It is that time of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, where the most unpredictable track rears its enormous head, Talladega Superspeedway.
The postseason this year has already been hard to predict, throwing in the proverbial coin flip that is pack racing is just asking for the madness to continue.
Despite this, there is a still an art to taming tracks like Talladega and, assuming they were able to keep their noses clean, those that have honed and mastered this skill tend to filter to the front of the pack.
With that in mind, here are some picks of drivers that should be watched around the 2.66-mile monster.
Joey Logano: +1200 to Win Outright, +150 for Top 5
Logano, the current playoff points leader, comes into Talladega with not only a good spot in the standings, but he comes to a track that he’s run pretty well at in his career.
Sitting 37 points above the cut line, he has racked up three wins, nine top five’s and 11 top 10’s with an average finish of 17.5 across 27 starts at the superspeedway.
The downside of the 32 year-old is that he also seems to struggle with keeping his nose clean despite his successes.
Not only did he run into trouble in the spring race, but has also racked up 9 DNFs, the most he’s accrued at any track in his career.
While he may be a bit of a risk, Logano has shown that he can do it around Dega, and that he’s always a threat for the chequered flag.
Denny Hamlin: +1200 to win, +150 for Top 5
Hamlin finds himself on this list yet again as one of the field’s best superspeedway racers and looks to continue his decent playoff run.
Unlike in 2021 where he came into Talladega carefree because of his win in Las Vegas, the 41 year-old has more work cut out for him this year.
After controversy arose at Texas between Hamlin and William Byron that saw the latter spin out the former under caution and not get punished for it until two days after the race, it sees the Joe Gibbs Racing man 15 points above the cut line with some work to do to secure his spot in the Round of Eight.
This will definitely be the best chance, as he has recorded two wins, nine top fives and 14 top 10s in 33 starts with an average finish of 16.9.
Combine that with a decent showing the spring race despite only finishing in 18th, Hamlin is always a threat when it comes to a superspeedway.
Bubba Wallace: +1400 to Win, +175 for Top 5
Wallace plus superspeedways is always an equation that leads to a positive answer.
The Mobile, Alabama native has shown a proficiency to this style of a racing since entering the Cup Series, grabbing five top fives, two of which were runner ups in the 2018 and 2022 Daytona 500, and five top 10s with an average finish of 15.5.
While Daytona is where Wallace definitely shines, his form at his home track of Talladega did not bare fruit until last year, where he captured his first career win in a rain shortened affair, and the first by an African-American since Wendell Scott in 1964.
The 28 year-old looks to repeat that result this year, pushing the 45 team into the next round of the owners’ playoffs and keep the streak of non-playoff drivers winning going for another week.
Chase Briscoe: +3300 to win, +400 for Top 5
Time to embrace the chaos with the underdog pick.
Briscoe has not had a particular great postseason by normal standards, but this has been the fartherest thing from a normal playoffs.
Finishes of 27th, 13th and 14th probably would not see a driver into the Round of 12 and yet the 27 year-old has managed it thanks to the misfortune of drivers like Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.
Briscoe will make his fourth start at Talladega and will look to improve on his 20.7 average finish that he’s achieved through his first three.
He’s a long shot to win or even make the round of eight. But it’s superspeedway racing, anything can happen.
The YellaWood 500 get going from Talladega on Oct. 2 at 2 P.M. EST on TSN3 and TSN5.
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