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Author: Tucker White

  • Byron Fastest at Martinsville in Final Truck Practice

    Byron Fastest at Martinsville in Final Truck Practice

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — William Byron topped the chart in final Camping World Truck Series practice at Martinsville Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 9 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 19.687 and a speed of 96.185 mph. Johnny Sauter was second in his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet with a time of 19.749 and a speed of 95.883 mph. Daniel Suarez was third in his No. 51 KBM Toyota with a time of 19.757 and a speed of 95.845 mph. Cole Custer was fourth in his No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 19.765 and a speed of 95.806 mph. Tyler Reddick rounded out the top-five in his No. 29 Brad Keselowski Racing Ford with a time of 19.799 and a speed of 95.641 mph.

    Ben Rhodes was sixth in his No. 41 ThorSport Racing Toyota. John Hunter Nemechek was seventh in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet. Spencer Gallagher was eighth in his No. 23 GMS Chevrolet. Daniel Hemric was ninth in his No. 19 BKR Ford. Christopher Bell rounded out the top-10 in his No. 19 KBM Toyota.

    Ben Kennedy was 11th, Matt Crafton was 12th and Timothy Peters was the lowest Chase driver in 15th.

    Cameron Hayley posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at an average speed of 93.710 mph.

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  • Logano on New Rule Limiting Number of Starts for Cup Drivers in XFINITY and Truck

    Logano on New Rule Limiting Number of Starts for Cup Drivers in XFINITY and Truck

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Joey Logano gave his take on the new rule limiting Cup participation in the lower tier national touring series in the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing while speaking to the media at Martinsville.

    During his media availability this morning prior to first Sprint Cup Series practice, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford talked about NASCAR implementing a new policy starting in 2017 curtailing the number of starts a Cup driver can make in the XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series, and how it would affect his organization’s operations in the XFINITY Series.

    “It affects them a lot. It affects the sport a lot,” Logano said. “As a race car driver, I want to race all the time, so if I put my race car driver hat on I think, ‘Man, this kind of stinks,’ because I want to drive. But I think when you kind of take that hat off and look at it from more of a global view I understand it.”

    NASCAR instituted a new policy on Wednesday that starting in 2017, limits Sprint Cup Series drivers with five or more years of experience at the highest level to 10 races a season in the XFINITY Series and seven in the Camping World Truck Series. Those Cup drivers won’t be allowed to take part in the four XFINITY Dash 4 Cash races next season or in the last eight races of either the XFINITY or Truck Series.

    The rule doesn’t apply to drivers with less than five years experience in Cup, such as Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson, or drivers with five or more years experience in Cup who are declared to run for points in either the XFINITY Series or Truck Series, such as Elliott Sadler.

    While this has largely been positively received by fans, it’s been a mixed bag amongst drivers.

    “I get why we’re doing that. I think it’s important to have Cup racers out there because I think growing up as a young race car driver I learned that you only get better when you’re racing against people that are better than you, and I think this has the ability to give young drivers that and young crew chiefs coming up through the XFINITY Series,” he said giving one of the common arguments by proponents for allowing Cup drivers in XFINITY and Truck competition.

    “I think it gives them the ability to work with Cup drivers and things like that, so I think that’s good that they have that mix in there, but at the same time you also want to have the opportunity for young drivers to get into the seat and drive it at some point. I get that. If you look at it from the business end, it’s no secret that a lot of sponsors want to have the big-name drivers in there. They want to have Sprint Cup racers that can go out there and are proven winners, so that’s definitely gonna change the game quite a bit from the business side of our sport.”

  • Suarez Fastest in First Truck Practice at Martinsville

    Suarez Fastest in First Truck Practice at Martinsville

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Daniel Suarez topped the chart in first Camping World Truck Series practice at Martinsville Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.823 and a speed of 95.525 mph. Cameron Hayley was second in his No. 13 ThorSport Racing Toyota with a time of 19.835 and a speed of 95.468 mph. William Byron was third in his No. 9 KBM Toyota with a time of 19.848 and a speed of 95.405 mph. Matt Crafton was fourth in his No. 88 TSR Toyota with a time of 19.914 and a speed of 95.089 mph. John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top-five in his No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 19.963 and a speed of 94.856 mph.

    Johnny Sauter was sixth in his No. 21 GMS Racing Chevrolet. Harrison Burton was seventh in his No. 18 KBM Toyota. Christopher Bell was eighth in his No. 4 KBM Toyota. Ben Rhodes was ninth in his No. 41 TSR Toyota. Kay Grala rounded out the top-10 in his No. 24 GMS Chevrolet.

    Ben Kennedy was 17th and Timothy Peters was the lowest Chase driver in 20th.

    Matt Tifft posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at an average speed of 93.283 mph.

    The Truck Series is back on track at 2:30 p.m.

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  • Larson Fastest in First Practice at Martinsville

    Larson Fastest in First Practice at Martinsville

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Kyle Larson topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Martinsville Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 19.289 and a speed of 98.170 mph. Denny Hamlin was second in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 19.311 and a speed of 98.058 mph. Joey Logano was third in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 19.312 and a speed of 98.053 mph. Chase Elliott was fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 19.321 and a speed of 98.007 mph. Danica Patrick rounded out the top-five in her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 19.328 and a speed of 97.972 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr. was sixth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Kyle Busch was seventh in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. AJ Allmendinger was eighth in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota. Jeff Gordon was ninth in his No. 88 HMS Chevrolet. Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-10 in his No. 48 HMS Chevrolet.

    Kurt Busch was 11th, Matt Kenseth was 15th, Carl Edwards was 18th and Kevin Harvick was the lowest Chase driver in 19th.

    Larson posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 95.242 mph.

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  • Chase hopes for Keselowski and Truex Go up in Smoke

    Chase hopes for Keselowski and Truex Go up in Smoke

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Two of the heavy favorites to win the championship going into the Chase won’t continue on in the pursuit of a championship in 2016 following mechanical failure in Alabama.

    Martin Truex Jr. – who entered the race in seventh, 13 points above the cutoff – started the race on pole position and had a strong car in the first quarter of the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, leading two laps while staying near the front.

    Rounding turn 2, however, his Chase hopes went up in smoke when his engine blew up, his first since the 2014 Daytona 500.

    “Just developed a vibration and started to lose a little bit of power,” Truex said of what happened to take him out. “Originally I thought it could have been a tire because it was shaking worse and worse and worse until it was time to pit. I slowed down to hit pit road and felt the vibration still there and knew it was the engine. Definitely not the way we wanted today to go – it’s a tough way to go out, but proud of the effort and proud of all the guys.”

    This relegated him to a 40th place finish, his fifth in 401 Sprint Cup Series starts and first since the 2014 Daytona 500.

    He’s also the first pole sitter to finish last in a race at Talladega since Stacey Compton in April of 2001 and the first driver to finish last after having led a lap since Michael McDowell at Texas in November of 2013 (LASTCAR.info).

    He leaves Talladega ninth in points.

    Brad Keselowski takes his car to the garage following his engine expiring late in the Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo: Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
    Brad Keselowski takes his car to the garage following his engine expiring late in the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo: Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

    Truex wasn’t alone in the engine failure department.

    Brad Keselowski, entering Talladega 11th in a seven-point hole, worked his way to the lead on the first lap and led 90 laps on nine different occasions.

    In the final quarter of the race, Keselowski allowed Ryan Blaney to take the lead so he could get behind him and clear off trash that was stuck on the grille of his car. The debris flew off, but a lap later, his engine blew up, eliminating him from Chase contention.

    “It looks like we lost an engine,” Keselowski said when asked what happened. “I’m pretty confident I lost a rod or something in the lower end. That’s just the way it goes.”

    He said he didn’t know if the engine got too hot from the debris on his grille.

    “I’m not an engine guy, but the car was really strong and we definitely kept finding debris,” he added. “I thought I got it cooled off and only got it slightly over, but I don’t know.”

    Keselowski finished 38th and leaves Talladega 10th in the standings.

  • Logano Moves on with Victory at Talladega

    Logano Moves on with Victory at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — A jack getting stuck under the car of Joey Logano on his first stop didn’t stop him from rallying back to score the victory in Alabama.

    Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag at 2:22 p.m. Brad Keselowski got a run on him going down the backstretch to lead the first lap. Truex worked his way up alongside Keselowski in Turn 1 to take the lead for the first time on the 13th circuit, only to give it back to Keselowski a lap later.

    The No. 2 Penske car spent most of the run blocking all three lanes, which allowed Chase Elliott to get under him in Turn 3 and take the lead on lap 26. Keselowski regained it briefly two laps later before Elliott powered by on the top in Turn 1 to regain the lead back on lap 29, only for Keselowski to take it back on lap 32.

    Green flag stops started on lap 37 with the first wave of cars hitting pit road. Race leader Keselowski was among the second wave the following lap. After the third wave pitted, the lead cycled back to Keselowski.

    Teammate Logano was penalized for removing equipment (jack) from the pit box under this pit cycle.

    Truex’s Chase hopes went up in smoke when his car went up in smoke in Turn 2 on lap 41.

    “Just developed a vibration and started to lose a little bit of power,” Truex said. “Originally I thought it could have been a tire because it was shaking worse and worse and worse until it was time to pit. I slowed down to hit pit road and felt the vibration still there and knew it was the engine. Definitely not the way we wanted to go. It’s a tough way to go out, but proud of the effort and proud of all the guys.”

    The race restarted on lap 47. Attempting to block Elliott’s advance, Keselowski found himself without drafting help and Elliott took back the lead, only for Biffle to get a run on him going into Turn 1 to take the lead on lap 49. Elliott worked his way back to the lead by dropping to the bottom lane going into Turn 1 and driving under Biffle on lap 78.

    Another wave of cars started pitting the following lap. The lead under the cycle went as follows: Elliott, Hamlin, Edwards, Annett and Keselowski.

    A three-car wreck involving Biffle, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Casey Mears on the frontstretch brought out the second caution with 74 laps to go.

    After the race went back green with 68 to go, it settled into a routine of going back and forth between single and double file. The most notable event during the run was Keselowski blowing an engine on the backstretch with 42 to go and bringing out the third caution. Teammate Logano assumed the lead

    The next run didn’t last a lap because the caution flew the same lap as the restart with 39 to go for a big piece of debris on the backstretch.

    Going back green with 35 to go, the race was slowed down with four to go by Kasey Kahne wrecking in Turn 3 and Alex Bowman going for a spin through the tri-oval grass coming to the line to get two to go.

    Restarting in overtime, Logano had to hold off Brian Scott to score the victory.

    “It’s never a layup here at Talladega. It’s always close,” Logano said. “You never get a big lead. A good Shell/Pennzoil Ford. Todd made some good adjustments during the race and found some speed in the car, so that was pretty neat to see some of that. We got that track position and just hung onto it. I was able to stay on the bottom and try to run the bottom and keep everyone in lane, and that worked out really well. Kevin did a good job with that, which ultimately got us all a great finish. It was fun racing there at the end. I was really confused. I didn’t know what lane to pick coming to the last restart, but I knew Kevin had a lot of experience in these situations and is great at speedway racing, so he did a good job of pushing me out and then had to defend the top lane with Brian Scott, so a couple of Fords out front here at Talladega is pretty cool.”

    It’s his 16th career victory in 287 Sprint Cup Series starts, second of 2016 and second at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Scott brought his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford home to a runner-up finish, his career-best finish and first top-10 finish of 2016. Hamlin rounded out the podium in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

    Describing the level of stress, Hamlin said the race “was crazy. I mean, it was very tough in there not having any teammates, but there were a lot of guys that acted like teammates today to me and can’t thank enough for that. They know who they are. I don’t want to get them in trouble with their race teams because they’re probably a different team, different manufacturer, but thank those guys for that. 4 (Kevin Harvick) cut me a break at the tri-oval. I mean, just – we had something go our way for crying out loud. One time, we had something go our way and we just battled at the line right there with the 41 (Kurt Busch), so just – I’m just so happy.”

    Kurt Busch finished fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five.

    “It was really fun. Every time I would make a mistake and get shuffled to the middle it seemed like the crew guys would bring back a solid pit stop to put us in position and to be in control,” Busch said. “It feels good when we have that plus alongside our name in points. I was trying to ease it for Tony Gibson (crew chief) and all these guys that work so hard. There was some rooting and gouging at the end and I got some damage. I don’t even know where we finished, but all I was shooting for was top 15.”

    Kyle Larson finished sixth, Kevin Harvick finished seventh, Aric Almirola finished eighth, Austin Dillon finished ninth and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10.

    Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Edwards, Hamlin and the Busch brothers advance to the Round of 8 while Austin Dillon, Elliott, Keselowski and Truex go no further in the Chase.

    The race lasted three hours, 11 minutes and 38 seconds at an average speed of 159.905 mph. There were 31 lead changes among 14 different drivers and six cautions for 25 laps.

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  • Truex Earns Pole at Talladega

    Truex Earns Pole at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota posted the fastest time in the final round of qualifying and scored the pole position for the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a time of 49.509 and a speed of 193.423 mph.

    “It’s definitely the place to be to start the race – it’s just about trying to stay there as long as you can,” Truex said. “We’ll see what happens. This is obviously a big race with a lot on the line. I look forward to it. I’m just so proud of the guys in Denver and everybody here at the race track for what they did here. This is all about the team, all about what they do and all about the guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) in California building these engines, so my hat’s off to all of them. I’m lucky to be sitting behind the wheel and holding it to the floor. It was a good day today and hopefully, we will have another good day tomorrow.”

    It’s his 11th career pole in 401 Sprint Cup Series starts, fourth of the season and first at Talladega Superspeedway.

    His car was at the center of a parts confiscation stir earlier today when NASCAR confiscated a front jack bolt that started a discussion over Truex getting a Chase-ending penalty. But Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said it wasn’t “a real competitive advantage” and “unlikely” to result in a penalty.

    Three of the JGR cars – 11, 18 and 20 – were sent back to the garage before they were allowed to make their qualifying run. Miller said the issue was “body manipulation.”

    “The quarter panels (on the right side) appeared to have been messed with around the deck lid,” he added. “(We) brought them back in to rectify it.”

    Brad Keselowski will join him on the front row in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 49.523 and a speed of 193.365 mph.

    “It’s good to qualify up front,” Keselowski said. “I think it’s a good confidence boost. I feel like when we have cars that qualify well here, we race well. The Miller Lite Ford was really fast here in qualifying and hopefully, it will stay the same for Sunday.”

    Matt Kenseth will start third in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 49.568 and a speed of 193.189 mph.

    “Good for America. It was good,” Kenseth said of his qualifying run. “I think we ended up third, so that’s really good. It’s obviously a team qualifying session – not anything to do with the driver really. I just steered around and hold it to the floor, so obviously, they did a good job and it’s a good spot to start.”

    Chase Elliott will start fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 49.574 and a speed of 193.166 mph. Greg Biffle will round out the top-five starters in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after posting a time of 49.585 and a speed of 193.123 mph.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard will round out the top-10.

    Trevor Bayne and Reed Sorenson, who posted the fastest time in the first round in his No. 55 Premium Motorsports Toyota, will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Carl Edwards will start 13th, Kyle Busch will start 14th, Joey Logano will start 16th, Jimmie Johnson will start 17th and Kevin Harvick will be the lowest starting Chase driver in 22nd.

    David Gilliland was the lone driver that failed to make the race.

    In total, 19 Chevrolet’s, 12 Ford’s and nine Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field for Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega.

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  • Grant Enfinger Survives Carnage and Wins at Talladega

    Grant Enfinger Survives Carnage and Wins at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Grant Enfinger spent many years trying to win at Talladega in the ARCA Series to no avail, but it took 94 laps, excellent performance and attrition from other cars to finally secure the Fairhopes, Alabama native his first victory at the Alabama speedway.

    Cole Custer led the field to the green flag at 1:23 p.m. Enfinger wasted no time working his way to the lead as he surged his way past Custer on the outside exiting Turn 2 to lead the first lap. John Hunter Nemechek’s Chase hopes went up in smoke when his engine expired on the backstretch on the 14th circuit of the race, bringing out the first caution. Tyler Reddick opted not to pit and assumed the lead.

    The race restarted on lap 20. At the start of the run, the outside line was the weaker line. By lap 34, however, Timothy Peters powered by Reddick on the outside to take the lead. Cody Coughlin, who a lap earlier jumped out of the pack, brought out the second caution on lap 35 after stalling on the backstretch. Custer opted not to pit and assumed the lead.

    A lap after the restart with 55 laps to go, Peters took back the lead. Four laps later, a three-truck wreck involving Custer, John Wes Townley and Daniel Hemric brought out the third caution.

    It went back green with 46 to go. Ben Kennedy took the lead with 45 to go using a push on the outside line just two laps before another three-truck wreck, involving Dylan Lupton, Cody Ware and Brandon Hightower, in the tri-oval brought out the fourth caution.

    Enfinger worked his way back to the lead on the restart with 38 to go before a 14-truck wreck, the Big One, brought out the fifth caution with 35 to go.

    The caution flew two more times in the race for a solo spin by Hemric on the backstretch with 10 to go and Matt Crafton blowing an engine on the frontstretch with four to go.

    On the final lap, Cameron Hayley got turned by Lupton on the backstretch, slid down the track and slammed the inside wall. The caution didn’t fly and Enfinger drove on to score the victory.

    It’s his first victory in 13 Camping World Truck Series starts, his fifth top-10 finish of 2016 and first top-10 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Teammate Spencer Gallagher brought his No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet home runner-up. Timothy Peters was the highest finishing Chase driver with a podium finish in his No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota.

    Rico Abreu finished fourth in his No. 98 ThorSport Racing Toyota. Ben Kennedy rounded out the top-five in his No. 33 GMS Chevrolet.

    Christopher Bell finished sixth, Johnny Sauter finished seventh, Ryan Truex finished eighth, Matt Tifft finished ninth and William Byron rounded out the top-10.

    Hemric finished 11th, Crafton finished 22nd and Nemechek finished last.

    The race lasted two hours, five minutes and 54 seconds at an average speed of 119.161 mph. There were 15 lead changes among nine different drivers and seven cautions for 33 laps.

    Byron, Bell, Peters, Crafton, Kennedy and Sauter continue on in the Chase. Hemric and Nemechek, however, fail to make the cut to the Round of 6.

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  • Custer Takes the Pole Position in Trucks at Talladega

    Custer Takes the Pole Position in Trucks at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Cole Custer will lead the field to the green flag later this afternoon in the state of Alabama.

    The driver of the No. 00 JR Motorsports Chevrolet scored the pole for the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola after posting a time of 53.672 and a speed of 178.417 mph.

    It’s his fifth career pole in 38 Camping World Truck Series starts, second of 2016 and first at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Grant Enfinger will start second in his No. 24 GMS Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.683 and a speed of 178.380 mph. Spencer Gallagher will start third in his No. 23 GMS Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.747 and a speed of 178.168 mph. Ben Kennedy will start fourth in his No. 33 GMS Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.754 and a speed of 178.145 mph. Johnny Sauter will round out the top-five in his No. 21 GMS Chevrolet after posting a time of 53.855 and a speed of 177.811 mph.

    Timothy Peters will start sixth in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. Cody Coughlin will start seventh in his No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. William Byron will start eighth in his No. 9 KBM Toyota. John Wes Townley will start ninth in his No. 05 Athenian Motorsports Chevrolet. Korbin Forrister will round out the top-10 in his No. 5 Wauters Motorsports Toyota.

    John Hunter Nemechek will start 11th and Matt Tifft will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Matt Crafton will start 13th, Christopher Bell will start 14th and Daniel Hemric will round out the Chase drivers in 17th.

    With 36 drivers entered, four drivers – Jennifer Jo Cobb, Ryan Ellis, Clay Greenfield and Parker Kligerman – were sent home.

    Sixteen Chevrolet’s, 13 Toyota’s and three Ford’s will comprise the 32-truck field for this afternoon’s race.

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  • Edwards on Aspects of Plate Racing

    Edwards on Aspects of Plate Racing

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Among the topics Carl Edwards addressed with the media were if he thinks plate racing is “insane,” the unpredictability of plate racing and Talladega not being an elimination race come next season.

    Speaking to the media yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was asked, given the unpredictable and volatile nature of restrictor plate racing, if he as a driver ever stopped to think “I am insane to do this.”

    “It’s a crazy style of racing and there are times at the end of these races where you think, ‘This is just – this is truly insanity,’” Edwards said. “All the cars are torn up, everybody is limping around, but I think NASCAR – aside from completely changing the race track and the style of racing – I believe NASCAR does the best job they can do keeping things as safe as they can. We’ve got the best technology that we can have to keep the walls soft and the cars safe and monitoring everyone and keeping us from bumping too much and all that, but it is – it’s a crazy style of racing. That’s all there is to it.”

    He also expanded on the unpredictability, stating “if you look back a couple – I think it was a couple years ago – Dave (Rogers, crew chief) mentioned it and he doesn’t like to talk about it, but I guess he and Kyle (Busch) came here basically leading the points or really close to leading the points and got knocked out running 42nd and were out of the Chase, so that’s a pretty big swing in fortune. I think all of us are aware that can happen here and it’s not just that it can happen – I mean that can happen anywhere, it can happen at Charlotte, we saw a lot happen there – but it can happen and it’s not your fault so to speak. Outside circumstances – you’re just so close and you’re in a pack and I think that’s what makes this race interesting to watch is that truly anything can happen. I mean, I’ve been staring at the checkered flag thinking I was going to win and then been upside down in the fence. I mean, it’s – and that was just the two of us messing around. If you get the whole pack in there, it can get crazy.”

    Edwards is not the only driver to note the “insanity” of racing at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, in his post-race media availability following his victory in the GEICO 500, talked about how racing is a “balance of daredevils and chess players” and that Talladega “has always been the more daredevil style of track.”

    Restrictor plate racing, exclusive to Talladega and Daytona International Speedway, has always been a polarizing topic in NASCAR since its introduction nearly 30 years ago. Drivers tend to dislike or outright hate plate racing because of its unpredictability and violent nature. Fans, on the other hand, overwhelmingly love it.

    The nature of plate racing has made Talladega’s position late in the schedule a hot button topic over whether it should have any impact on the championship that late in the going, especially in the elimination format era of the Chase.

    While some drivers are in favor of NASCAR swapping Talladega’s place as the final race of the Round of 12 with Kansas Speedway next season, Edwards doesn’t think it’ll make that much of a difference.

    “I think Talladega being in this round, I think it makes all of the races crazier just because you know this one’s slightly less predictable, so it puts a pressure on regardless of where it’s at,” he said. “I guess if it were the first race, there’s a chance you could come out and everything will go smoothly and then your next two races might be more normal, but heck I don’t know. I feel like truly Talladega gets a lot of attention, but as this – as being a real ‘wild card’ – but as people get better at this Chase and understand how important each lap is and each position is, the intensity has just been ramping up the last couple of years and it seems like it’s there for sure this year.”