Good news, bad news for NASCAR Cup teams ahead of Talladega weekend
The NASCAR Cup Series is back in action after taking last weekend off. Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway begins a stretch of 28 consecutive weekends of racing, going all the way through the season finale Nov. 2 at Phoenix Raceway.
Here is a look at the good news and bad news for Cup teams heading to Talladega.
23XI Racing — Good news: Tyler Reddick won at Talladega last spring. … Reddick has finished in the top six in three of the last six races at drafting tracks. … Bubba Wallace has two third-place finishes in the last four races this year. Bad news: Riley Herbst is one of two full-time drivers who have yet to score a stage point this season (Cody Ware is the other).
Front Row Motorsports — Good news: The organization has had at least one car finish in the top 10 in 10 of the last 11 Talladega races. … Noah Gragson finished third in last spring's race at Talladega. … Todd Gilliland has three top 10s at Talladega, his most at any track. … Zane Smith has finished 12th or better in four of the nine races this year. Bad news: In the six races since finishing eighth at COTA, Gragson has not placed in the top 15.
Haas Factory Team — Good news: Cole Custer's best finish this season came in the Daytona 500 when he placed 21st. Bad News: Custer has finished 28th or worse in five of the first nine races of the season.
Hendrick Motorsports — Good news: Hendrick drivers have combined to lead 87% of the 797 laps run in the past two races (Darlington and Bristol). … Kyle Larson has won two of the last four races this season. … William Byron has four consecutive top 10s at Talladega. … Byron has won three of the last 11 races on drafting tracks. He is the only repeat winner at those tracks in that stretch. … Chase Elliott has completed all but one of the 2,605 laps run this year. Bad news: Larson is winless in 49 starts at drafting tracks. … Elliott has only three top 10s in the last 13 races at drafting tracks. … Alex Bowman has finished 27th or worse in each of the last three races this season.
Dustin Long,
Hyak Motorsports — Good news: Ricky Stenhouse won last fall's race at Talladega, his second career victory there. … Stenhouse finished fourth in last spring's race at Talladega. … Stenhouse has 11 top 10s in 23 career starts at Talladega, his most at any Cup track. … The organization remains one of two in the series without a DNF this year (Legacy Motor Club is the other). Bad news: Since placing fifth at Atlanta in the season's second race, Stenhouse has not finished better than 18th.
Joe Gibbs Racing — Good news: Denny Hamlin has four consecutive top-five finishes, finishing fifth at Homestead, first at Martinsville, first at Darlington and second at Bristol. … Hamlin is the only driver to complete all 2,605 laps this season. … Christopher Bell has five top-six finishes, including a win, in the last eight drafting track races. … Ty Gibbs has had back-to-back top-10 finishes for the first time this season, placing ninth at Darlington and third at Bristol. … Gibbs has gone from 34th to 20th in points over the past three races. … Chase Briscoe has three top 10s in the last four starts this season. Bad news: Briscoe has one top-10 finish in his last seven races on drafting tracks.
Kaulig Racing — Good news: AJ Allmendinger is only two points out of the final playoff spot. … Allmendinger has three top 10s in the last five races entering Talladega. …Ty Dillon's season-best finish of 14th came at Daytona. Bad news: Dillon has four finishes of 27th or worse this season.
Nate Ryan,
Legacy Motor Club — Good news: John Hunter Nemechek is one of only two drivers (Ryan Blaney is the other) to finish in the top 10 in both drafting-track races this season. Nemechek was fifth in the Daytona 500 and 10th at Atlanta. … Erik Jones has five top 10s in his last seven Talladega starts. … The organization remains one of two in the series without a DNF this year (Hyak Motorsports is the other). Bad news: Jones has started 27th or worse six times this year. Nemechek has started 27th or worse five times.
Richard Childress Racing — Good news: Austin Dillon turns 35 on race day at Talladega. His teammate, Kyle Busch, is the last Cup driver to win on his birthday. Busch did so in May 2021 at Kansas. Bad news: Busch has finished 18th or worse in nine of the last 11 Talladega races.
Rick Ware Racing — Good news: Cody Ware finished a Talladega-best 12th in last fall's playoff race. Bad news: Ware is one of two full-time drivers who have yet to score a stage point this season (Riley Herbst is the other).
RFK Racing — Good news: Brad Keselowski finished second in both Talladega races last year. … Keselowski has six career Cup wins at Talladega, most among active drivers. … Ryan Preece is 14th in points, the best he's been in his Cup career through the first nine races of the season. Bad news: Keselowski has not had a top-10 finish through the first nine races this season for the first time since 2011. … Chris Buescher has finished outside the top 15 in five of the last six Talladega races.
Spire Motorsports — Good news: Carson Hocevar has 33 stage points this season, which is more than six drivers who are in a playoff spot. … Justin Haley has two top 10s in his last three Talladega starts. Bad news: Michael McDowell has finished 31st or worse in three of the last four Talladega races.
Team Penske — Good news: Ryan Blaney ranks first in the series in stage points with 92. … Blaney has three top-two finishes in the last five Talladega races. … Blaney is one of two drivers (John Hunter Nemechek is the other) to finish in the top 10 in both drafting track races this season. Blaney was seventh in the Daytona 500 and fourth at Atlanta. … Austin Cindric started second in both Talladega races last year. Bad news: This will mark the second consecutive year that Team Penske has not scored its first Cup victory of the season until at least the 10th race of the season. Last year, Team Penske didn't win its first points race until the 15th event of the season. … Joey Logano has only one top-10 finish in his last 11 Talladega starts.
Trackhouse Racing — Good news: Ross Chastain has finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races, including the past three. … Daniel Suárez has three top 10s in his last five Talladega starts. Bad news: Shane van Gisbergen has placed 30th or worse in five of the last six races.
Wood Brothers Racing — Good news: Josh Berry has scored Ford's only win this season. Bad news: Berry has not finished better than 12th in the four races since winning at Las Vegas.
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