Five to Watch: Key story lines heading into Talladega

The Monster Energy Series heads into the second race in the Round of 12 at the perilous Talladega Superspeedway. Here are five key story lines heading into Sunday's race (2 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App) at the track known for its chaos and unpredictability.

FOUR HORSEMEN: Stewart-Haas Racing swept the front row at Talladega in the spring and went one step – rather, two steps – further in Saturday's qualifying session, with SHR drivers taking the first four starting spots. The next four qualifying spots also came from one team, with Hendrick Motorsports nabbing positions 5-8. Speed and position with teammates is important, but second-place qualifier Clint Bowyer stressed the importance of handling in the race, too. "You've got to be faster than they are," he said. "That recipe changes a little bit for tomorrow. You have to handle better, you have to do your job in the car and the communication with the spotter, the whole total package aspect of it comes to play tomorrow."

PENSKE'S PLATE POWER: The Team Penske trio were considered the ones to beat heading into the weekend. While they typically aren't flashy in qualifying at the Alabama track, Saturday's session saw slightly slower efforts from the group. Five-time Talladega winner Brad Keselowski will roll off the grid 18th -- his slowest qualifying position since 2012 -- while Ryan Blaney qualified 19th and Joey Logano 20th. Still the cars to beat? Likely -- all three cars placed in the top six on the 10-lap average charts and their consecutive positions will be useful in drafting. But they'll have to avoid middle-pack trouble.

LAST SPIN FOR PLATES: The recent announcement of the 2019 Monster Energy Series rules package means that Sunday's race -- barring a change -- will be the last Talladega run for the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates. After a final plate race in next year's Daytona 500, cars will be slowed with aerodynamic devices and a tapered spacer to limit the engine's air flow on the circuit's largest tri-ovals. That superspeedway package goes into effect April 28, which will be the series' 100th race at Talladega. --Zack Albert

HERE FOR THE UNDERDOGS: Restrictor-plate tracks are notorious for cultivating Cinderella story-like runs. The Monster Energy Series' practice saw Ty Dillon place sixth on the leaderboard and qualifying brought some atypical names closer to the top; both Front Row Motorsports drivers Michael McDowell and '13 Talladega winner David Ragan put together top-16 runs in qualifying. Darrell Wallace Jr. -- who finished second in the Daytona 500 – also qualified 17th. Not a top-10 spot, but it does mark Wallace's best starting position since the series' April Talladega trip.

SLOW START: Kyle Larson enters Sunday's event 12 points from eighth-place Ryan Blaney in the playoff standings. While elimination doesn't come until Kansas on Oct. 20, how the No. 42 driver fares at the Alabama track could determine whether he’s in a win-or-miss-out situation next week. He’ll have to come from the back of the pack as Larson qualified 34th, the slowest among the 12 playoff drivers. The No. 42 driver has recorded finishes as high as sixth (2016) at 'Dega, but typically doesn't fare as well on plate tracks; he most recently finished last here in April.