How Seven NASCAR Cup Contenders Performed At Talladega

While the skill and speed of the car still matter, luck also plays a huge role in every NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway with the ‘Big One’ lurking around every corner.

In fact, we don’t have a firm sponsorship picture until we get this type of road. Talladega is an absolute wild card, and it’s safe to say that anything can happen this weekend. For example, 26 cars in the most recent Talladega Cup race were involved in one accident. A driver can have one hand at the checkered flag and then cross the line in reverse 30 minutes later.

But how has the 2.66 mile supersede handled seven realistic title finalists in the past? It’s a mixed bag, even with the most drivers winning here.

Kyle Larson

Starts: 23 / Wins: 0 / Top fives: 3 / Top ten: 5 / Laps led: 64 / Avg. finish: 22nd: DNFs: 7

Larson is 0-23 at Talladega and has never won a race before. Even outside the top 20 half of their starts, with a total of seven DNFs. He hasn’t led many laps at Talladega in years, but he’ll need to be aggressive after losing so much ground at Phoenix this weekend. Larson will start the race in tenth place.

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports

Starts: 13 / Wins: 0 / Top fives: 1 / Top tens: 4 / Laps led: 58 / Avg. finish: 20th / DNFs: 3

Bell is winless at Talladega and has only one top five in 13 starts, which was his fifth in 2021. In the next era Gen. He had speed and top ten but a lot of mishaps. In these five starts, Bell has two DNFs, but also two top ten finishes. 31 besides this he also drew the spring of Talladega, which was of all the drivers that day. He will start sixth in Sunday’s Cup race.

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing

Starts: 11 / Wins: 1 / Top fives: 2 / Top ten: 3 / Laps led: 44 / Avg. finish: 16th / DNFs: 1

Briscoe will start the Sunday race from the axis position, and will be in a great position for several stage points. He’s also the best among these seven nations in scoring, which, however, can be attributed to Reddick as well. Briscoe has an average of 16 at Talladega (better than the other title contenders), only one DNF, and a victory last fall. He mostly finished in the middle of the field, and only led 44 laps at Talladega in 11 starts.

Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Starts: 41 / Wins: 2 / Top fives: 11 / Top ten: 17 / Laps Led: 476 / Avg. Finish: 17 / DNFs: 6

By far the most experienced driver here with 41 previous Cup runs at Talladega, and seriously, only six DNFs despite so many stars. Hamlin also has two wins at this track, but none since 2020. While he continues to be a contender, recent years at Talladega have not been kind to him with a best finish of tenth in his last five starts. He will start ninth in Sunday’s Cup race.

Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team Ford, Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota, Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Starts: 24 / Wins: 3 / Top Five: 6 / Top Ten: 8 / Laps Led: 293 / Avg. finish: 18th / DNFs: 7

Blaney and his Penske teammate Logano look at each other as they perform at Talladega. It usually leads to some falls, scoring points for the player, and then a pretty good chance of breaking out of the event. Blaney has three wins at Talladega and his most recent came in 2023, but since then he’s had a streak of five straight finishes of 20 or worse, mostly due to crashes. He will start the highest in the pack on Sunday, qualifying 28th.

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske, Menards/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, Michael McDowell, Front Row Motorsports, Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang

Starts: 35 / Wins: 3 / Top fives: 9 / Top tens: 11 / Laps led: 571 / Avg. finish: 20 DNFs: 11

Logano is an adventurous driver, and Talladega is the perfect track for him to gain some ground. He led more laps there than any other active driver. The only downside is that it’s either a hero or not at Talladega. While Logano has drawn in each of his seven Talladega Cup races, his best result in that same span was 16th. He has three wins, but eleven DNFs in 35 starts, which is hard to ignore. He led the way in qualifying for Team Penske this weekend, but still only places him 16th.

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, Joey Logano, Team Penske, Josh Berry, Wood Brothers Racing. Austin Cindric, Team Penske, Connor Zilisch, Trackhouse Racing, Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing

Starts: 13 / Wins: 1 / Top fives: 1 / Top ten: 4 / Laps led: 56 / Avg. finish: 17th / DNFs: 2

Reddick enters Talladega with a smile after returning to Victory Lane last Phoenix weekend. He is now on the fringes of this title fight, but has a realistic shot if he can avoid more mistakes. He deserved to get the dramatic cup in 2024, and he did a good job to reach the checkered flag. Reddick has finished no worse than 20th at Talladega in his last seven starts there, which no other driver on this list can say. Unfortunately, it will be a lot of work to do the basketball in 33rd on the grid for the lowest-qualifying Chase.

How seven NASCAR Cup contenders performed at Talladega