NASCAR XFINITY Series

Next Race: Winn Dixie 300

The Place: Talladega Superspeedway

The Date: Saturday, May 2

The Time: 3 p.m. (ET)

TV: FOX, 2:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

Distance: 300.58 miles (113 laps)

 

Twice As Nice: Sadler Looking For Two In A Row At Talladega

Defending NASCAR XFINITY Series Talladega Superspeedway winner Elliott Sadler is looking to become the second driver in series history to win back-to-back series races at the famous 2.66-mile, high-banked, superspeedway this weekend in the Winn Dixie 300 joining Martin Truex Jr. – who won three straight from 2004-2006. 

Sadler is now seventh in the XFINITY Series standings, 49 points behind the series leader Ty Dillon. In 2015, Sadler has posted two top 10s and an average finish of 13.6.

Since 1992, when the XFINITY Series debuted at Talladega, the series has produced 23 different winners but just two have won more than once – Martin Truex Jr. (three wins) and Joe Nemechek (two wins).

In his last four series starts at the 2.66-mile superspeedway he has an average finish of 6.8 and he ranks second in Driver Rating (110.1), and second in Average Running Position (8.405).

Sadler’s greatest attribute at Talladega has been ability to close out races at a high level. He leads the series in the loop data group ‘Closers’, averaging nine positions gained in the last ten percent of races at Talladega – an average of 3.6 more spots gained than the next best competitor (Joey Logano, 6.4).

Points Battle Tension Rises As Series Heads To Talladega

A mere 11 points separate the top-three in the  XFINITY Series standings following back-to-back short track races at Bristol and Richmond.

After two consecutive short-track races, the  XFINITY Series is jumping to the opposite end of the track spectrum for the second of three restrictor-plate races this season. At a track known for the unknown, Ty Dillon will try to hold on to his eight point lead over second-place Chase Elliott at Talladega Superspeedway.

Dillon retook the lead in the series standings following his ninth-place finish at Richmond. Dillon’s championship focus has translated well this season; he has posted three top-fives, six top-tens and leads all series championship contenders in average finish with a 7.5.

But … Talladega is known as a wild card. Dillon has struggled in his two starts there, posting an average finish of 19.5. Dillon’s nearest competitor in the standings, Chase Elliott, shares a similar average finish at Talladega with Dillon (19.0), but third-place Chris Buescher finished second in his series track début at Talladega last season and finished second in the 2015 season opener at Daytona. Buescher will also be getting extra seat time this weekend, as he is running both the XFINITY and Sprint Cup Series events.

Dillon finished third at Daytona earlier this season, his best restrictor-plate series career finish.  If Dillon can win this weekend, it will be the first time in 22 years since the famous No. 3 car has visited Talladega’s Victory Lane in the XFINITY Series. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt was the last to win at Talladega in the No. 3 in 1993.

Chase Elliott Bouncing Back To Right Where He Wants To Be

Defending 2014 XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott has climbed from 20th in the points to second in the seven races after the season opener at Daytona.

Just eight points separate Elliott and series standings leader Ty Dillon. On the strength of seven consecutive top-ten finishes, Elliott leads all series championship contenders in the following season-to-date categories: Average Running Position (8.147), Driver Rating (100.8) and Percentage of Laps Run in the Top-15 (94.1%).

In his lone Talladega start, Elliott started 37th and finished 19th last season.

Nine Drivers To Attempt Talladega Weekend Sweep

Nine drivers are racing in both the XFINITY and Sprint Cup Series races this weekend at Talladega: Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, Brendan Gaughan, Chris Buescher, Landon Cassill, JJ Yeley and Brian Scott.

The ‘weekend sweep’ of both competing series (NSCS, NXS) at Talladega has happened three times – Ernie Irvan (1992), Dale Earnhardt (1993) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2003).

Said Heads Unite

Boris Said will make his 2015 XFINITY Series début with the first of seven scheduled starts in the No. 54 Monster Energy Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at Talladega this weekend. The 52-year old Carlsbad, California native will also compete at the following XFINITY Series events in addition to Talladega: Iowa Speedway (May 17 and August 1), Chicagoland Speedway (June 20), the Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course (August 15), Road America (August 29) and Kentucky Speedway (September 26).

Drivers in the Booth

Fans will have the pleasure of two drivers contributing to the broadcasts of the Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Ryan Blaney, driver of the Wood Brothers historic No. 21 Ford in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be in the booth for the MRN radio race broadcast on Saturday. Also four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon will return to the FOX TV booth for his last appearance of this season.

Milestones Watch

Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher and TriStar Motorsports’ David Starr are making their 50th career XFINITY Series start this weekend at Talladega.