NASCAR Xfinity Series, Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Preview

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NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers are revving up for the Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, Saturday, April 28th at 3 pm ET. FOX will offer pre-race coverage along with MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

300 miles (113 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on lap 25),

Stage 2 (Ends on lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on lap 113)

What to Watch For: Veteran Elliott Sadler sits atop-nearly all the statistical categories when it comes to racing at Talladega. Sadler has the most wins (two), poles (two), starts (27), runner-up finishes (four), top-five finishes (11) and laps led (267) among his competition on Saturday.

Justin Allgaier holds the top-spot for an average running position at ‘Dega (8.2).

There have been eight different winners in the eight 2018 season-opening races. Should a new winner hoist the trophy Saturday, it would mark the third longest streak of different winners to start a season. This is the third time (also 1998 and 2006) that eight different drivers have won in the first eight races.

Christopher Bell, last week’s winner at Richmond, has five top-fives in the last seven races and sits in second place in the points standings, 29 markers behind Sadler. This will be his and third place Tyler Reddick’s  Xfinity Series debut on the Talladega high banks.

Former Xfinity Series champion Joe Nemechek – father of current Xfinity Series driver John Hunter Nemechek – is attempting to make his 1,142nd start in one of NASCAR’s three major series. Should he make the field for Saturday’s Xfinity race, he would be only one start short of NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin’s (1,143) total – second on the all-time list.

FOX Brings Back Drivers-Only Broadcast Lineup for Talladega Superspeedway

Innovating the media landscape once again, FOX will use a group of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers to provide race commentary and analysis during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, the Sparks Energy 300 on Saturday, April 28. The lineup includes Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Brad Keselowski and Darrell Wallace Jr.

FOX originally introduced the all driver broadcast lineup at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway last season. The debut was a smash hit, so much so, FOX is bringing it back this season.

“I had a ton of fun last year,” said Ryan Blaney. “It was good to step out of my comfort zone and see how the broadcast team does it on the road each week. I think doing it at Talladega will make it even more exciting.”

Kevin Harvick will be calling the play-by-play alongside Clint Bowyer and Joey Logano in the booth. Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will host coverage from the Hollywood Hotel as Darrell Wallace Jr., Erik Jones, and Ryan Blaney cover pit road.

“I think we’ve all got confidence going into this year’s broadcast, but we all know the type of racing that restrictor plates create,” Joey Logano added.  “We’ll all be on the edge of our seats with everyone at home, trying to keep up with the three and four-wide racing.”

One could argue these analysts might be over-qualified as five of the eight drivers participating in the broadcast – Harvick, Logano, Bowyer, Stenhouse, and Keselowski – have all won at Talladega in the Monster Energy Series. Logano and Keselowski have also won this exact event in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as well.  

Dash 4 Cash Hits the Unpredictable High Banks of Talladega 

For the first time in the program’s history, the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash is going to Talladega Superspeedway.

Last week’s winner, Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell, along with Elliott Sadler, Matt Tifft and Austin Cindric qualified for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program this weekend at Talladega and will compete in the Sparks Energy 300 on Saturday for the $100,000 bonus.

Ryan Preece took home the first $100,000 bonus this season at Bristol Motor Speedway and then Elliott Sadler grabbed the second monster check at Richmond last weekend.

Now Sadler has a chance to make it two Dash 4 Cash bonuses in a row if he can win it again this weekend at Talladega. Sadler has made nine series starts at Talladega, posting two wins (2014, 2016), four top-fives, six top-tens and an average finish of 10.4.

Sadler’s experience gives him a slight advantage over Christopher Bell, who will be making his series track debut at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Though it will be his first series start, Bell does have some experience at Talladega. He has made three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the 2.66-mile facility posting one pole and an average finish of 7.0; including a runner-up finish last season.

Another driver looking for his own big check is Richard Childress Racing’s, Matt Tifft. The Hinckley, Ohio, native has made two series starts at Talladega, posting an average finish of 7.0 – his best average finish on a track where he has made multiple starts

And last but not least, is Team Penske’s, Austin Cindric. Like Bell, Cindric will also be making his series track debut this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway but has also made two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at the historic facility, posting a best finish of fifth last season.

Streaking!

Talladega Could Bring Ninth Different Xfinity Series Winner to Start the Season

Through the first eight races of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season there have been eight different winners, which has the spotlight turned to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend to see if the streak can stay alive and give the series its ninth different winner in as many races. If a ninth different winner should occur this weekend, the 2018 season will solely have the third longest different winner streak to start the season in series history. Currently, at eight different winners, the 2018 season is tied with the 1998 and 2006 seasons for the third longest different winners streak to start the season.

Since the series inception in 1982, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has had eight different winners in the first eight races just five times; including 2018.

The record for the highest number of different winners to start a NASCAR Xfinity Series season is 13 back in 1988; followed by 1987 with ten different winners, then 1998, 2006 and 2018 with eight.

The 1988 and 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons are tied for the series-most different winners for the entire season with 18 each.

This season’s winners include Tyler Reddick (Daytona), Kevin Harvick (Atlanta), Kyle Larson (Las Vegas), Brad Keselowski (Phoenix), Joey Logano (California), Ryan Blaney (Texas), Ryan Preece (Bristol) and Christopher Bell (Richmond).

Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell are the only two winners this season entered this weekend. Bell will be making his series track debut at Talladega this weekend. Reddick made his series debut at Talladega last season; starting 16th and finishing 20th.

Postseason OutLook:

Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick are Sitting Playoff Pretty

Even though the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs don’t start until September, it’s always neat to see how the seedings are starting to take shape.

If the Playoffs were to start today, the top-two seeds would be held by Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell currently holds the No. 1 seed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs due to his big win last weekend at Richmond and the seven Playoff points he has accumulated this season.

Right behind Bell in the No. 2 seed is JR Motorsport’s Tyler Reddick due to his season-opening win at Daytona and his five Playoff points.

Bell and Reddick are the only two championship contenders with wins virtually locking themselves into the postseason. The other ten drivers are currently forecasted to make the Playoffs by points.

Four of the ten drivers depending on points have accumulated at least one Playoff point by winning a stage this season – Elliott Sadler, Daniel Hemric, Justin Allgaier and Brandon Jones.

Ross Chastain currently holds the 12th and final spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs seedings. But Chastain only holds an 11-point cushion over Austin Cindric in the 13th position in the championship standings – the first spot outside of the Playoffs. 

Reliable Hemric Stumbles, Bell Takes Advantage in the Standings

After five straight top-ten finishes dating back to Las Vegas, Daniel Hemric slipped and finished 29th last weekend at Richmond Raceway, dropping him from second to fourth in the points. The blunder opened the door for a burgeoning Christopher Bell, who leapfrogged Hemric in the championship standings and took second in the standings points as the series heads to Talladega Superspeedway.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell not only won the race last weekend at Richmond Raceway, he also virtually locked himself into the Playoffs and moved into second in the driver championship standings just 29 points behind the standings leader, Elliott Sadler. Bell is now two points ahead of third place Tyler Reddick and nine points ahead of fourth place Daniel Hemric.

Bell has been in rebound mode since the season opener at Daytona, where he finished 39th after being caught in an incident on lap 11. Since then, Bell has been climbing from the hole in the standings he fell into and has been doing so in impressive fashion, posting three poles, one win (Richmond), five top-fives and an average finish of 8.9 over the last seven races.

Now the Norman, Oklahoma, native Bell sits second in the standings poised to make his series track debut at Talladega this weekend. Hemric made his series debut at Talladega last season, starting third and finishing 38th. 

NASCAR Xfinity Series Restrictor-Plate Kings

When it comes to the wildest, most unpredictable racing in NASCAR, nothing measures up to the intensity produced by restrictor-plate racing at Daytona and Talladega. Below is a look at the top-restrictor-plate drivers in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the statistical categories they lead:

Xfinity Series Fantasy: A Recent Statistical Look at Talladega

With the NASCAR Xfinity Series now available to play on DraftKings, here are some Fantasy-centered stats that can help players make the best decisions when creating their lineups for Talladega this weekend. The stats below take into account the performances of drivers over the last three seasons (2015-2017) at Talladega Superspeedway:

  • Wins: 1 each – Joey Logano (2015), Elliott Sadler (2016) and Aric Almirola (2017).
  • Runner-Ups: 1 each – Brian Scott (2015), Justin Allgaier (2016) and Elliott Sadler (2017).
  • top-Fives: 13 drivers have posted top-fives – Elliott Sadler (2), Joey Logano (2), Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Ben Kennedy, Brendan Gaughan, Brennan Poole, Brian Scott, Erik Jones, Jeremy Clements, JJ Yeley, Joey Gase and Justin Allgaier each have one.
  • top-tens: 21 drivers have posted top-tens – Aric Almirola (3), Elliott Sadler (3), Austin Dillon (2), Daniel Suarez (2), Joey Logano (2), Justin Allgaier (2), Matt Tifft (2), Ben Kennedy, Brendan Gaughan, Brennan Poole, Brian Scott, Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Erik Jones, Jeff Green, Jeremy Clements, JJ Yeley, Joey Gase, Michael Annett, Regan Smith, Ty Dillon each have one.

The following Loop Data statistics from 2015-2017 include only active drivers entered this weekend at Talladega:

  • Driver Rating: (top-Five) – Elliott Sadler (110.0), Justin Allgaier (109.8), Matt Tifft (103.0), Michael Annett (99.5), Tyler Reddick (78.4).
  • Average Running Position: (top-Five) – Justin Allgaier (8.2), Elliott Sadler (9.9), Michael Annett (10.2), Matt Tifft (11.6), JJ Yeley (16.8).
  • Fastest Laps Run: (top-Five) – Elliott Sadler (12), Justin Allgaier (12), Ty Dillon (11), Ross Chastain (11), Ryan Sieg (9).
  • Percentage of Laps in the top-15: (top-Five) – Justin Allgaier (89.5%), Elliott Sadler (75.4%), Michael Annett (73.5%), Matt Tifft (70.3%), Ryan Reed (47.4%).
  • Average Finish: (top-Five) – Elliott Sadler (3.3), Justin Allgaier (5.0), Matt Tifft (7.0), Michael Annett (7.0), JJ Yeley (12.3).
  • Laps Led: (top-Five) – Brandon Jones (36), Justin Allgaier (24), Matt Tifft (21), Elliott Sadler (20), Jeff Green (18).

Also Noteworthy…

Impressive Debuts This Season: Noah Gragson became the 12th different driver to finish first or second in their NASCAR Xfinity Series debut when he finished runner-up this past weekend at Richmond Raceway.  The impressive finish makes him the third driver this season to post a top-five finish in their season debut joining Kaz Grala (fourth at Daytona) and John Hunter Nemechek (fourth at Atlanta). 

Sunoco Rookie Of The Year Update: Christopher Bell takes the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings lead from Tyler Reddick by two points following his win at Richmond Raceway this past weekend. Though there are ten rookies in this season’s class, through the first eight races it’s a two-man show, with Bell and Reddick stealing the spotlight. Austin Cindric posted his series career-best finish of fifth at Richmond and now sits third in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings 109 points behind second-place Tyler Reddick. Here are the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings following Richmond: Bell (282), Reddick (280), Cindric (171), Kaz Grala (138), Alex Labbe (137), Spencer Boyd (68), Vinnie Miller (61), Josh Bilicki (41), Chad Finchum (25), Matt Mills (13).  

Joe Nemechek One Start Closer To Milestone Start: Florida native Joe Nemechek, father of John Hunter Nemechek, will attempt to make his 1,142nd NASCAR national series start (667 MENCS, 433 NXS, and 42 NCWTS), one start shy of NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin (882 MENCS, 236 NXS, and 25 NCWTS) for second on the all-time NASCAR national series starts list. Nemechek made his first start in the series at Rockingham back in 1989.