The Big One in Bama
TALLADEGA, AL: Halfway through the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup and the round of 12 has plagued some of the big name drivers such Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, as well as rookie Chase Elliott. These four have seemed to have the worst luck over the past two races. At Charlotte, Elliott was caught up in a nasty race ending wreck and at Kansas, Elliott had tire issues that resulted in a 31st place finish, rendering him 12th place in points. Hamlin blew his engine late at Charlotte while Keselowski got loose and obliterated his splitter and nose at Kansas. The Bank of America in Charlotte also caused seven out of the 12 Chase drivers to finish 30th or worse. Elliott must win or finish in the top 3 on Sunday to advance to the round of 8. Talladega is not easy for anyone; it will be tough to tame.
Kevin Harvick was in the same position as those drivers until he came out of Kansas unscathed and victorious. Harvick came from behind to edge out Missouri native Carl Edwards off of a late restart. A lot of other drivers need to have career days and not get caught up in the inevitable "big one" wreck. Talladega has proven to be fateful and glorious over the years for a slue of drivers; most recently Brad Keselowski who won in the spring. All four Joe Gibbs Toyotas are in the Chase, but Chevy has dominated to this point, and if the trend continues, 2016 Hendrick motorsports top performer Chase Elliott may find victory lane. Elliott has won two poles this season at both restrictor plate tracks Daytona and Talladega, but does not finish races very well.
The win at Kansas Speedway for Stewart-Haas's Kevin Harvick relieved a lot pressure after getting knocked out of the Bank of America 500. Kansas was not quite a must win, but it was close. Harvick who is seeking his second championship since 2014 has already secured a spot in the round of 8 and is one of the favorites to hoist the trophy in November. Harvick's teammate Kurt Busch is currently 5th in points, two spots behind his brother Kyle.
In May, 36 out of the 40 cars were involved in a wreck in one way or another, which will spell trouble on Sunday. Talladega Superspeedway is infamous for totaling cars and crushing hopes of a championship. At Talladega, it is not so much where you start and finish, but how you can avoid traffic and trouble on the track. Sunday's pole winner Martin Truex Jr. won at Chicago in September and Dover in October and looks for his 3rd Chase and 5th overall win in 2016. He currently boasts a finish average of 6.6 in the Chase. Truex however, has not historically raced well at Talladega with and average finish of 22.1. The rest of the top 10 for the Hellmann's 500 is as follows: Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Chase Elliott, Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard.
Dark-horse drivers to pull out a win on Sunday include Austin Dillon and Joey Logano who starts 16th. Dillon currently sits in 9th place and 0 points behind the cutoff. After the wreck at Charlotte, he told an NBC correspondent "we must win one of the next two races." This certainly puts a lot of pressure on the No. 3 Chevy. Expect Dillon not to relent position or make very many mistakes. Logano sits in the 8th and final advancement position and needs a flawless day to be a contender at Martinsville. Logano races for wins, not points: "That's the way I race, I don't know a different way... I'm a racer" he said. Logano who won this race last fall still has a lot to fight for especially since his average finish at the 2.66 mile is 19.8. In 15 races at Talladega, five have ended in calamity. Look for Logano to be cautious but not surrendering position-- not even to teammate Brad Keselowski who is in 11th place.
Sunday's Hellmann's 500 will be very interesting like usual at the Superspeedway and can be seen on NBC at 2pm EST.
