Five to Watch: Sleepers for the GEICO 500

By Zack Albert

Talladega Superspeedway has long played favorites with the anti-favorites, its hand of fortune reaching down and lifting up even the largest of underdogs. Since opening its doors for NASCAR competition in 1969, the 2.66-mile track has toasted 10 first-time winners in Victory Lane, including five Cinderellas who broke through at Talladega then never won again.

With the stage assembled for a 40-car roll of the dice in Sunday's GEICO 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM), here are five -- actually six, sort of -- drivers poised to spring a Talladega upset come Sunday.

Ryan Blaney: Based on the Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate's performance this season, a first-time Sprint Cup win for Blaney on Sunday would qualify as only a mild upset. But it would also provide a popular boost for Wood Brothers Racing in its first year back as a full-time team with a single driver since 2006.

Blaney finished a career-best fourth in this race last season, carrying the Wood Brothers to their first top-five effort since Trevor Bayne shook the NASCAR industry by winning the Daytona 500 in 2011. Another victory, five years in the making, for the No. 21 Ford would provide another seismic event.

David Ragan: Talladega's most recent giant-slayer, Ragan converted a last-lap pass in spring 2013 for only his second victory in NASCAR's premier series. To date, it also remains the only win for Front Row Motorsports, which watched David Gilliland push Ragan to an unlikely 1-2 finish

Ragan's recent Talladega track record isn't encouraging with four straight finishes of 30th or worse, but he has more than a puncher's chance to recreate some 2013 magic with BK Racing this year.

Ty Dillon and Tony Stewart: Are two drivers better than one? With Stewart easing his way back to full-time racing, Dillon remains on standby for the three-time champion with plans to replace him in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevrolet midstream at one of the series' most treacherous tracks.

The use of relief drivers used to be far more common. The last time a substitute helped a starter to a victory in NASCAR's top series came in 1977, when Darrell Waltrip relieved Donnie Allison for team owner Hoss Ellington. The race? The Talladega 500.

Landon Cassill: Front Row Motorsports tasted victory at Talladega just three years ago, and Cassill -- in his first year with the team -- has some history of excelling for smaller teams on restrictor-plate tracks. Most notably, Cassill powered tiny Hillman Racing to a fourth-place effort in 2014, marking his career-best Sprint Cup finish.

A surprise victory on Sunday would tune more people into his common refrain: '38, nice.'

Michael Waltrip: Since 2010, Waltrip has turned his focus toward his broadcasting duties, running only a handful of races a year, primarily on restrictor-plate tracks. He's back again with Premium Motorsports, hoping to rekindle some of the success that led him to four premier-series victories -- all coming at plate tracks Daytona and Talladega.

Waltrip will be driving for one of five non-chartered teams vying for four open spots in the 40-car field, meaning he will need to qualify for Sunday's 500-miler on the basis of speed.