Pack racing at NASCAR superspeedways like Talladega is unpredictable.
I know. Thanks for the news flash, right?
However, due to this unpredictability there are often opportunities to get favorites at better prices than normal because, just like us, oddsmakers have a difficult time predicting who will win these races as well.
And with pack racing also comes surprise winners, meaning there are more live long shots further down that odds board than at most other tracks.
So, for Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, I’m embracing the unpredictability and betting on these three drivers.
NASCAR Betting Picks for Talladega
*Odds as of Sunday morning
Brad Keselowski (+1500 at Caesars) to Win
Keselowski has six career NASCAR Cup Series wins at Talladega, which is tied with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the most victories ever at the track.
Yeah, that’s pretty good company.
And while Keselowski has clearly seen a massive step down in equipment after leaving Team Penske to take on a role as a driver/owner at Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing this season, he proved that there is little-to-no downgrade at superspeedways in February at Daytona.
Keselowski and teammate Chris Buescher swept the Duel races, showing their equipment is plenty fast at superspeedways, before Kes posted the best average running position and led the most laps en route to a ninth-place finish in the Daytona 500.
Buescher was no slouch in the 500 either, with Keselowski and eventual-winner Austin Cindric the only drivers to finish with better average running positions.
In Keselowski, we’re getting one of the best ever at Talladega in top-level superspeedway equipment at the enticing price of 15-1 odds.
William Byron (+1800 at DraftKings) to Win
Not only does Byron have a win at Daytona under his belt from 2020, but he has also been extremely fast in the Next Gen car at these types of race tracks so far this season.
Byron was in second place in the Daytona 500 just before the end of Stage 1 before getting taken out in a wreck that was not of his doing.
And while I don’t think Atlanta is a perfect comp to Talladega, it raced much like a superspeedway event following the offseason reconfiguring. And who won that race while leading the most laps and posting the best driver rating?
Lord Byron.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+3500 at Caesars) to Win
At this point I don’t need to sell myself on the fact that Stenhouse is a very good superspeedway racer, so he was already on my mind heading into Talladega.
However, his stats at Daytona and Atlanta earlier this season were actually better than I initially assumed.
Despite just a 28th-place finish in the Daytona 500 due to a crash late in the race, Stenhouse was still tied for sixth in average running position while leading the fifth-most laps.
Again, Stenhouse’s finishing position of 31st at Atlanta is nothing to write home about, but it’s the underlying metrics that matter.
In that race Stenhouse was leading when a cut tire forced him to spin and eventually get slammed by Austin Cindric, ending his day.
At 35-1, I’ll gladly back a very good superspeedway performer, especially considering how much better he was at Daytona and Atlanta than his finishing positions indicated.
Whenever NASCAR visits a superspeedway, typically, Hendrick Motorsports is the favorite for the pole. Not this time around at Talladega, as Joe Gibbs Racing — and Toyota as a whole — showed up, with Christopher Bell earning his second pole of the season. But how much does qualifying matter at Talladega? Not one iota, except for pit stall selection.
RISING: You won’t see Martin Truex Jr. on my list this weekend, but surely, he helped his case in many fantasy players’ eyes on Saturday with a second-place qualifying run. It’s hard to neglect the 2017 champion’s past on superspeedways, going winless in 68 starts. But hey, he was 0-for-80 on short tracks before winning in 2019 at Richmond and hasn’t yet stopped.
There’s no sugarcoating it, Kurt Busch has had a tough start to the 2022 season. It’s been feast or famine, scoring four top-10 finishes in nine events, but three results of 32nd or worse in the past four races. Although Busch has just one win on a superspeedway (2017 Daytona 500), he typically gets to the front and is competitive. Plus, Toyota looks to have brought some additional horsepower this weekend.
In his three-year Xfinity Series stint for Kaulig Racing, Justin Haley proved to be elite on superspeedways. After winning his first race in June 2020 at Talladega, he went on to win three straight (only the third driver to ever do that and first not named Earnhardt). Want an underdog this weekend? Here you go.
FALLING: As noted earlier, qualifying doesn’t matter at Talladega, so a 26th-place starting position for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. shouldn’t be concerning. However, it’s on par with the start he’s gotten off to this season, sitting 29th in points. Still, don’t be surprised to see the No. 47 car up front on Sunday.
The absolute biggest surprise in qualifying was Hendrick Motorsports not winning the pole. More shocking was Alex Bowman ranked 27th and Chase Elliott 28th. But after not being awfully competitive in the Daytona 500 earlier this year (led just two laps), maybe HMS is honing in more on race setup.
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Tyler Reddick vs. Chase Briscoe: Given the last lap of the Bristol Dirt Race last week, it’s fitting these two are matched up against one another. When it comes to superspeedway racing, the nod goes to Reddick, having won an Xfinity race in 2019 at Talladega. However, Briscoe did earn his first top-five finish in the Cup Series earlier this year in the Daytona 500.
Bubba Wallace vs. Denny Hamlin: Ah, driver against boss. In the modern era, one could argue Hamlin is the best superspeedway driver in the field. But it’s hard to bet against Wallace’s three straight top-two finishes on superspeedways and being the most recent winner at Talladega.
Brad Keselowski vs. Joey Logano: Speaking of being elite on superspeedways, both Keselowski and Logano fit that mold. Man, these two drivers are fun to watch at Daytona and Talladega due to their aggressive nature. That bit Keselowski in February, but he needs a good finish — or win — this weekend. We’ve seen him have walk-off wins at the 2.66-mile layout before.
Ryan Blaney vs. Chase Elliott: Blaney, too, is aggressive on superspeedways. His recent track record at Talladega is better than Elliott’s, so go with the No. 12 car.
TALLADEGA, Ala. — A mere 0.131 seconds is all that separated an Earnhardt from Victory Lane once again at Talladega Superspeedway.
On the final overtime restart of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, Jeffrey Earnhardt fired off from eighth. He made his way up to fifth by the last lap. And then, as the top five completed their final trip around the 2.66-mile track, Earnhardt raced his way into second place come checkers.
“Well, I had feelings on that last lap that there must have been an Earnhardt behind the wheel based on the things he was doing,” FOX Sports analyst Larry McReynolds said. “The apple didn’t roll too far from the dad’s tree or the granddad’s tree.”
Jeffrey was driving an all-black No. 3 car that matched the one his grandfather, seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, made iconic. Dale, a 2010 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, died in 2001. Richard Childress Racing provided him the ride, his first with the organization. Dale won a record 10 Cup Series races at Talladega.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
McReynolds, for the first time in NASCAR since 2000 and overall first time in the Xfinity Series, tapped in as crew chief. McReynolds worked with Dale from 1997-98, even winning the 1998 Daytona 500 as a team. It was his last of 23 victories.
“He was a pro, man,” Jeffrey said. “Just hearing that man’s voice on the box just makes you want to go out there and be hungry to win a race. Knowing the relationship that he had with my grandpa, and the work that they got to do together, just makes it all that much more special.”
The two even earned the pole position, Jeffrey’s first-ever in 136 career Xfinity Series starts. The runner-up result was also his best-ever. His only previous top five was third in 2019 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Jeffrey is in a part-time situation this year, having competed in just five of the nine races so far. Apart from this special gig with Richard Childress Racing, three came with Sam Hunt Racing, the other with Emerling-Gase Motorsports. He hasn’t worked a full 33-race season since 2014, but there were two 29-race efforts in 2020-21.
“It’s a bittersweet emotion,” Jeffrey said. “… I feel like I’ve proved myself in the past. Hopefully this will prove that much even more. But I’m just very, very thankful for this opportunity and I don’t know that I can ever say thank you enough to everyone that’s given it to me.”
A rather large crowd swarmed Jeffrey on pit road once he parked, unbothered by Noah Gragson performing his race-winning burnouts in the background. In that moment, second was sweet.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
McReynolds embraced Jeffrey. Team owner Richard Childress came by, clapped Jeffrey on the shoulder and expressed his own pride in the 32-year-old.
“I knew we were right there,” Childress told NASCAR.com. “You gotta be there to have a chance to win, you can’t win when you’re loading onto the truck, so I felt really good about his chance. But I’m proud of him. He did a great job. The whole team did a good job, just be putting it together last minute.”
Last week, really. Richard Childress Racing announced Jeffrey’s Talladega deal in the No. 3 on April 12. The McReynolds role was then revealed by McReynolds himself on April 17.
And it all became better than reality on the last lap.
“We crossed the white flag and we’re barely inside the top five, and our monitor blinked on us,” McReynolds said. “I lost what was going on down the back straightaway, but I can hear Mike Dillon, our spotter who did a phenomenal job just tell him to come on, keep going, keep coming. So, that told me something: We were headed in the right direction.”
When the field came back into view, No. 3 was P2.
“No doubt,” McReynolds said, “there was an Earnhardt in that car.”
It was an Earnhardt Saturday in Earnhardt country.
Grabbing the lead on a restart in the third overtime, Noah Gragson — driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports — won the Ag-Pro 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega Superspeedway.
Gragson beat Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson of seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, who was driving a black No. 3 Chevrolet in a special appearance for Richard Childress Racing, which fielded Dale Sr.’s car during his heyday.
On the mammoth 2.66-mile track where Dale Sr. won a record 10 times and Dale Jr. added another six, Jeffrey Earnhardt crossed the finish line .131 seconds behind Gragson, who won for the first time at Talladega, the second time this season and the seventh time in his career.
Gragson grabbed the lead when JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier ran out of fuel as he led the field to the third-overtime restart on Lap 123. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet held the top spot the rest of the way as Earnhardt worked his way forward from his eighth-place restarting position.
Moments after the race, Gragson was already planning his celebration in the notorious Talladega infield.
“This team at JR Motorsports, they never quit,” Gragson said. “We’ve had a kind of a rough last month, just not getting the finishes that we wanted … I couldn’t make moves on the top there very much at the beginning of the race, so I just kept running the bottom — running the bottom — and we’d get shuffled back and keep moving back up.
“I’ve got to run in the Cup race (on Sunday), but the Talladaga Boulevard looks a lot more enchanting right now and inviting, so I might have to go out there and then throw some beads.”
On the second of the two overtime laps, Earnhardt slipped past AJ Allmendinger for second but couldn’t catch Gragson through the tri-oval.
“I’m living the dream here — I’m just so thankful to get this opportunity,” said Earnhardt, whose crew chief, FOX Sports broadcaster Larry McReynolds, was serving his first stint on a pit box since 2000. “Thanks to RCR for building this amazing race car. We were fast all weekend long.
“We just fell a little short there, but congrats to Noah. He’s good at plate races.”
Allmendinger had led on the second overtime restart and appeared to have control of the race when Jeremy Clements’ Chevrolet stalled in Turn 2 to cause the 10th and final caution of the race. With his third-place result, however, Allmendinger claimed the $100,000 Xfinity Dash 4 Cash bonus available to the top finisher among four eligible drivers.
“I thought I crashed about seven times on the last lap,” Allmendinger said. “I really appreciate what Xfinity and Comcast do to allow us to race for 100 grand at these four races. I didn’t realize that the 7 (Allgaier) started laying back, and you can’t take off before him. I was really checking up when he ran out of fuel.
“At that point, the 9 (Gragson) had such a run. This Chevy handled really well. We just lacked kind of the top-end speed, so they could get to my bumper, then basically boot me out of the way. I was just hanging on there. Jeffrey did a good job to make the move (for second place).”
Austin Hill, winner of the season opener at Daytona, led a race-high 67 laps and was out front with fewer than four laps left when Sam Mayer lost control of his Chevrolet in the outside lane and knocked Hill’s Chevy into the infield wall. Both cars were damaged too severely to continue.
Ryan Sieg and Landon Cassill finished fourth and fifth behind Allmendinger, with Cassill scoring his second straight top-five result. Anthony Alfredo, Riley Herbst, Joe Graf Jr., Myatt Snider and Brett Moffitt completed the top 10.
The Xfinity Series’ next race is scheduled next Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Dover Motor Speedway. The A-GAME 200 is the final event in the four-race Dash 4 Cash program for 2022.
Note: Post-race inspection was clear without issue, confirming Gragson as the winner.
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Kyle Busch was a man of few words Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway when discussing his future in NASCAR.
The current driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is not guaranteed another season after the 2022 slate wraps in November. His longtime, primary sponsor, M&M’s, announced back in December 2021 this year would be its last in the sport. Mars’ relationship with NASCAR dates back to 1998.
“I’m not getting antsy about it,” Busch said. “If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, it don’t. Goodbye.”
Busch signed a multiyear contract extension with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019. Exact term length was not disclosed. The 39-year-old has been with the organization since 2008.
Questions regarding the status of Busch’s standing were redirected toward the team owner.
“Ask Joe Gibbs,” Busch said.
Coach Gibbs expressed optimism in a talk with FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass later Saturday, saying: “We’re confident we’re going to get things done. So we’re just working hard at it. It takes a while.”
Busch is NASCAR’s only multi-time champion in the garage right now, and both titles came during his ongoing run with Joe Gibbs Racing — 2015 and 2019. He captured his 60th career win just last weekend on Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track. That guarantees him a spot in the 2022 NASCAR Playoffs; there are still 16 races until then, starting with Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM).
The No. 18 will line up 12th for the Talladega spring event, and BetMGM places the 2008 spring Talladega winner at 18-1 odds to win (as of early Saturday).
When pushed more about his career outlook, Busch couldn’t see himself anywhere besides Joe Gibbs Racing. He also wouldn’t use the word ‘retire’ to describe his possible predicament.
“I would say I lost my ride,” Busch said, “(like) Cole Trickle once said.”
Other racing series aren’t on the table either.
“No,” Busch said, “I’ll probably be Brexton Busch’s truck driver.”
GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway
(⏰ 3 p.m. ET | 📺 FOX | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, the 10th regular-season event of the 2022 campaign.
Race-day info 📝
Where: Talladega, Alabama Approximate start time: 3 p.m. ET | Weekend schedule TV/Radio: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio | Full TV schedule Forecast: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85, according to NOAA.gov | Weather tracker Race distance: 188 laps | 500.08 miles Stages: 60 | 120 | 188 Pit-road speed: 55 mph Caution car speed: 70 mph The purse: $7,420,008 Talladega 101: Get the full lowdown
Starting lineup: Christopher Bell on the pole
Key things to watch 🔑
Big story line
The Next Gen car makes its maiden voyage on the high banks of Talladega, NASCAR’s largest and arguably wildest track at a whopping 2.66 miles in length, merely a week after Cup Series cars spent Easter Sunday night kicking up dirt in eastern Tennessee on a half-mile inside a colosseum. Those are quite the ends of the spectrum that racing fans will get to enjoy in back-to-back weeks, as the sport puts on another highlight-worthy event of an entirely different beast. History was made the last time NASCAR raced at Talladega, seeing Bubba Wallace earn his first Cup win — and the first win for then-first-year 23XI Racing — and with how this season has already gone, it would not be a surprise to see more happen Sunday. Tyler Reddick was, once again, extremely close to nabbing his first win at Bristol Motor Speedway, and Talladega might mark just as good a spot for the Richard Childress Racing driver to break through. Expect a lot of eyes to be on Brad Keselowski, as well, as this weekend likely offers his best remaining shot at winning his way into the playoffs, as a six-time track winner. | Keselowski confident in RFK Racing’s superspeedway program
Who’s hot? Who’s not?
Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney look like the two drivers who fit the bill of both hot in 2022 and have the accompanying strong track record at ‘Dega. They, along with 2020 champion Chase Elliott — another strong contender for the win Sunday — stand as the only drivers to top 300 points so far this season. They’ve also had a significant say in Penske winning eight of the last 13 races at the Alabama track (the other five were won by five different organizations). The Trackhouse Racing duo of Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez also seem to keep showing up every weekend hunting for wins, so you’d think that’ll be the case at Talladega as well. Martin Truex Jr. looked close to being a top contender early on but is starting to dip a bit and now heads to a track type that he’s never won on in 68 starts. Fellow former member of the “Big Three” Kevin Harvick is also in need of a jumpstart, and thankfully for him has put together some decent runs at Talladega of late (three top 10s in the last four).
Driving under the radar
One might argue that Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell might sometimes get overshadowed by their respective teammates, who have five championships collectively, but they’ve also each been putting together quality races over the past month. Bell made plenty of noise at Bristol before finishing seventh, his third-such result or better in the past four races after a dreadful hole to start the season in. He’s also now led laps in three of the last seven and will start on the pole Sunday. Bowman actually already has a win, coming in a stretch of five top 10s in the last seven races. Neither driver has a stellar Talladega history, but it’s Talladega. Anything can happen.
Getty Images
Race-day staples ✅
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Paint Scheme Preview: See the looks for Talladega races | See the schemes • Power Rankings: Chase Elliott having career year despite no wins |Updated driver rankings
• Fantasy Fastlane: Brad Keselowski needs a big weekend | Top plays, sleepers
• NASCAR betting: See who’s favored to win Sunday | BetMGM odds
Catch the pack 💨
Read up on the top headlines from the week leading up to Sunday’s race.
• Kyle Busch contract: Busch says to ask Joe Gibbs about his contract | Read more • Still no bad blood: Reddick stands by Bristol post-race reaction to Briscoe | Read more • Front and off-center: How Talladega’s start-finish line placement came to be | Read more
• Triumph at Talladega: Reflecting on Bubba Wallace’s breakthrough win | Full story
• Let’s vote!: 2022 Cup Series All-Star Fan Vote is now open | Make your choice
• Next Gen analysis: Bristol Dirt Race came down to car control, driver skill | Read more
• Dynamic duo: Australian mother-daughter driver duo trying to make NASCAR, ARCA history | Read more
• Survey says …: Drivers explain “The Big One” in a GIF | See the GIFs
• Coast-to-coast: Daniel Suárez visits U.S. Coast Guard station to support Mission 600 | Read more
• Pit-stall analysis: Holding the draft will be key to having a complete race at ‘Dega | Read more
• No. 9 throwback: See Chase Elliott’s ride for Darlington | First look
• Major bag alert: Wendy’s to sponsor Gragson at Talladega | Read more
• Junior in the booth: NBC Sports’ Dale Earnhardt Jr. hops in the FOX booth on Sunday | Read more • Clint behind the wheel: Clint Bowyer to pilot Davey Allison’s iconic black No. 28 with ceremonial lap at Talladega | Read more
Get in on the action 💰
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• BetMGM: Should Brad Keselowski be the favorite? | Betting analysis
• Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2022 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
• Backseat Bets: Will Briscoe beat Reddick? | Listen to the debate
• The Action Network: Three drivers to pick on race day | See who the experts chose
• Weekly props: Will superspeedway titans rule? | Make your picks
• Going all the way: NASCAR betting: 2022 Cup Series championship odds | See them here
A trip down Memory Blvd. 🛣
Time to turn to Talladega, the track full of high speeds and high tension. But first, take a look back at some important track history.
• The only one that matters: Drivers to lead one lap in win | See the list
• Spring into action: Every spring winner in Talladega history | See the list
• Surprise, surprise: Through the years: Talladega’s shocking winners | See the list
• This race last year: Brad Keselowski seals Talladega victory with last-lap pass in overtime | Read more
• And of course, last fall: Bubba Wallace makes history with first Cup victory at Talladega | Read more
Fast facts ⏩
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• Twelve drivers got their first Cup win at Talladega — for seven of them, it was their only career win. • For seven of the last eight Talladega winners, it was their first win of the season. • Twenty-nine Talladega races were won with a last-lap pass, including three of the last four. • The driver who led the most laps has failed to win the last three Talladega races. • The last seven superspeedway races were won by seven different drivers.
Say what? 🎙
Notable quotes from the stars of the sport heading into Sunday’s race.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
• “Anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s a little bit of a coin flip, but my No. 3 team will be doing everything we can to try and win. In order to succeed at Talladega, you have to have a little bit of luck, and use momentum at the very end to take advantage of positions. It’s speedway racing. It’s drafting. And it’s chaos, but we’re up for the challenge.” — Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
• “The biggest takeaway from Daytona was that these cars drove really good, they handled really well, I didn’t have any handling complaints. Daytona is typically the slicker of the two race tracks and going to Talladega I would expect handling to be a non-factor again. Whenever handling isn’t a factor then typically we are able to be much more aggressive and that’s when we see really good racing.” — Christopher Bell, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
• “Sometimes when the pressure is high people make more mistakes, but at the same time expecting big blocks, expecting people to take runs when they have them. Those types of things are probably what you can do at least to prepare ahead of time as a driver, to maybe anticipate other peoples’ moves, but, otherwise, I’m not promising more wrecks, but it’s usually the late blocks, I mean, similar to what you saw at the end of the second Duel (at Daytona). These cars are very, very challenging to block runs and they’re very challenging to take pushes, but I think there’s gonna be a lot of pushing. I think it’s a lot of the normal stuff you see, especially you’re kind of Daytona end of the year race, but, like I said before, there’s a lot of people noticing that there’s a lot of wins and you have to win to make it into the playoffs with the way things are trending at the moment.” — Austin Cindric, driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford
The recent spike up the sportsbook charts is no fluke. Bubba Wallace’s rise to 11-1 odds for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is just one acknowledgment of how his skill set at the sport’s largest ovals has developed. His team and fellow competitors recognize it, too.
“That’s a good question because it’s kind of happened recently,” says Joey Logano, a three-time Talladega winner. “I’d say he’s a fairly patient speedway racer, where he makes moves every now and again, but most of the time, he’s pretty patient on kind of letting the race come to him. He used to be a lot more aggressive, make moves, and a lot of times they didn’t work. They weren’t fully calculated and made him honestly fairly easy to beat.
“Now, it’s not quite like that anymore where he’s upped his game and kind of found his own niche of speedway racing that works for him, and he does a good job of surviving them. And that’s the other piece I see. He does a good job of getting to the end, which plays to that patient piece.”
Wallace found his way to an abbreviated end of the most recent Talladega event, securing his first NASCAR Cup Series win. He enters Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM) with a recent bounty of strong showings on his side at Talladega, Daytona International Speedway and the new hybrid-superspeedway at Atlanta Motor Speedway – all of which use the same rules configuration and where the aerodynamic draft is king.
Wallace had shown glimmers of superspeedway talent earlier in his career, most notably as an emotional runner-up in his first Daytona 500 while racing for team owner Richard Petty. Since joining 23XI Racing at the start of last season, he’s led laps in each of the races at Daytona and Talladega, and his most recent finishes at those two tracks are second (2021 Daytona-2), first (2021 Talladega-2) and second (2022 Daytona-1).
“We’ve had fast cars but didn’t really get the finishes, but then these last three speedway races, man, things have just clicked,” Wallace told NASCAR.com. “So, a little bit of luck involved in all that, too, but I’ve just got to go out and continue to do what we do.”
Luck, perhaps, but making the right maneuvers in the pack also takes a deft touch.
The stout No. 23 Toyotas that the Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned team fields have helped Wallace become a more regular contender, but his growth as a driver at those high-speed tracks has made him a key player in the draft.
“To say we’re watching Bubba mature in front of us, you know, is an understatement,” says Mike Wheeler, 23XI Racing’s competition director. “I think he came in with a lot of insight on how to speedway race. I like to think we gave him a better car to do it in. I really can’t say that, because he definitely excelled pretty early on. I think we’ve had good Toyota cars for years and good packages, but he definitely took it in, and early on, you realized he was making a lot of good moves, but still making typical driver mistakes that get you shuffled out. But at the same point, you realized he had confidence that he could get back up there. He would take himself out if there was, you know, some people that were scary around him. I know Denny has been that way, and a lot of guys will actually bail out of the pack if they see people around them they’re not comfortable with. And that just tells you that that driver has confidence that he’ll know he’ll get back to the front toward the end of the race.
“I’ve seen that, I’ve seen Bubba work on not just worrying about the car in front of him or the car behind him, but cars multiple rows behind or in front of him. I think that takes a special set of skills that is hard to quantify. But the moment you know you’re working with two guys behind you or three guys behind you to make a run. It shows the maturity and confidence you have in your ability and your equipment, but that you can have to look that far beyond your windshield and the rearview mirror to make stuff happen.”
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell earned his second career NASCAR Cup Series pole position with a lap of 180.928 mph around the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday morning — just edging teammate Martin Truex Jr. by .081 seconds.
The all-JGR Toyota front row marks the first time the team has swept top qualifying honors at Talladega. The teammates will lead the field to green in Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
“There is not much to say about the lap, just a lot to say about Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development), the engine package they brought here, and the cars assembled at JGR,’’ said Bell, whose best Talladega finish in four starts is fifth in last fall’s race. “This No. 20 group did a really good job. They gave me the best car in the field today, so hopefully we can keep it going and keep it up front tomorrow.”
Asked if he thought the wind gusts at the track ultimately made a difference in his pole-winning speed, the 27-year-old smiled and said, “it didn’t hurt.’’
“Even from the first round to the second round, I could tell my RPMs picked up really big going down the back straightaway, then they were pretty flat going down the front straightaway, so I don’t know if it was an advantage to me, but definitely didn’t hurt,’’ said Bell, whose previous pole position came in March at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Daniel Hemric — held the top qualifying position until the final two cars in the second round (Truex and Bell) and will start third in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Daniel Suárez was fourth fastest in the No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson was fifth fastest in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports. None of these top-five qualifiers has ever won a NASCAR Cup Series race at the track.
Toyota drivers Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet’s William Byron, Toyota’s Bubba Wallace and Chevrolet’s Tyler Reddick rounded out the top 10 for Sunday’s grid.
Of note, the top qualifying Ford driver was Joey Logano, who will roll off 13th in the No. 22 Team Penske Mustang on Sunday. Defending race winner Brad Keselowski will start his No. 6 RFK Racing Ford from 15th position on the grid. Keselowski is the winningest driver in the field with six Talladega victories.
Landon Cassill’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet did not participate in Saturday’s qualifying sessions after failing Friday’s opening-day technical inspection three times. Cassill will start last in the 39-car field and will have to serve a penalty with a pass through pit road at his first opportunity after the start.
Sunday’s 500-miler is the 10th race of the Cup Series season and the first for the Next Gen car at Talladega. Both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series races this weekend will be held without practice beforehand.
The Spire Motorsports No. 77 Chevrolet failed pre-qualifying inspection three times Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, resulting in penalties ahead of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race.
Driver Landon Cassill will have to make a pass-through on pit road at the soonest opportunity after the start of Sunday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM) at the 2.66-mile track. The No. 77 team will not be permitted to participate in Saturday’s Busch Light Pole Qualifying (11 a.m. ET, FS1) and will lose pit-stall selection. Additionally, JR Norris — car chief for the No. 77 team — was ejected.
Two other teams in the 39-car field failed inspection two times, resulting in the loss of pit selection and a crew member for the weekend. Those teams:
• No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (driver Martin Truex Jr.; ejected: engineer Nick Burton) • No. 47 JTG Daugherty Chevrolet (driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.; ejected: car chief Travis Young)
Sunday’s race is the 10th this season in the NASCAR Cup Series and marks the first visit this year to Talladega.
