Advance to Victory Lane: Talladega in focus as Blaney eyes breakthrough win

Ryan Blaney’s 55-race winless streak is the second-longest dry spell of his career, but if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, then it comes in the form of Talladega Superspeedway and Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

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Blaney has won two of the last seven races on the high banks of the 2.66-mile track, and he finished runner-up there last fall. He has been strong overall on drafting tracks with three straight top-10 finishes — the longest streak among active drivers.

While Talladega certainly brings out the unpredictable on a regular basis, the one constant seems to be Blaney. And based largely on that strong history, Racing Insights’ formula for predicting races favors him this week.

OTHERS TO WATCH

ROSS CHASTAIN: He finished first and fourth last year at Talladega and was the only driver to finish in the top five in both races.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.: He has two straight finishes of seventh or better this season, and he finished fifth in this race last year.

KEVIN HARVICK: He has three top-10 finishes in the last four races at Talladega and will be making his 800th career start in the Cup Series.

CHASE ELLIOTT: Fresh off a top-10 finish in his first race back from a leg injury, Elliott has led laps in six of the last eight Talladega races.

DENNY HAMLIN: His fourth-place finish last week at Martinsville was his first top five this season. At Talladega, he has five finishes of seventh or better in the last seven races.

Projections as of Wednesday, April 19.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR GEICO 500