Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47, takes the checkered flag ahead of Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 6 Ford, and William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, to win the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 06, 2024 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Racing at Talladega Superspeedway is one of the most intense challenges a NASCAR driver can experience. With two races on the massive, 2.655-mile, high-banked, restrictor-plate oval, it’s a form of racing that is as thrilling and risky as possible.
Cars race inches apart in long lines, side-by-side, forcing the action in order to get to the front at the checked flag. Far too often it ends in calamity.
But the stakes have increased dramatically this season.
Talladega A Key Playoff Race
The YellaWood 500 at Talladega is now the middle race of the three-race segment known as the Round of 8. The winner of this race automatically advances into the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 2.
For any of the eight drivers still in contention in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, getting caught up in a massive crash can doom their championship chances.
By winning last Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin is locked into the Final Four drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race. He can approach the race at Talladega without the urgency of having to win to get in.
Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe make up the remaining three drivers above the cutoff line. Defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and 2023 champion Ryan Blaney find themselves below the cutoff line with only two races left before the Championship. Blaney won the 2023 edition of this race en route to his 2023 title.
The NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs are back on NBC and Peacock. NBC Sports’ live coverage of the Round of 8 continues this weekend from iconic Talladega Superspeedway from Talladega, Alabama., with the YellaWood 500 this Sunday, October 19, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC and Peacock. Live pre-race coverage on NBC and Peacock begins at 1:30 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green.
Ryan Blaney’s Approach To Talladega Playoff Puzzle
One of those drivers feeling the pressure at Talladega is Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. His Ford Mustang had a left front tire go flat and he crashed into the wall with nine laps left in Stage 1 at Las Vegas. He finished last in the 38-car field, and he has to win either of the final two races at Talladega and Martinsville, Virginia to advance into the Championship 4.
Ryan Blaney (#12 Team Penske Menards/Pennzoil Ford) leads through Turn 3 during the NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 race on October 6, 2024 at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Blaney, however, is taking it stage by stage over the next two races.
“It stinks where we are on points, but we’ve still got two races left and I don’t personally think we are in a must-win quite yet,” Blaney said. “At Talladega, you never know what can happen. You can go have a massive points day and be short of the win, but maybe a couple other guys don’t have as good of a points day, and you go into Martinsville maybe in a spot where you could point your way in if you go have another good day short of winning.
“Our prep is really no different. It’s how do we try to be efficient through the stages and gather up all the stage points? That could change. Let’s say the first two stages don’t go our way and, alright, maybe now it’s a must-win type scenario. That might switch up a little bit, but as far as our prep this week, it’s kind of business as usual and try to go gather the most points we can and go try to figure out a way to win the race, so pretty similar.”
In the past, the second race of the season at Talladega was scheduled for the Round of 12. By moving it into the Round of 8, NASCAR increased the pressure on the drivers battling for the championship.
There is plenty of reward, but perhaps even more risk for the eight drivers still in contention for the championship, except for Hamlin, of course. He’s already locked into the Championship 4.
Blaney, however, is not going to overplay the change on the schedule for Talladega.
“When they came out with the schedule and I saw that Talladega was in the Round of 8 as opposed to 12, I didn’t really think anything of it,” said the Team Penske driver. “It’s still Talladega in the playoffs and it’s going to be just as important as always.
“Honestly, my mind was like, ‘OK, I only have to worry about seven other guys as opposed to 11.’ It’s just less guys to keep your eye on and have to worry about winning or racing for points, so it didn’t really change my outlook.
“You should have a superspeedway race in the playoffs. I fully agree with that. You’ve got to have all forms of racetracks in the playoffs, but I didn’t really think anything of it with the round change.”
Ryan Blaney’s Outlook For Talladega and Martinsville
Blaney is a three-time winner in 22 starts at Talladega. He is also a two-time winner in 19 starts at Martinsville Speedway, so it is more than conceivable that the driver of the No. 12 Ford could win his way into the Championship 4.
“I try to go into every weekend with optimism and thinking we can go compete no matter where we go, but looking at Talladega a lot of things can happen that can benefit you or hurt you, or benefit your competitors or hurt your competitors,” Blaney explained. “I think the points thing at Talladega, why I say it’s not a must-win yet, is the same thing can happen to somebody.
“A couple guys get tore up early who are in the playoffs, and you can go have a big day and big point swings can happen at these types of racetracks. And then our history at Martinsville we’ve been able to do a really good job there the last couple Fall races, and I hope that trend can continue to where we can go compete there as well.
“The Big One” is likely to happen at Talladega where crashes are generally big. This is from the 2024 GEICO 500 on April 21, 2024 at Talladega SuperSpeedway in Talladega, AL. (Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“I like the next two tracks, for sure. We’ve definitely had a great track record at those two, and I think we can go into either one of those and run well and hopefully compete for the win. I have so much faith in this team with the guys that I’ve got working around me and the level of trust in each other, I just love going to the races every single weekend. It’s definitely nice when you’re in that spot, so hopefully we can dig into some previous success and experiences that we’ve had and can lean on those the next two weeks and see what happens.”
How To Watch
This is the first of the three final races of the Cup Series Playoffs, all of which will be on NBC and Peacock. Additionally, all green flag laps will be shown live this weekend so that viewers never miss a moment of the action, utilizing side-by-side breaks to deliver live coverage of every green flag lap.
The second of three Round of 8 playoff races, a win in Talladega this weekend guarantees a spot in the Championship 4 at the final race in Phoenix on November 2. Denny Hamlin won last week’s opening Round of 8 playoff race in Las Vegas, cementing his spot in the Championship 4.
Sunday’s broadcast will feature an exclusive postrace interview with him after last week’s win in Las Vegas (the 60th of his career, moving him into 10th place on the all-time list), where the three-time Daytona 500 winner discussed the emotional victory that earned him a berth into the Championship 4 and a chance for him to win his first Cup Series championship.
NBC Sports’ broadcast team of veteran motorsports play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey, 21-time Cup Series race winner and “The Mayor” of NASCAR Jeff Burton, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte will call the action. Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns, and Dillon Welch will serve as pit reporters.
Marty Snider will host post-race coverage alongside NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett, with Letarte joining for pre-race coverage. Jarrett won this race in both 1998 and 2005.
NASCAR Cup Series Round Of 8 Standings
Position, Driver, Points
1. Denny Hamlin, Clinched Championship 4 appearance
2. Kyle Larson, +35
3. Christopher Bell, +20
4. Chase Briscoe, +15
ON THE BUBBLE
5. William Byron, -15
6. Chase Elliott, -23
7. Joey Logano, -24
8. Ryan Blaney, -31
Live coverage of qualifying will be presented on truTV this Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The Voices
Play-by-Play: Leigh Diffey
Analysts: Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte
Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kim Coon, Dave Burns, Dillon Welch
Studio Team
Host: Marty Snider
Studio Analysts: Dale Jarrett, Steve Letarte
Viewing Details
TV – NBC
Streaming – Peacock, NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app
Date, Coverage, Platform, Time (ET)
Saturday, October 18
Qualifying, truTV, 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 19
Countdown to Green, NBC, Peacock, 1:30 p.m.
NASCAR Cup Series – YellaWood 500
NBC, Peacock, 2 p.m.