NASCAR at Talladega 2022: Odds, Preview and Top Storylines
The most unpredictable season in recent NASCAR Cup Series history heads to one of the most unpredictable tracks on the circuit on Sunday.
The trip to Talladega Superspeedway marks yet another chance for the 12 remaining playoff drivers to win a race and clinch a spot in the next round.
The first four playoff races were won by drivers who either did not make the playoffs or were eliminated in the first round. Tyler Reddick fits in the latter category. He won at Texas last week.
Joey Logano left Texas as the points leader. He holds a 12-point edge over Ross Chastain, who won the spring race at Talladega.
Four drivers sit outside the bubble to get into the round of eight, but only three of them will compete on Sunday. Alex Bowman will not participate because of concussion-like symptoms after a crash last week.
Austin Cindric, William Byron and Christopher Bell will all try to get back above the round-of-eight cutoff on Sunday. Byron is near the bottom of the standings after he was issued a penalty for spinning Denny Hamlin at Texas.
Talladega is the second stop in the round of 12. The final race in this round comes at the Charlotte road course, so there may be a bit more urgency from drivers with bad road course results to take risks to win in Alabama on Sunday.
Yellawood 500 Odds
William Byron (+1200; bet $100 to win $1,200)
Ryan Blaney (+1200)
Joey Logano (+1200)
Kyle Larson (+1200)
Denny Hamlin (+1200)
Chase Elliott (+1200)
Tyler Reddick (+1500)
Ross Chastain (+1500)
Austin Cindric (+1500)
Kyle Busch (+1800)
Christopher Bell (+1800)
Bubba Wallace (+1800)
Noah Gragson (+2000)
Martin Truex Jr. (+2000)
Kevin Harvick (+2000)
Brad Keselowski (+2000)
Daniel Suárez (+2500)
Austin Dillon (+2500)
Will A Playoff Driver Finally Win A Playoff Race?
It feels like we have asked this question every week of the NASCAR Cup Series postseason.
With each week, there is more astonishment that a driver has not secured automatic passage to the next playoff round through a win.
Three new race winners for the season emerged from the round of 16, and then Tyler Reddick, an eliminated driver from the round of 16, captured the checkered flag at Texas.
Reddick's win last week was more of a survival than a racing masterclass since a handful of cars were taken out by damage caused by flat tires.
Talladega typically breeds unpredictability because it is a superspeedway where one wreck could end the race for a lot of contenders.
Reddick, Joey Logano, Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suárez were among the drivers who did not finish the spring race at Talladega.
With the way the postseason has gone, we should expect a few drivers to be out of the race and not able to gain an advantage in the points standings.
Logano, Briscoe, Cindric and Ryan Blaney could have the advantage over the rest of the field. Ford won 11 of the last 16 races at Talladega.
Chevrolet only has three wins in that span, one of which came from Ross Chastain earlier in the season. Toyota has two victories in that run of races.
The good news for Toyota and Chevrolet is they started to turn the corner at Talladega in the last two seasons, and that could suggest a wide-open race with everyone on a level playing field.
Chastain, Blaney, Logano, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch are the playoff drivers with wins at Talladega. Blaney, Logano and Hamlin have multiple wins at the track.
The winning experience at the track could help those drivers earn an edge over the other playoff drivers and earn a spot in the final eight before the trip to the Charlotte road course next week.
Noah Gragson Filling In For Alex Bowman
The No. 48 car will have a new driver for at least one week.
Alex Bowman announced that he is dealing with concussion-like symptoms from a crash he suffered at Texas last week.
Bowman is the second playoff qualifier to deal with concussion-like symptoms this season. Kurt Busch withdrew himself from the postseason before the last regular-season race because of the symptoms he was dealing with.
Noah Gragson will drive for Hendrick Motorsports, and he has a chance to put the car in Victory Lane. He won the Xfinity Series race at Talladega earlier this season.
None of the points earned by Gragson will belong to Bowman, which means his championship hopes are over unless he returns next week and wins at the Charlotte road course.
Bowman is already in last place among the 12 playoff drivers and 26 points adrift of Chase Briscoe in eighth place.
Bowman's health comes first, and there is a chance we do not see him for multiple races.
Gragson can use the time in the No. 48 car as a chance to prove what he can do in the sport's top equipment.
Gragson will be a full-time driver next season for Petty GMS Motorsports in the No. 42 car. Any extra time in top equipment should help him prepare for a full season in a Cup Series car.
We should expect him to be competitive since he has won at Talladega and can work with Hendrick drivers Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Larson to help their playoff chances.
William Byron, Christopher Bell Face Tough Climb Back To Top 8
William Byron and Christopher Bell need strong runs at Talladega to get back on the right side of the playoff bubble.
Bell finished 34th at Texas and ended up 25 points back of the playoff cut line. Byron was dropped into the bottom four after the race by a penalty that was issued for his spin of Denny Hamlin.
Bell is in much worse shape than Byron. The No. 24 car driver is just eight points back of eighth place, but both drivers should have the same mindset on Sunday.
Bell and Byron are only fighting with Austin Cindric to get over the playoff cutoff since Bowman is not racing at Talladega.
The two drivers should benefit from the teamwork of Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports on a track that requires that element of racing because of the drafting used at the track.
The Gibbs and Hendrick drafting trains of four cars could help protect Bell and Byron and potentially lead them to wins.
Of course, they still have to guard against the large wrecks that are prone to happen at Talladega, but if they stay safe, they need could gain advantages on their bubble rivals going into Charlotte.
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