WHAT TO WATCH FOR: TALLADEGA

HOT DRIVERS

• Thomas Wolfe-BBR-CHEVY- Thomas seems like a freight train with no brakes at this point. If you don’t have him in your final four picks for the Championship, I want what you’re smoking.
• Ben Lawson-FMS-FORD- If his top 10 finish was any other week than last week, Ben would be finding himself high above the cutline. Unfortunately, for the 3 team, 9 out of 10 cars finishing in the top 10 were all his playoff competition. Lucky for Ben the Fords have had the superspeedways in a chokehold all year. Look out for him to pull himself back above the cut.
• ALL PLAYOFF DRIVERS– Last week at Kansas showed the fans why the current playoff drivers are the best of the best. All playoff drivers but one (Vince Mitchell) Finish in the top 11 with only Tyler Belanger separating the field. Talladega is always a crapshoot, but these drivers left fighting for a championship won’t be living on a hope and a prayer.

NOT DRIVERS

• Vince Mitchell-Uber MS-FORD- If not for the amazing performance by all playoff drivers last week, Vince would have been able to pull a few points back instead of looking at the mountain which is getting into the next round that’s in front of him. With a 17th place finish last week and now sitting -11 to the line, Vince is looking for a miracle in the last 2 rounds left.
• Stewart Harding Walker-Uber MS-FORD- A late addition but what seemed to be a good one in the TCSP Cup Series, Stewart has seemed to fall off a cliff after his wreck at Watkins Glen. Since The Glen, Stewart hasn’t been able to sneak into the top 20, but hopefully Talladega can turn the tide for him and the team to improve morale going into next season.

DRIVER NEWS

• Sam Bennet will be our new permanent race control for the remainder of the playoffs.
• All playoff drivers besides one (Vince Mitchell) finished in the top 11 last week.
• Thomas Wolfe is locked into the round of 8 after his win at Kansas last week.
• Keep an eye out tonight for manufacturers working together as a team to push to the front of the field.
• Both superspeedway races in the spring were won by a Ford. With Oskar Jensen snagging the last win at Daytona in the summer for the Toyota Team.
• Talladega is the world’s greatest, biggest (2.66 miles), steepest (33 degrees), and fastest track in NASCAR.
• Nic Vasquez still holds the crown this season for most Superspeedway wins with 2. (Daytona and Talladega Spring races)

PLAYOFF PICTURE

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Nic Vasquez-FMS-FORD
It’s hard to believe that Nic hasn’t won all the TCSP Cup Series superspeedway races this year. Domination is what critics would call his performances. No matter if the races were two, three, or four wide, he seems to have control of the field at all times. If it wasn’t for an unfortunate accident at the summer Daytona race, we could very well be talking about a potential superspeedway sweep this season. Nic is currently sitting at +350 with the remainder of the favorites after him all being under the Ford Motor Company umbrella. Their teamwork has shown that if you put the racing to the side and can last until the white flag flies, one of your teammates will come away with the checkered flag. Right now, Vegas is offering up a special bet with a ford podium sweep at +900, easy money folks.