Roger Diez
It was a historic weekend at Talladega for a couple of reasons. The most obvious was Bubba Wallace’s win in the rain-delayed, rain-shortened Monday Cup race. But it was also the first time since NASCAR instituted the playoff format that there were non-playoff winners in all three touring divisions. Brandon Brown won in the Xfinity race and Tate Fogleman took a wild victory in the Camping World Trucks, sliding across the finish line sideways. Like Bubba, these two drivers were also first-time winners in their respective divisions. Wallace’s win was also the first victory for the new 23XI team, co-owned by Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan. And there’s also a local connection. Bubba and Carson City’s Mackena Bell were in the same NASCAR Drive for Diversity group 11 years ago and were on a BET reality TV series called “Changing Lanes.” Kyle Larson is also a Drive for Diversity graduate and raced Outlaw Karts with Mackena when they were young teens.
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This weekend is an elimination race for both the Cup and Xfinity series at the Charlotte Roval, paring the playoff fields down to eight drivers each for the next round. Playoff drivers will head up the field with the first six starting positions held by Gibbs or Penske drivers. Due to the stage racing format, the combinations and permutations of clinching scenarios are too numerous to list here. But basically, all four drivers below the cut line either need a win or a lot of bad luck for their rivals to advance. Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman and William Byron are the drivers in that category. Denny Hamlin is the only driver guaranteed a spot in the Round of Eight with his win at Las Vegas three weeks ago.
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To no one’s surprise, Chase Elliott is the odds-on favorite to win Sunday at 2-1. He has won two of the three Roval races run so far and is scary good on road courses. Hendrick teammate Kyle Larson is at 9-2 and Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. is 6-1. Hamlin and Gibbs teammate Kyle Busch are both at 12-1, which is surprising given Busch’s failure to finish better than 30th at the circuit in prior years. William Byron is 14-1, Christopher Bell is 16-1, and Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are 18-1, the highest-ranked drivers not on the Hendrick or Gibbs teams. The Xfinity race airs today at noon with the Cup race at 11 a.m. Sunday. Both are on NBCSN, times.
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Formula 1 is back in action this weekend, racing in Istanbul, Turkey. The championship battle between Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is at an intensity level that’s off the charts. Only two points separate the pair, which is the same number of serious collisions between them. Verstappen will have the advantage at the start of tomorrow’s race however, because Hamilton has been assessed a 10-position penalty for an engine change. Lewis was fastest in both of Friday’s practice sessions, but both title contenders will have to deal with the very fast Ferrari of Charles Leclerc tomorrow. Teams were surprised by the very grippy track surface on Friday after experiencing a very slick track a year ago, and significant setup adjustments were needed. The race will air Sunday on ESPN2 at 4.55 a.m.
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Finally, Formula 1 announced last week that a race in Qatar has been added to schedule on Nov. 7, replacing the Japanese round that was canceled due to COVID restrictions.