Hot off a thrilling race in Richmond, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series now heads to famed Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500 for what should be another exciting round of stock car racing action.
Soon-to-be-retired Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a legend of sorts in Talladega, but can he still compete with the rest of the young guns on the circuit? Exactly where does he stand in the oddsmakers’ eyes heading into this Sunday’s race? Let’s find out below, as well as cite some of the other drivers worth keeping tabs on in Alabama.
With six lifetime victories in Talladega, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is definitely a deserving front-runner to win it all in this week’s race. His latest win on the track is relatively fresh at that, having emerged victorious back in the spring of 2015 which was then followed-up with a runner-up finish in the fall of that same year.
Furthermore, good ol’ No. 88 has top-10 finishes in nearly half of his 33 career starts on the course (16). If there’s one place that Earnhardt can kick-start his final season in NASCAR with a victory and vault himself into the top 20 of the drivers standings, it would be none other than here in ‘Dega.
Joey Logano nabbed his first victory of the season last week in Richmond, and you can easily count him in as a favorite to win this week’s race as well.
Logano’s won two of the past three races in Talladega – both in the fall – and he’s also arguably built the best resumé amongst all drivers this season. The Team Penske standout has finished no worse than sixth place in eight of the nine races this 2017, with the exception coming from the race in Phoenix wherein he’d blown a tire and ended up 31st.
Considering that Jimmie Johnson just pulled off back-to-back victories prior to last week’s event, Logano could very well accomplish that same feat this weekend.
21-year-old Chase Elliott has been somewhat overshadowed this season by another young upstart in Kyle Larson, but he’s still shown a ton of promise in his second full Cup Series season.
Elliott has secured six top 10s and eight top-15 finishes throughout the nine races thus far with a couple of third-place finishes from Las Vegas and Martinsville. And although the son of former NASCAR great Bill Elliott has only made two appearances Talladega, winning pole and finishing fourth in his maiden run on the track leaves plenty of room for optimism that he’ll finally stand tall in the middle of the winner’s podium this Sunday.
Matt Kenseth’s hot-or-cold season (four top 10 finishes yet no top-15s in the remaining five races) means that he’s been quite the weekly wild card, but don’t count him out from possibly pulling off an upset this weekend.
Over the last two years, Kenseth finished in the top five four times in restrictor plate races. Only two other drivers have had the same amount of success as the former Winston Cup Series champion during that span, and they happen to be our favorites listed above in Earnhardt and Logano.
After finishing a solid fifth at Daytona, Paul Menard hasn’t been able to capitalize on that stellar performance, as the Eau Claire, Wisconsin native has failed to crack the top 15 in all eight of the succeeding races.
It’s also worth noting that Menard hasn’t won a race since 2011 at the Brickyard 400, which also happens to be his one and only win in the Cup Series circuit.
Writer’s Prediction
Logano (+800) seals another fantastic victory at ‘Dega.
