Of all the arguments made in favor of the XFINITY Series being a members-only division or at least diminishing the participation of Cup drivers, this stretch of Dash 4 Cash events (Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover) has shown some of the best racing of the 2018 XFINITY season, all of which have been run by series regulars.
Kyle Busch: Busch, seeking his fourth consecutive victory, finished 13th in the Geico 500 at Talladega, and remained atop the Monster Energy Cup points standings.
Talladega was sweet. That was the kind of action that captured my attention as a kid, watching Wide World of Sports. As Jim McKay so iconically put it all those years ago, “Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition.” That was Sunday at Talladega.
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- If you went by Elliott Sadler's post-race photo op after he collected $100,000 in the NASCAR XFINITY Grand National Series Dash 4 Cash, you'd think it was just a run of the mill afternoon. What the race results don't tell you, however, was that he rallied from a speeding penalty that put him a lap down to finish fifth.
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Spencer Gallagher wasn't one of the primary contenders all day. He didn't win a stage, nor did he lead more than one lap. But that one lap was the one that mattered, when all was said and done.
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- A part failure by his teammate almost ruined the day for Kevin Harvick. But when he went back out, he topped the chart. When he pulled his car into victory lane to celebrate winning the Busch Pole Award, he was hugging crew chief Rodney Childers like he'd just won the race.
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Outside the infield care center at Talladega Superspeedway, Jamie McMurray stood by the guard rails and watched a replay of the backstretch barrel roll that sent him to the care center.
NASCAR needs more crossover stars. It's a time-honored tradition in the sport to bring in drivers from across the pond (mostly on NASCAR's dime) and put them in our cars not only to perform but to draw in the fans. This is usually met with success more on the fan side of things, although former F1 drivers Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya did find a bit of success in NASCAR.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series head to Talladega Superspeedway, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is off. Check out the tentative full schedule below, subject to change.
