Getty Denny Hamlin (front) and Kyle Busch (rear) will lead the field at Talladega.
The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue with a trip to Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 3. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates will lead the field to the green flag with Denny Hamlin in the pole position and Kyle Busch next to him on the front row.
NASCAR determined the starting order with its lineup formula, which uses the driver’s finishing position from the previous race (25%), car owner’s finishing position from the previous race (25%), team owner points ranking (35%), and fastest lap from the previous race (15%). Hamlin posted the best finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and turned in the second-fastest lap around the 1.5-mile track. Additionally, JGR sits second in owners’ points, contributing to his spot at the front of the field.
P1️⃣ for the No. 1️⃣1️⃣!
@dennyhamlin will start on the #BuschPole at @TALLADEGA.
While Hamlin and Busch lead the field to the green flag, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney will make up the second row. Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. will line up on the third row while Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano make up the fourth row. The list of playoff drivers continues with Kevin Harvick, William Byron, Alex Bowman, and Christopher Bell.
The YellaWood 500 will take place on Sunday, October 3, at Talladega Superspeedway. The race will begin shortly after 2 p.m. ET on NBC. MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide audio coverage.
Harvick Will Try To Stack Points While Avoiding the ‘Destruction Derby’
.@BuschBeer + Camo + @TALLADEGA = 🔥
The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang will enter the Talladega playoff race seven points below the cutline. He will need to make some positive moves in order to stack enough points and move closer to the Round of Eight. However, this task will be difficult to achieve.
Prior to the trip to Talladega, Harvick answered some questions about the YellaWood 500 and his recent history at the superspeedway. He has one win at the 2.66-mile track, but he has not won since 2010. Harvick also crashed during races in 2019 and 2017.
“For me, it’s been a destruction derby over the last couple of years. We’ve run really well at Talladega, but that’s just kind of the phases you go through when you go to Talladega,” Harvick said, per Speedway Digest. “I’m doing worse than 50-50 on whether you crash or finish the last few years, but it’s one of those places where you want to race up front and race hard all day because you have to try to win stages. I believe you have better odds at the front of the pack when it comes to staying out of a wreck if you can keep that track position all day.
“You’re going to race in a pack – three-wide at times – and you’re going to get pushed and have to push at times. You just never know what’s going to happen because Talladega is its own animal. It’s hard to finish a race there. As we’ve seen over the past however many years, you try to put yourself in the right position and hope you have a little bit of luck on your side that particular day. I know our Busch Light Ford Mustang will be fast enough to contend for the win, but you just have to get to the finish.”
Hendrick Motorsports Drivers Have to Gain Ground Again
GettyWilliam Byron (right) and Alex Bowman (left) dropped below the cutline at Bristol.
Early in the Round of 16, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron faced a deficit. They both sat below the cutline after incidents at Darlington Raceway and Richmond Raceway, a list that includes Byron crashing and finishing 34th in the Southern 500 on September 5. However, both drivers rebounded with strong performances at Bristol Motor Speedway and moved to the Round of 12.
Following the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Bowman and Byron sit in a similar position. They both dealt with tire issues that forced them down pit road multiple times and kept them from contending for the win against race-winner Denny Hamlin. Byron fell one lap down and finished 18th while Bowman ended his day two laps down in 22nd.
Heading toward Talladega, both drivers sit below the cutline while teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are in a safe position. Byron faces a four-point deficit while Bowman sits 13 points below the cutline. They have two more opportunities to stack points and move on to the Round of Eight. The race at Talladega Superspeedway on October 3 is the first while the October 10 trip to the Charlotte Roval is the second.