NASCAR playoffs at Talladega: How to watch, stream, preview, picks for the YellaWood 500
In a romantic sense, one of the great charms of driving a race car is the idea of taking control of a large mechanical beast and, in turn, control of your own destiny. But Talladega Superspeedway has a special way of breaking the illusion of control—especially in the fall, when the biggest, fastest speedway known to man can dashed the championship hopes of even those seemingly in control of their destiny in the playoffs .
The NASCAR Cup Series returns this weekend for the YellaWood 500 in Talladega, the second round of the NASCAR Playoff Round of 16 and arguably the biggest wildcard race of the entire championship race. Thanks to the nature of superspeedway racing, Talladega has long jeopardized and even destroyed the playoff drivers’ hopes of advancing to the next round and winning the championship. That makes it all the more satisfying to win Talladega and secure a place in the last 16 for anyone who can find the front at the end of 188 laps and 500 miles.
How to watch the NASCAR playoffs in Talladega
- Date: Sunday October 2nd
- Location: Talladega Superspeedway – Lincoln, AL
- Time: 2 p.m. ET
- TV: ABC
- Electricity: fuboTV (try for free)
Something to see
Safety in focus
In recent months, increasing concerns and concerns about the safety of the next-generation car have increasingly become a part of the NASCAR discourse. Such concerns were brought to the fore following Kurt Busch’s fall in Pocono, and they contributed to the reaction of many following a scary crash by Cody Ware in Texas last week. Ware had to be placed on a stretcher after a violent head-on collision with the outer wall, but sustained only an ankle injury and was medically cleared to race by NASCAR this week.
Ware’s fall only increases the fear that always accompanies Talladega, considered to be the circuit’s most dangerous track since its high speeds can lead to violent accidents. To get a sense of what drivers could possibly be afraid of, one only has to go back to the last Superspeedway race at Daytona. when Denny Hamlin complained of neck, back and hip pain after suffering a hard knock late in the race in “The Big One”.
Thankfully, Talladega will be the last major test of how the next-gen car disperses power in a crash before the matter is likely to be revisited in the offseason. But until then, it’s likely that drivers and spectators will be keeping a close eye on any major incident on Sunday to see if everyone escapes unscathed.
Official optics
The idea that the next-gen car is too rigid isn’t the only issue nagging competition officials at NASCAR. After last week’s race in Texas, NASCAR race officials came under fire after NASCAR SVP of Competition Scott Miller admitted officials had completely overlooked William Byron, who intentionally spun Denny Hamlin under caution because they weren’t watching while they in turn focused on the scene of the accident three. NASCAR would correct course earlier this week, Byron was penalized with 25 points and a $50,000 fine for his actions.
This sort of officiating faux pas is untimely en route to Talladega, which is where NASCAR officials are so often called upon to make judgments based on what’s happening on the track — particularly in regards to the double yellow line rule on superspeedways.
Since its inception in 2001, the rule has prompted dozens of controversial calls at superspeedways, including two years ago when the final round saw a debacle of verdicts over who went under the line, who was pushed down there and who was forced out of others below the line.
The job of a NASCAR race director is largely thankless, but a cleanly conducted race at Talladega would go a long way to cleaning up the bad taste that followed last week’s missed call in Texas.
Spoiler alert
To say that the start of this year’s NASCAR playoffs was highly unusual would be a gross understatement. In four races and a full round so far, not a single playoff-qualified driver has won a race as the unpredictability of the 2022 season only increased in the closing stages. And chances are another non-playoff driver will win this weekend in Talladega, which would mean half the playoff races would already be won by non-playoff drivers.
Since initiating a playoff format in 2004, Talladega has been won by a non-playoff driver six times, including last year. These winners include:
- Dale Jarrett (2005)
- Brian Vickers (2006)
- Jamie McMurray (2009, 2013)
- Clint Bowyer (2011)
- Bubba Wallace (2021)
- * – Regan Smith crossed the finish line first in 2008, but was disqualified for going under the yellow line
Of the 12 remaining drivers in the playoffs, only five have previously won Talladega: Joey Logano leads this group with three Talladega wins, followed by Denny Hamlin (2), Ryan Blaney (2), and one win each for Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott .
Of the non-playoff drivers, Brad Keselowski has by far the greatest success at Talladega as his six career wins are the most among active drivers and tied for second all-time with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Should Keselowski prevail again – he goes into this race with momentum after some strong recent performances – he would alone take second place in track history behind Dale Earnhardt, who has won Talladega 10 times during his career.
Choose to win
(Odds via Caesars Sportsbook)
Brad Keselowski (+1600): I picked Brad Keselowski to win the last Superspeedway race at Daytona and it went poorly as he retired with an early crash and never got a chance to show off his Superspeedway skills. But given his recent string of strong results at one of his best circuits, I will return to the well and pick Keselowski to win again.
Keselowski was strong in Talladega in the spring, at a time when RFK Racing were not at the level they are at now, and he likely would have been a factor in the lead that would have finished had it not been for two unlucky two Penalties for speeding in the pit lane. If Keselowski can avoid early problems again, I expect he’ll have a run that matches – or maybe even surpasses – what he had at the Daytona 500 in February.