NASCAR Cup Series Preview: YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway
The second race of the Round of 12 for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs takes place at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. With the pressure to continue on in the playoffs intensifying and the potential for "The Big One" around every corner, Sunday's YellaWood 500 will have everyone on the edge of their seat.
YellaWood 500
Date: October 6
Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Weekend Schedule
Date | Time | Session | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
Sat., Oct. 5 | 1:30 p.m. ET | Qualifying | USA Network |
Sun., Oct. 6 | 2 p.m. ET | YellaWood 500 | NBC |
NASCAR Viewing Guide: YellaWood 500 at Talladega
Starting Lineup - Top 10
Pos. | No. | Driver |
|---|---|---|
1 | 34 | Michael McDowell |
2 | 2 | Austin Cindric |
3 | 38 | Todd Gilliland |
4 | 8 | Kyle Busch |
5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney |
6 | 22 | Joey Logano |
7 | 3 | Austin Dillon |
8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
9 | 21 | Harrison Burton |
10 | 31 | Daniel Hemric |
Starting Lineup: YellaWood 500 at Talladega
No Shortage of Drama at Talladega
At 2.66 miles in length with plenty of racing room, Talladega Superspeedway routinely puts on some of the most dramatic and competitive racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
In three of the five races at Talladega since the transition to the Next Gen car in the Cup Series, there has been a last-lap lead change for the win. Last year's YellaWood 500 saw 70 lead changes over the course of the race, while the GEICO 500 in April had 72 lead changes.
Of course, superspeedways like Talladega also have the potential for massive multi-car accidents that could dramatically alter the playoff outlook, much like we saw at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Round of 16.
Punching a Ticket to The Round of 8
When the NASCAR Cup Series visited Talladega in April, Tyler Reddick scored the victory in the No. 45 for 23XI Racing. This weekend, he enters the YellaWood 500 needing to make up ground in the playoffs.
Reddick is currently four points below the playoff bubble to move on to the Round of 8, which concludes next week at the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While it's not an insurmountable deficit, all it takes is one crash to create an even bigger gap to overcome next week.
Similarly, Atlanta spring winner Daniel Suarez is 14 points below the cutoff, while Chase Briscoe (-25 points) and Austin Cindric (-29 points) already find themselves in quite the hole if they want to move on. However, all it takes is one win this Sunday to completely turn those fortunes around and push someone below the threshold.
Rule Changes Seeking to Keep Cars on The Ground
The potential for a multi-car incident at NASCAR's superspeedways is well known, but high-speed tracks have also produced several airborne flips this season. NASCAR is once again making efforts to limit those types of incidents with rule changes taking effect in Sunday's race.
NASCAR Making Aerodynamic Changes Ahead of Playoff Race at Talladega
The changes for Sunday's race come after a line of airborne accidents. Corey LaJoie experienced such an incident at Michigan International Speedway. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway saw both Josh Berry and Michael McDowell go airborne during separate incidents.
Zach Evans is the Managing Editor of RacingAmerica.com, with nearly a decade of experience in motorsports. He has been with Racing America since 2017.