Roger Diez: Talladega gets the biggest ‘Big One’ yet

Except for a two-car kerfuffle between Ryan Blaney and Ross Chastain early on, last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Talladega almost made it to the checkered flag without a “big one.” But with just four laps to go, we saw an all-time series record crash when a miscue at the front of the field triggered a 28-car pileup.

Brad Keselowski was initially blamed for ramming Austin Cindric to start the melee, but data analysis and in-car video showed that Joey Logano hit Brad from behind and launched him into Cindric.

Unsurprisingly, the catastrophic wreck caused a red flag and a bit of controversy when NASCAR apparently reversed its previous stance on cars being towed to their pit stall. Playoff drivers Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott both were dropped at their pit stalls instead of the garage area, triggering a huge fan discussion about NASCAR’s inconsistency. Competition VP Elton Sawyer tried, unsuccessfully, to clarify the rules after the race but promised that the Damaged Vehicle Policy would receive an extensive review in the off-season.

Finally, the race resumed with an overtime restart, the 13th occurrence this season, and another record. There was concern about cars running out of gas, but it turned out to be a non-issue as the field got to the white flag without another wreck.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. scored his second career Talladega win, .006 second ahead of Brad Keselowski and William Byron in a three-way photo finish. Byron was the first finisher of the 12 remaining playoff drivers and now leads the playoff field, 74 points above the cut line with a lock on the Round of 8. Christopher Bell with 57 points to the good and Kyle Larson with 52 are also safe to advance. Elliott, thanks in part to the apparently changed DVT policy, is 13 above the cut line while Logano, Daniel Suarez, Cindric, and Briscoe are 13, 20, 29, and 32 below the line respectively.

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Coming up this weekend is the third and final race in the Round of 12 at Charlotte Roval. It will be the seventh race at this road course/oval combo venue and has been a Chevrolet playground for most of its short history. Chevys have won four of the six prior races with Elliot winning two and Larson and defending winner A.J. Allmendinger taking one each. Christopher Bell won for Toyota in 2022, and Ryan Blaney took the inaugural victory there in 2018.

There have been significant changes to the layout this year with a modification of the front stretch turn 15/16/17 chicane to incorporate sharper 90 degree turns. Cars that go off here will still have to come to a complete stop before returning to the track.

The infield configuration has been changed with a longer straightaway between turns five and six, and a very tight hairpin (turn seven) leading back onto the oval. I expect that this tight, 35 mph corner will lead to lots of pushing and shoving, especially on restarts when the field is tightly bunched. It is also important to get a good exit from the hairpin to get up to maximum speed before braking for the backstraight chicane.

The USA channel will broadcast qualifying action Saturday morning with the Xfinity series at 8 a.m. and NASCAR Cup at 11 a.m. The Drive for the Cure 250 airs on the CW at 12:30 p.m. Sunday’s Bank of America 500 is on NBC at 11 a.m.

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Finally, Formula 1 has announced a global licensing program with Hot Wheels, with the introduction of a 1/64 scale special Hot Wheels livery car. Teams’ cars and other products will be available in 2025.