The NASCAR Cup Series drivers have completed one race of the Round of 8. Now it's time for a wild card. They have to head to Talladega Superspeedway while battling for spots in the Championship 4.
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This may not be ideal, but the Cup drivers can't do anything about. They just have to go out and perform... or at least avoid incidents that will put them in a must-win position heading to Martinsville Speedway next week.
"I feel fine. It is what it is," Chase Elliott said after last weekend's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "Everybody's got to go. So you better learn to like it real quick because it will be here soon."
Said Chase Briscoe, "I don't love it for sure, but it's the same for all of us."
Talladega is not a new part of the playoff schedule. Teams have taken on the Alabama track every fall since the 1997 season. Once NASCAR introduced the elimination format in 2014, the superspeedway became a part of the Round of 12.
Talladega has always created nervousness among playoff drivers, but does this increase now that the track is one of two remaining hurdles standing between them and Phoenix?
"There's definitely a difference," defending champion Joey Logano said. "I hate calling them wild cards because I just hate saying that - but it's a race where a lot of things can happen. A wreck can take out a few cars more than normal, so it just becomes interesting that way.
"I don't know if I'm a huge fan of where it is in the playoffs, but the rules are the rules and we're gonna play by them. That's the whole thing with this whole playoff system. When we start in Daytona, those are the rules. We all know it.
"We all know the schedule. We all know how everything goes and it's up to us to figure out how to do it the best. They're not gonna change because we don't like it. They are what they are, so let's go figure out how to win with it."
Logano has been on the wrong side of the wild card. He crashed in last season's playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. Other playoff drivers involved in wrecks in last season's race included Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, and Tyler Reddick.
Some of these drivers continued in the race. Bell, in particular, finished sixth. Now, he will return to the superspeedway to "roll the dice" as he tries to get back to the Championship 4 for the first time since the 2023 season.
Bell has a 20-point cushion to the cutline entering this weekend's race in Alabama. This does not provide much comfort considering how quickly the situation can change with an early wreck. In fact, not even Kyle Larson can feel comfort with his 35-point cushion.
"You can never expect a good finish or a finish at all when you go (to Talladega)," Larson said. "Yeah, we'll just try and go and execute like we have been this year at those places. Hopefully, we can have another good points day and maybe Martinsville will be a little bit easier."
Honestly, the only driver who can rest easy this weekend is Denny Hamlin. He won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and locked up a spot in the Championship 4. He doesn't have to worry about points; he can just go to Talladega and try to score his 61st win.
