Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup teams ahead of Talladega playoff race
Today at 12:00 PM
The second round of the Cup playoffs continues this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.
The last eight Talladega races has had a different winner. That is tied for the longest streak without a repeat winner there.
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams going to Talladega (2 p.m. ET Sunday on NBC).
23XI Racing —Good news: Tyler Reddick won at Talladega in April. … Bubba Wallace makes his 250th career Cup start this weekend and it comes at where he won in 2021. Bad news: Reddick said this week that it has been a "head-scratcher" for he and the team over the lack of performance in the No. 45 car lately. … Reddick has finished 20th or worse in four of the last six races. He has failed to score stage points in three of the last six races. He has led only 11 laps in the last six races. … Reddick has scored 81 points in the playoffs, fewest among the remaining playoff drivers.
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: Michael McDowell has won the pole for the last four races on drafting tracks, the longest streak since Bill Elliott won six straight between 1985-86. … Todd Gilliland has three top 10s in five Cup starts at Talladega. Bad news: Twice Michael McDowell has wrecked as the leader in a drafting track race this season. It happened in April at Talladega on the last lap and late in the August race at Daytona.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Chase Elliott has scored 31 more points than any other driver at Talladega in the Next Gen era (since 2022). … Alex Bowman has scored 24 more points than any other driver in the playoffs. He has scored 163 points in the playoffs. … Bowman has 53 stage points in the playoffs, most among playoff drivers. … William Byron has three consecutive top 10s at Talladega, the longest active streak in the series. Bad news: Kyle Larson has failed to finish in the top 10 in the last 14 races at a drafting style track. … He has been involved in an incident in nine of the 11 drafting style races since last year. Five times he was running in the top 10 when he was in a crash. … Larson's average finish at Talladega is 22.8.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Christopher Bell's pit crew has the best average four-tire pit stop this season at 10.829 seconds, according to Racing Insights. … Bell has four top-five finishes in the last six races. Bad news: The organization did not have a driver finish in the top 10 at Talladega in April. … JGR is winless on drafting tracks in the Next Gen car. … Denny Hamlin finished 37th at Talladega in April. … Christopher Bell was 38th at Talladega in April. … Martin Truex Jr. has not had a top 10 in his last 12 starts on drafting tracks. … Truex is winless in 84 career starts in drafting track races. … Ty Gibbs has not placed better than 22nd in four Cup starts at Talladega.
JTG Daugherty Racing — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fourth at Talladega in April. Bad news: Stenhouse has finished outside the top 20 in six of the last eight races this season.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger is in the No. 13 this weekend. … Shane van Gisbergen will be in the No. 16, joining Daniel Hemric, who is in the No. 31, for a three-car Kaulig effort at Talladega. … Hemric finished ninth at Talladega in April. Bad news: Kaulig Racing's cars have combined for 14 pit road speeding penalties this season.
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: John Hunter Nemechek has finished eighth twice in three career Cup starts at Talladega. … Erik Jones has six top 10s in the last nine races at Talladega. Bad news: Jones has finished 26th or worse in the last two Talladega races.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Kyle Busch has a 9.9 average finish in the last 10 races on drafting tracks. That is the best among active drivers in that stretch. … He has seven top 10s in that stretch. Bad news: Busch's winless streak is at 51 races after his spin while leading last weekend at Kansas. … Austin Dillon has not had a top 10 in the last 12 races on drafting tracks. … Dillon has finished 30th or worst in each of his last three Talladega races.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware is in the No. 15 this weekend. … Ware finished fourth at Daytona in August. … Corey LaJoie finished 15th in his debut with Rick Ware Racing last week at Kansas. Bad news: LaJoie's car has gotten off the ground twice this year. He flipped at Michigan and got up on his side, sliding across the finish line at Talladega in April.
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski has six Talladega wins, most among active drivers. … Keselowski has four top-five finishes, including a win, in his last seven Talladega races. … Chris Buescher has gone a series-best 60 races without a pit road speeding penalty. … Buescher has four top 10s in the last seven races. Bad news: Buescher has three top 10s in 18 career Cup starts at Talladega.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Justin Haley finished sixth at Talladega in last year's playoff race, his best Cup result at that track. … Carson Hocevar has placed 11th or better in four of the last eight races. Bad news: Zane Smith has not finished better than 29th in two Cup starts at Talladega.
Stewart-Haas Racing — Good news: Both of Noah Gragson's top-five finishes in Cup have come on drafting tracks. He was third at Talladega in April. … Chase Briscoe has finished eighth or better in three of the last five races. … Ryan Preece has finished 12th or better in four of the last seven races. Bad news: Josh Berry has finished 20th or worse in 11 of the last 12 races. … Gragson has failed to finish three of the last six races due to accidents.
Team Penske — Good news: Austin Cindric leads all drivers in points earned and laps led on drafting tracks this season. He has 181 points in five races. … Teammate Ryan Blaney is next, having scored 169 points at drafting tracks this year. … Cindric has led 168 laps on drafting tracks this year. … Teammate Joey Logano is next at 137 laps led at such tracks. … Blaney has won three of the last 10 Talladega races. Bad news: Blaney has failed to finish three of the last six races this season due to accidents.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain, who won at Kansas, has four top-five finishes in the last eight races this season. … Daniel Suarez has three top 10s in the last four races at Talladega. Bad news: Chastain has one top 10 in the last 10 races at drafting tracks.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Harrison Burton finished 10th at Talladega in April, his best result in six Cup starts there. … Burton has three finishes of 11th or better in the last four races at drafting tracks. Bad news: Burton has not had a top-20 finish since his Daytona win.
