NASCAR National Series News & Notes – Talladega Superspeedway

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April 17, 2024

NASCAR Cup Series

Next Race: GEICO 500

The Place: Talladega Superspeedway

The Date: Sunday, April 21

The Time: 3 p.m. ET

The Purse: $8,234,125

TV: FOX, 2 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 500.08 miles (188 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 188)

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Next Race: Ag-Pro 300

The Place: Talladega Superspeedway

The Date: Saturday, April 20

The Time: 4 p.m. ET

The Purse: $1,479,274

TV: FOX, 3:30 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 300.58 miles (113 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 113)

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Next Race: Heart Of America 200

The Place: Kansas Speedway

The Date: Saturday, May 4

The Time: 8 p.m. ET

The Purse: $770,294

TV: FS1, 7 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30),

Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134)

NASCAR Cup Series

Winners Streak: Big opportunity for Playoff seeking competitors at Talladega

With six different winners in the first nine races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, this weekend’s GEICO 500 (Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) offers a plethora of opportunity for a seventh different winner to pull into Victory Lane and secure their spot in the Playoffs.

Talladega Superspeedway has seen seven different winners in the last seven races; including this Sunday’s defending winner, Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch, who is still looking for his first win of 2024. The streak began with Denny Hamlin’s win in October 2020, followed by Brad Keselowski (April 2021), Bubba Wallace (Oct. 2021), Ross Chastain (April 2022), Chase Elliott (Oct. 2022), Kyle Busch (April 2023), Ryan Blaney (Oct. 2023).

Thus far, six drives have earned a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs by virtue of the wins this season – William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell and Daniel Suarez.

Speedy History: Talladega Superspeedway

Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway was held on September 14, 1969, and the event was won by Richard Brickhouse, from Rocky Point, North Carolina, driving a Dodge for car owner Ray Nichels. The average speed of the first race at the 2.66-mile track was 153.778 mph.

The name of the facility changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989, and the surface underwent its fourth repaving on September 19, 2006. In total, there have been 109 NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway; one series event in 1969, and two races per year since 1970.

NASCAR Hall of Famers hold the qualifying and race records at Talladega Superspeedway. Bill Elliott holds the qualifying record, which he set on April 30, 1987 with a lap at 212.809 mph (44.998 secs.) and Mark Martin holds the race record with his win on May 10, 1997 at an average speed of 188.354 mph (2 hours, 39 mins., 18 secs.).

No matter where you start you got a chance at ‘Dega

One of the best parts about drafting tracks is a driver can move to the front from any starting spot, and this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway should be another showcase of the competitive intensity that is the Cup Series.

Eight different times the NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega has been won from starting spot outside the top-20. The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Talladega is 36th, by NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in the 2000 spring race. The deepest in the field that an active NASCAR Cup Series race winner has started at Talladega is 34th, by Denny Hamlin in the 2014 spring race.

Last season’s April Talladega race was won by Kyle Busch, after starting from the 17th position.

Starting position still matters at ‘Dega

A total of 47 different drivers have won at least one pole at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series; 24 of the pole winners have won more than one.

Six of the 47 Talladega NASCAR Cup Series pole winners are active this weekend.

A total of 15 of the 109 NASCAR Cup Series races have been won from the pole or first starting position (13.76%).

But the outside front row (second-place) starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Talladega (18.3%).

Busch Light Pole Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday, April 20 at 10:30 a.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Drafting Masters: Drivers to watch at Talladega

The 109 NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway have also produced a total of 51 different race winners; 27 of the 51 have won multiple times at the 2.66-mile track.

This weekend nine of the 51 NASCAR Cup Series Talladega race winners are entered into the event.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Talladega Superspeedway with 10 victories (1983, 1984, 1990 sweep, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999 sweep, 2000). RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in wins at Talladega Superspeedway with six victories (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021).

The two most recent winners at Talladega are Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (April, 2023) and Team Penske’s Chase Elliott (Oct., 2023); both drivers are looking for their first win of the 2024 season.

‘Dega doesn’t disappoint

Known as one of the most competitive tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway is the perfect stage for the wild side-by-side action NASCAR fans love and this weekend’s GEICO 500 (Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is expected to produce just that.

Talladega Superspeedway holds the all-time record in Green Flag Passes for the Lead in a single NASCAR Cup Series event with 348 Green Flag Passes for the Lead set on October 1, 2023.

Talladega Superspeedway also holds the all-time record in Total Green Flag Passes in a single NASCAR Cup Series event with 23,765 total green flag passes throughout the field set on October 20, 2013.

Last season, the Talladega Superspeedway NASCAR Cup Series race in April produced 21 different leaders and 57 different lead changes. The Playoff race later that season at Talladega produced 24 different leaders and 70 lead changes.

Kings of ‘Dega

The art of ‘Drafting’ on tracks like Talladega Superspeedway is a skill not every driver can master, but for the ones that learn to manipulate the air to their benefit at nearly 200 mph have found the spoils of Victory Lane in some of the NASCAR Cup Series’ biggest races.

No driver has been more successful in points-paying races at Talladega Superspeedway than NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt with 10 wins (1983, 1984, 1990 sweep, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999 sweep, 2000).

In total, nine active drivers have won at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski with six victories (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021) leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Talladega wins.

The next active drivers with the most wins at Talladega, are a pair of Team Penske teammates Joey Logano (2015, 2016, 2018), and Ryan Blaney (2019, 2020, 2023) with three victories. Both drivers are looking for their first wins of the 2024 season.

First-Time Winners happen at Talladega Superspeedway

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace scored his and the organization’s first NASCAR Cup Series career win in the October Talladega Superspeedway race of 2021. In the process, Wallace became the 12th different driver to get his first career win at the behemoth 2.66-mile superspeedway; joining active drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2017) and Brad Keselowski (2009).

First-Time NASCAR Cup Series Winners at Talladega Superspeedway

NASCAR Cup Series, Etc.

Grammy-nominated Country artist Walker Hayes to perform Saturday night concert at Talladega –

Talladega Superspeedway announced that GRAMMY®-nominated country artist Walker Hayes will perform the Saturday Night Concert at Talladega Superspeedway during the GEICO 500 Race Weekend. The five-time ACM Awards nominee and Mobile, Alabama native will pump up the fans ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 on Sunday.

“Walker is the perfect choice for our Saturday Night Concert and will do an incredible job representing Alabama and Talladega Superspeedway during our spring race weekend,” said Talladega Superspeedway President Brian Crichton. “When you have an artist with an in-state connection come to perform for our fans, it’s going to be a special night and we know that Walker is going to put on an amazing show as part of all the festivities going on throughout the weekend.”

Hayes has been nominated for a GRAMMY® Award, five ACM Awards, a CMT Award, a CMA Award and six Billboard Music Awards. “Fancy Like,” “AA,” and “You Broke Up With Me” were three top ten country radio hits for Hayes and he’s accumulated over two billion artist streams to date. His most recent project New Money released on September 29, 2023, and includes the single “Good With Me.” The single has Hayes reflecting on how crazy life can get and trying to find the most even-handed way to take it one day at a time.

Most fans will recognize his smash hit single “Fancy Like” which released in June 2021 off the EP Country Stuff. The song topped every country sales and streaming chart, hit top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, was #1 at country radio, is 4x Platinum with over 550 million worldwide streams, and was the number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for over an astonishing six months. He surprised fans over the holiday season with “Fancy Like Christmas” – a re-imagining of the country hit.

Hayes just wrapped his headlining The Duck Buck Tour which was his second arena tour in two years after he closed out the Glad You’re Here tour last fall. He also co-wrote the book “Glad You’re Here” with his best friend Craig Allen Cooper which release on May 3, 2022. The book tells the story of Walker finding faith through Craig’s friendship and inspired the song “Craig.” “Be A Craig Fund” was set up based off the single and it’s a way to pay it forward and make the path easier for struggling families.

“Getting to play my home state of Alabama is always a treat but getting to play Talladega Superspeedway makes the occasion extra special,” said Hayes. “Nothing says country quite like NASCAR and I have a feeling this crowd is going to bring the energy. Me, my band, and my family are so looking forward to this one. See all y’all in April!!!”

Stat Watch: Upcoming Driver Milestones in the NASCAR Cup Series – This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series will be at Martinsville Speedway, and below are a few of the possible milestones that can be achieved this Sunday and over the next few weeks.

Starts

Michael McDowell will make his 475th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Talladega Superspeedway becoming the 53rd different driver in series history to make 475 or more starts. McDowell, form Phoenix, Arizona, has posted one pole, two wins (including 2021 DAYTONA 500), nine top fives and 39 top 10s in his 474 career starts. He has earned a spot in the Playoffs twice (2021, 2023). His best finish in the championship standings in his Cup career was 15th last season.

Alex Bowman is expected to make his 300th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Dover Motor Speedway.

Noah Gragson is expected to make his 50th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Dover Motor Speedway.

Ross Chastain is expected to make his 200th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Darlington Raceway.

Chase Elliott is expected to make his 300th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Corey Lajoie is expected to make his 250th NASCAR Cup Series career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Wins

Denny Hamlin currently has 53 NASCAR Cup Series wins, if he were to win another race, he would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty for 12th on the all-time wins list with 54 victories each.

Martin Truex Jr. currently has 34 NASCAR Cup Series wins, if he were to win another race, he would tie Brad Keselowski for 24th on the all-time wins list with 35 victories each.

Joey Logano currently has 32 NASCAR Cup Series wins, if he were to win another race, he would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts for 27th on the all-time wins list with 33 victories each.

Kyle Larson currently has 24 NASCAR Cup Series wins, if he were to win another race, he would tie Jim Paschal and Joe Weatherly for 34th on the all-time wins list with 25 victories each.

Cup Series Team Member Spotlight: Heading into this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, there are two team members from the state of Alabama that we wanted to bring to your attention – 23XI Racing’s Interior Specialist Adam Crawford from Semmes, Alabama and Trackhouse Racing’s Jackman Josh Appleby from Athens, Alabama.

23XI’s Crawford attended Mobile Christian High School and is a former driver that competed in the Southern Super Series and PASS Late Model Series prior to joining 23XI Racing.

Trackhouse’s Appleby is a former college athlete that played football at the University of Louisville.

NASCAR has been competing in Alabama for a while – There have been 181 NASCAR national series races held in the state of Alabama among seven different tracks. The very first NASCAR national series race held in the state of Alabama was a NASCAR Cup Series event at Lakeview Speedway (Mobile) in 1951 – the race was won by Alabama native Tim Flock (Oldsmobile).

The first NASCAR Cup Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway was in 1969 – the event was won by Richard Brickhouse (Dodge).

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Dashin’ At ‘Dega: Dash 4 Cash continues on the 2.66-mile behemoth

With the trip to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway, Sam Mayer pocketed the $100,000 bonus and secured his spot in this weekend’s Dash 4 Cash run at Talladega Superspeedway, and will be joined by RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg, JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier and Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger to compete in the third installment of Dash 4 Cash.

Of the four drivers vying for the Dash 4 Cash this weekend at Talladega, only one has a previous win at the superspeedway.

Sam Mayer (No. 1 JR Motorsport Chevrolet) has made four Xfinity Series starts at Talladega, putting up one top-five finish, but has three DNFs. He has also led five laps at the 2.66-mikle track.

Ryan Sieg (No. 39 RSS Racing Chevrolet) has made 13 Xfinity Series starts at Talladega accumulating four top fives and five top 10s. Sieg has also led 31 laps at the track.

Justin Allgaier (No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) has made the most starts at Talladega among the four Dash 4 Cash drivers with 16. In that time, he put up four top fives, seven top 10s and led 112 laps.

AJ Allmendinger (No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet) has made six Xfinity Series starts at Talladega posting one win (2022), three top fives and four top 10s. He has also led 36 laps at the superspeedway.

Talladega Superspeedway up next

The action continues! After an exciting race at Texas Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is gearing up to head to Talladega Superspeedway for the Ag-Pro 300 on Saturday, April 20 at 4 p.m. ET (FOX, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR radio).

The 2.66-mile Alabama track has hosted 35 Xfinity Series races, producing 28 different race winners and 23 different pole winners. Only three drivers have won from the pole or first starting position – Joe Nemechek (1998), Tony Stewart (2008), Justin Haley (2020).

Cup Series regular Martin Truex Jr. has the most Xfinity Series wins at Talladega (three) but it’s Joe Nemechek who holds the most records at the track – most poles (five), most top 10s (nine), laps led (202), lead lap finishes (14), laps completed (2,153), and is tied with Joey Logano for most top fives (seven). Nemechek also holds the qualifying record with his 1997 speed of 193.517 mph.

NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will be skipping practice this weekend and heading straight for qualifying on Friday, April 19 at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

Conquering ‘Dega

Making it to the finish line isn’t always easy when it comes to superspeedways. However, there are two drivers who have not only made it to the finish line but have made sure to cross the finish line first – Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger and Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton.

Allmendinger snagged his win in 2022 after a back-and-forth battle with Sam Mayer in the final laps. He’s made six starts, posting one win, three top fives, four top 10s, and has led 36 laps.

Burton has made seven starts at Talladega, making two trips to Victory Lane at Talladega (2021, 2023), three top fives, four top 10s, and has led 52 laps. If he manages another win this weekend, he will tie Martin Truex Jr. for most wins in the series at the track.

JR Motorsports’ Sam Mayer wins in a photo finish at Texas

The 2024 NASCAR season has been full of action-packed racing and some nail-biting finishes and last weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway was no exception.

Ryan Sieg led 17 of the final 18 laps but had to battle a hard-charging Sam Mayer at the end. Mayer ultimately crossed the finish line 0.002-seconds before Sieg – the second closest finish in Xfinity Series history. The win marked Mayer’s first of the 2024 season, first at Texas Motor Speedway and the fifth of his Xfinity Series career.

Twenty-year old Mayer will now be looking to keep the momentum rolling as the No. 1 team heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the Ag-Pro 300 but he’ll definitely have his work cut out for him as three out of his four starts at the 2.66-mile track have resulted in a DNF. However, he has proved that he can perform well as he posted a runner-up finish in 2022.

NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.

Sunoco Rookie of the Year update – The season is in full swing, and the 2024 rookie class has now gotten a taste of everything NASCAR has to offer.

Richard Childress Racing’s Jesse Love has led the competition all season long and continues to do so, currently sitting with 257 points.

Kaulig Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen sits in second with 175 points, 82 points back on Love.

Leland Honeyman Jr. holds the third position with 114 points.

Hailie Deegan and Dawson Cram close out the competition, with 90 points and 50 points, respectively.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Kansas Speedway awaits the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

The NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series is taking two weekends off while the Xfinity Series and Cup Series tackle the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway and then head to the concrete oval of Dover Motor Speedway.

The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will return to competition under the lights at Kansas Speedway for the Heart Of America 200 (Saturday, May 4 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM Radio).

The 1.5-mile track has hosted 27 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races since its inaugural CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event on July 7, 2001 – a race won by Ricky Hendrick, driving the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. 

The Heart Of America 200 will be broken up into three stages. The first two stages will be 30 laps each and the final stage will be 74 laps for a race total of 134 laps (201 miles). 

Practice will begin Saturday, April 4 at 12:05 p.m. ET on FS1 and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio followed by qualifying at 12:35 p.m. ET.

Triad of Kansas winners look to repeat

So far only three previous winners are entered in the Heart Of America 200 at Kansas Speedway, and all are hoping to find their way back into Victory Lane.

Christian Eckes: The breakout star behind the wheel of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Racing Chevrolet is one of only a handful of drivers who have consistently ran in the top 10 each week – the only exception being at Atlanta (32nd) due to brake failure. In eight starts at Kansas, Eckes has recorded one win (fall 2023), four top fives, and six top 10s. The 23-year old is the most recent Kansas winner.

Matt Crafton: The long-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver owns a vast majority of the records at Kansas Speedway – the race record (139.857 mph – 05/08/2015), most races (27), most wins (3), most top fives (7), top 10s (14), and laps completed (4,148). The driver of the No. 88 ThorSport Ford finished 11th in the 2023 spring Kansas race. Crafton’s most recent Kansas win was in spring of 2020.

Grant Enfinger: The veteran behind the wheel of the No. 9 CR7 Chevrolet has yet to crack the top five this season, but that could change at Kansas. In 11 starts at the 1.5-mile track, Enfinger’s captured one win (spring 2023), six top fives, eight top 10s, and has led 132 laps.

Chevrolet dominates early in 2024 season, but Toyota rules Kansas

Chevrolet has won six of the seven NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race this season. The last non-Chevrolet to win was the No. 11 TRICON Garage Toyota driven by Corey Heim at the Circuit of the Americas. But when it comes to Kansas Speedway it’s the Toyotas that have dominated in CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

Toyota wins at Kansas Speedway:

Chevrolet follows closely behind with 10 wins after winning the last two races at Kansas and Ford with six.

The Toyota drivers will look to power the manufacturer to its second victory of 2024 in the Heart Of America 200 at Kansas Speedway in two weeks.

Eckes jumps to Truck standings lead with Kansas in his sights

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes has catapulted himself into the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series points lead following his fourth-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

This is just the third time in his career he leads the points standings. Through seven races, there have been four drivers from three organizations that have led the standings – Tyler Ankrum, Ty Majeski, Corey Heim, and now Christian Eckes.

The driver of the No. 19 McAnally-Hilgemann Chevrolet is currently two points ahead of TRICON Garage’s Corey Heim in second and 12 points ahead of ThorSport Racing’s Ty Majeski in third.

Eckes will look to hold on to the standings lead at Kansas Speedway in two weeks. The 23-year old from Middletown, New York has made eight CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts at Kansas posting one win, four top fives, and six top 10s. Eckes is the most recent Kansas winner in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, Etc.

Jeffrey Earnhardt set to make his return to the series at Charlotte Motor Speedway – Set to return to the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series for the first time since the 2011 season, Jeffrey Earnhardt will join MBM Motorsports at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt has found success in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in recent years. In 169 career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, Earnhardt has recorded two top-five finishes and six top-10s. Earnhardt finished eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway in February, his only NASCAR Xfinity Series start this season.

While he only has 10 career NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series starts to his name, the North Carolina native scored a top-10 finish driving for Rick Ware Racing in the 2011 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway.

2024 Sunoco Rookie of the Year breakdown – Layne Riggs has jumped ahead to lead the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings following seven races in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

The driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford now sits 12 points over Connor Jones and 21 points over Thadd Moffitt. Jones, driver of the No. 66 ThorSport Racing Ford was the highest finish rookie at Texas (18th).

About Post Author

Michael Jaworecki Sr.

Myracenews2@gmail.com

http://Myracenews

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