Roush Fenway Drivers Invade Top-12 in Sprint Cup Qualifying

Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Cheez-it Ford, stands on the grid prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo - Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 Cheez-it Ford, stands on the grid prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo – Jerry Markland/Getty Images

Collectively, Roush Fenway Racing turned in an admirable performance during Saturday’s time trials, putting all three of its full-time Fords in the top-11 on the grid.

Greg Biffle led the RFR qualifying effort with a fifth-place effort, followed closely by teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 17 Fusion. Trevor Bayne was 11th in the No. 6 Ford. Continue reading

Martin Truex Jr. Wins Pole for Chase Cutoff Race at Talladega

TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 22: Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the NNASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

TALLADEGA, AL – OCTOBER 22: Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota, poses with the Coors Light Pole Award after qualifying for the pole position for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 22, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

Just 13 points to the good entering Sunday’s Round of 12 cutoff race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Martin Truex Jr. gave himself as much of a cushion as possible, winning the pole for the Hellman’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway during Saturday’s knockout qualifying session.

Seventh in the Chase standings, and 13 points ahead of Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, Truex covered the 2.66-mile distance in 49.508 seconds (193.423 mph) to claim the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s race at 2 pm ET on NBCSN that will trim the Chase field from 12 drivers to eight. Continue reading

Grant Enfinger Scores First Truck Series Win; Chase Feld is Cut to Six

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In the race that decided the lineup for the Round of 6 in the inaugural NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase, Alabama native Grant Enfinger stole the thunder from the playoff drivers in Saturday’s Fred’s 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

With a strong push from GMS Racing teammate and Chase driver Ben Kennedy after a restart on lap 93 of 94, Enfinger surged to the front and stayed there in the face of a last-lap challenger from another teammate, Spencer Gallagher, who came home second, 0.108 seconds behind the winner.

The victory was Enfinger’s first in 13 career starts in the series. Continue reading

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fred’s 250 at Talladega Preview

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams return to action on Saturday, October 22, 2016 for 94 laps covering 250.04 miles in the fred’s 250 powered by Coca-Cola at Talladega Superspeedway. Television coverage is on FOX at 12:30 pm ET with radio coverage also available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

What to Watch For: Timothy Peters goes for his third straight win at Talladega.

Timothy Peters (2014, 2015), Johnny Sauter (2013) and Parker Kligerman (2012) are the only drivers in the field who have won at Talladega.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chase field cuts down from eight to six following Saturday’s fred’s 250. Continue reading

Chase Elliott Eyes Victory Lane as a Cure for Chase Deficit

Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 21, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo - Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, stands in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 21, 2016 in Talladega, Alabama. Photo – Patrick Smith/Getty Images

In a sense, Chase Elliott comes to Talladega Superspeedway with the greatest amount of freedom, simply because he has the largest challenge to overcome and the narrowest path to do so.

After unfortunate results at Charlotte and Kansas, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader is 12th in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, 25 points behind Joey Logano and Austin Dillon, who are tied for eighth.

After the Hellman’s 500 on Sunday at 2 pm ET on NBCSN, the Chase field will be cut from 12 drivers to eight, and Elliott likely must win in order to advance. Continue reading