured his first and only win at the 2.66-mile track in spring 2014, which marked his first points-paying restrictor plate victory.

AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 47 KROGER CLICKLIST CAMARO ZL1 - RACING AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY: "I have a very love/hate relationship with Talladega Superspeedway," Allmendinger said. "I've had some races where we've run up front, and then I've had some races where I've been upside down on the backstretch."