This weekend is a race that NASCAR drivers in the post-season lose sleep over. It’s a “Wild Card” race where anything can happen. Will the “Big One” change the Playoffs picture after the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway?
Racing at the track simply called “Dega” by drivers, teams and fans is challenging and could be the most treacherous track on the circuit. The reason is that the cars typically get together in packs and run at more than 200 mph just inches apart. That creates a situation where one small mistake by a driver in the pack can quickly snowball into a multi-car accident involving many cars. This accident is known as the “Big One.” In the past there the “Big One” has caused damage to more than half of the cars racing at the time.
That’s the pressure the drivers face. The teams will face an equal amount of pressure. They will need to adjust the cars to: #1 – have good handling for the chance to win the race at the end, and #2 – keep their driver from being the catalyst of the “Big One.” They will need to be mistake free during pit stops to keep from losing spots on the track for their drivers that can be difficult to get back. Last week we saw how costly a pit road mistake can be. The dominant car driven by Kevin Harvick at Dover lost the chance to score the win because of such a mistake.
There is only one driver in the field of 12 that still have a chance to win the championship that does not have added pressure heading to Talladega. Chase Elliott’s win last week locks him in the next round of the NASCAR Playoffs. The other 11 drivers could be put in a “must win” situation to advance if they are collected in the “Big One” this weekend at Dega.
Let’s take a look at the raw data for the track and race the drivers face this weekend.
Talladega Superspeedway Data
Track Size: 2.66-miles
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 33 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 33 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 4,300 feet
Backstretch Length: 4,000 feet
1000Bulbs.com 500 Data
Season Race #: 31 of 36 (10-14-18)
Race Length: 188 laps / 500 miles
Stage 1 & 2 Length: 55 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 78 laps
Drivers still in the hunt for the championship can help their chance to advance by just having a good race at Talladega with winning. Here’s a look at the top active drivers at the track.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Talladega
Chase Elliott …………………………… 93.7
Kurt Busch ………………………………. 89.2
Jimmie Johnson ………………………. 89.0
Brad Keselowski ……………………… 88.9
Joey Logano ……………………………. 88.0
Ryan Blaney ……………………………. 86.4
William Byron ………………………….. 85.8
Denny Hamlin………………………….. 84.7
Ricky Stenhouse Jr ………………….. 82.3
Kevin Harvick ………………………….. 81.9
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2018 races (29 total) among active drivers at Talladega Superspeedway.
Note: Drivers in RED are current contenders in the NASCAR Playoffs.
Brad Keselowski is the active driver with the most wins at Talladega. Brad has gone to Victory Lane five times in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career including this race last year. Defending his 2017 win of the race would move him automatically into the next round of the post-season.
Joey Logano won the 2018 spring “Dega” race to bring his career total of wins at the track to three. Sweeping the races at the track for the year would be a golden ticket to the next round of the playoffs for Joey.
Clint Bowyer is still in the hunt for the championship and would likewise benefit from a win this weekend beyond adding to his two previous wins at the track. Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson each has two wins at the track and would no doubt love to play spoiler to the playoff drivers by winning again at Dega.
Kevin Harvick has to be additionally motivated to win this weekend after last week’s pit road mishap that stole his chance to win (which would have locked him in the next round of the playoffs). Grabbing his second career win at the track would all but erase that mishap from memory.
The other three active drivers to have scored a single Dega win in NASCAR’s top division are Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and David Regan. There is no question that playing the role of spoiler and getting a second victory at Dega is a high priority in their minds.
When will the “Big One” happen? WILL the “Big One” happen? Will there be multiple “Big Ones”? These are the questions that keep the drivers from sleeping well in the week leading up to a race at Dega. The only way to answer those questions … waive the green flag to start the race.
That is the only thing we know for sure will happen in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Sunday, October 14th at 1:00 PM central time (2:00 PM eastern time) … the rest of the story will be told lap-by-lap.
By: Buck Stevens
