The third of four races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Dash 4 Cash program has had its intensity level bumped up a peg. It’s all because for the first year, Talladega Superspeedway is included in the lucrative bonus initiative.
“Yeah, who thought of that?” Elliott Sadler said last weekend, expressing some mock indignation after collecting the $100,000 prize at Richmond Raceway.
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Sadler and the rest of the four-driver field will brace for restrictor-plate rules and the increased potential for crashes in Saturday’s Sparks Energy 300 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He’ll compete against Richmond winner Christopher Bell, plus top finishers Matt Tifft and Austin Cindric for this weekend’s six-figure payday.
Sadler has experience on his side for Saturday’s event as a two-time winner at the 2.66-mile Alabama track. But he hinted that the action may replicate — or even surpass — the season opener at Daytona, which went five overtimes before his JR Motorsports teammate Tyler Reddick edged him at the finish by a record .0004 seconds.
“I think with the $100,000 on the line that guys are going to be more aggressive — like we need that at Talladega — but guys are going to be more aggressive and probably take more chances, and we are, too,” Sadler said. “I think you’re going to have to be very aggressive to try to win the $100,000 there, so I think you guys are going to see a wild race. Daytona was a crazy race, probably the wildest restrictor-plate race I have ever raced in because of the rules package that we had and nobody wanted to give up the lead, nobody took a break, and I think we’re going to see a lot of the same stuff at Talladega.
“Now you throw $100,000 on top of it, it’s like Xfinity knew what they were doing to make Talladega a Dash 4 Cash race. It should be a good show for the fans.”
This weekend’s Dash 4 Cash field features an intriguing mix of some of the series’ top teams, with JR Motorsports (Sadler), Joe Gibbs Racing (Bell), Richard Childress Racing (Tifft) and Team Penske (Cindric) all represented. All four organizations have shown strength this year, but Talladega typically provides a wild-card as far as contenders are concerned.
“The thing about Talladega is that we’re not going to know who’s going to win the Dash 4 Cash until the last few inches coming to the line because we see it time and time again there,” Bell said. “You’re going to be four- or five-wide coming to the finish line so you’re not going to be able to put a lot of stock into who’s leading the money or who’s leading the Dash 4 Cash. Even when you take the white flag, the guy who’s leading is more than likely not going to be the guy who wins it.
“That’s just the thing about Talladega is with the pack racing, it’s always jumbled around and it’s going to be a crap shoot.”
No Monster Energy Series regulars will be included in Saturday’s 40-car field. The top four finishers that earn Xfinity Series points will be eligible for the $100,000 check in the following weekend’s Dash 4 Cash finale, scheduled May 5 at Dover International Speedway.