NASCAR playoffs: Going into great unknown at Talladega

The unknowns at Charlotte’s Roval course and the high-impact, pack-racing at Talladega were supposed to be the events that created an unlikely points shakeup – then along came Dover.

Dover produced a sort of unexpected winner while six of the NASCAR playoff drivers finished 11th or worse at the “Monster Mile.”

The first race in the Round of 12 has already created an unanticipated mayhem for nearly half the playoff field. At least four drivers are facing elimination if they don’t win at Talladega or Kansas in the next two weeks.

Going into Talladega this weekend, the celebrated “Big 3” remain — for now — on course to clash in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

But the big track in central Alabama has the potential to change that storyline thanks to Talladega’s sheet-metal gobbling reputation.

Car owner Rick Hendrick knows all about the perils Talladega offers.

“I have taken four cars to Talladega and cut them up to get them in the trailer, all of them,” he said.

Fast four

Kevin Harvick

POINTS LEADER: 3101

LAST FIVE RACES: 4th, 39th, 2nd, 9th , 6th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 35 starts, 1 win, 7 top-five, 15.1 average finish

BUZZ: Despite his aggressive driving style, Harvick has not performed that well at plate races. He has three wins in 70 combined starts at Daytona and Talladega. Harvick comes in with three straight top-10 finishes.

Kyle Busch

POINTS BACK: 5

LAST FIVE RACES: 8th, 7th, 1st, 32nd , 8th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 26 starts, 1 win, 6 top-five, 20.5 average finish

BUZZ: Busch is no fan of plate tracks. If you recall, he busted up a leg in a Truck Series race at Daytona. It will be interesting to see how he plays this stop, knowing he will have a better chance to win at Kansas.

Martin Truex Jr.

POINTS BACK: 32

LAST FIVE RACES: 11th, 40th, 3rd, 3rd, 14th , 15th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 27 starts, 0 wins, 2 top-five, 21.3 average finish

BUZZ: You can sort of see this team start to unravel and Talladega seems like the perfect place for the defending champ to simply implode. Remember this team has a shelf life of six races.

Joey Logano

POINTS BACK: 37

LAST FIVE RACES: 13th, 4th, 14th, 10th ,3rd

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 19 starts, 3 wins, 6 top-five, 17.7 average finish

BUZZ: Logano continues to just hang around. He’s like the kid that buys a jumbo Slurpee and hangs outside the 7-Eleven all afternoon. You can’t get rid of him. He has busted out three Talladega wins since 2015.

Fast, furious

Chase Elliott

POINTS BACK: 45

LAST FIVE RACES: 15th, 36th, 4th, 6th , 1st

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 5 starts, 0 wins, 2 top-five, 13.2 average finish

BUZZ: Elliott really belongs up there with the “Fast Four.” He won at Dover, which means he has a ticket to the Round of 8. He can use this opportunity to build some playoff points and that’s about it.

Kurt Busch

POINTS BACK: 47

LAST FIVE RACES: 6th, 21st, 18th, 5th , 5th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 35 starts, 0 wins, 8 top-five, 15.5 average finish

BUZZ: If Busch keeps logging fifth-place finishes, as he has the last two weeks, he'll advance to the next round. He probably won’t win Sunday, but he can use strategy to be around for the checkered flag.

Brad Keselowski

POINTS BACK: 47

LAST FIVE RACES: 1st, 1st, 9th, 31st , 14th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 19 starts, 5 wins, 7 top-five, 15.1 average finish

BUZZ: Keselowski was named in the same breath with the “Big 3.” Now it’s time for a breath mint. His last two outings haven’t been great. Fortunately, he is one driver who enjoys running at Talladega.

Ryan Blaney

POINTS BACK: 58

LAST FIVE RACES: 11th, 5th, 19th, 1st , 11th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 8 starts, 0 wins, 1 top-five, 20.5 average finish

BUZZ: Blaney just made it into this round and needs a solid finish to make the next round. He is here after an unlikely victory at the Roval. Could he be up for another surprise visit to Victory Lane?

Fasting mode

Aric Almirola

POINTS BACK: 68

LAST FIVE RACES: 23rd, 6th, 5th, 19th , 13th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 17 starts, 0 wins, 2 top-five, 17.2 average finish

BUZZ: Everybody and their brothers thought Almirola would have won a race by now. He is overdue for a victory. Remember, he was leading the last lap of the Daytona 500 before getting the boot by Austin Dillon.

Clint Bowyer

POINTS BACK: 68

LAST FIVE RACES: 35th, 23rd, 10th, 3rd , 35th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 25 starts, 2 wins, 6 top-five, 16.1 average finish

BUZZ: Bowyer is everybody’s second favorite driver. He has down home appeal with a twist of country charisma. All that won’t do him a lick of good unless he scores two top-5 finishes in the next two weeks.

Kyle Larson

POINTS BACK: 70

LAST FIVE RACES: 14th, 2nd, 7th, 25th , 12th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 9 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-five, 21.3 average finish

BUZZ: Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet never hooked up to Dover’s rough, concrete surface. He seems a bit challenged at plate races. But this is one mighty good little driver. Maybe that talent will burst out on Sunday.

Alex Bowman

POINTS BACK: 92

LAST FIVE RACES: 33rd, 19th, 12th, 4th , 28th

CAREER AT TALLADEGA: 6 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-five, 27.3 average finish

BUZZ: Can you believe we are still talking about Bowman this far into the playoffs? He needs a win in the next two weeks to advance and that is not going to happen. Maybe some laissez-faire is the answer.

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