It goes without saying but surviving The Big One on Sunday will go a long way to deciding the Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell -5
Chase Briscoe -24
Denny Hamlin -31
Ryan Blaney -40
Joey Logano -44
Tyler Reddick -56
As if things were not tight enough after last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway when both Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin had issues from the standings, Talladega is something of a roulette where a crash could drastically change the complexion with just two races remaining afterwards.
But everyone also has to race hard for the win and stage points because they are so valuable. At the same time, Larson has a perilous resume when it comes to finishing superspeedway races historically.
“As bad as my results are here, I still look at it as opportunity, for sure, to get out here and have a shot to win,” Larson said. “I feel like we all, every single car in the field, maybe aside from a couple, have a shot to win if things go a certain way. So, yeah, I mean, I look at it as opportunity. I feel like, just speaking for us on the No. 5 team, we’ve scored stage points in a lot of the stages here. We’ve been up front at the ends of the races. I’ve been in the top-5 here a few times in the last few years.
“So, yeah, I look at it as an opportunity, but also opportunity the other way, if you do get caught up in things and get caught up in a crash. You can really lose a lot of ground here. But yeah, I’m more confident here than I am at Phoenix.”
Meanwhile, the four of the seven drivers chasing Larson each have a unique problem exclusively for themselves. In superspeedway racing, so much of success requires a total team effort from everyone under the same manufacturer umbrella.
While Chevrolets can place some degree of emphasis on Larson, since he is the only bowtie driver still eligible for the championship, the Ford and Toyota contenders will be racing each other for every point they can get.
Briscoe says the plan, as best as they can put one together, is just not do something to ruin the race of a stablemate.
“For our group, at least there's still four of us that are kind of in serious contention,” Briscoe said. “So, yeah, you're probably not going to cut each other a break. We're all knowing what we're racing against and what we're racing for. I think the biggest thing you just ask that those other -- for our sake -- our other Toyota teammates, just kind of are aware of what's going on and what we're racing for, which I feel like they do a pretty good job of.
“But, yeah, I don't know. I feel like this place is super hard just to have a plan and have that plan ever to actually come together.”
Hamlin echoed that sentiment.
“I think that everyone's going to try to get the best finish for themselves, but obviously, I mean, there's always a formalized plan,” Hamlin said. “It’s just, things never go as planned, so you got to temper your expectations on that.”
Bell says it’s every man for himself on Sunday.
“We’re in a tough spot,” Bell said. “We’re in a tough spot with three of our team cars racing for the championship and really tight on points. It’s going to come down to each one of just out for ourselves.
“We’re going to have to do what makes sense to earn the most points. If that means pitting with our Toyota teammates or team racing, we’ll certainly do that. But whatever each individual team believes is best for their team and points situation, that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
On the other hand, even though Larson has no shortage of Chevrolet drivers who are not racing for the championship, many of them want to win a race too. For example, Hendrick teammate William Byron has gone winless so fat and does not want to end the season with a goose egg.
“There is always an emphasis on working with your teammates,” Byron said of Larson, Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman. “The four of us work really well together so it’s easy to pit together and draft together.
“But for me, it’s pretty simple. We haven’t won a race this year. We’re trying to win a race. It’s always better to help my teammates than the other guys but we want to win a race this year.”
Elliott danced around the subject but landed in a similar place. If Elliott is in position to win, that means Larson surely is too, if things go to plan.
“I feel like for us, especially us four teammates, we do a pretty good job of just trying to take care of each other the best we can,” Elliott said. “Just trying not to hurt one another, I think, is the big thing with this stuff. And ultimately, executing all those details, right? Getting on and off pit road, being good through the cycles, setting ourself up for the right moments in the race.
“So, it’s really not any different from that standpoint. We have to continue to do all of those things and put ourselves in a position to even be able to help, right? And certainly, I know that if the roles were reversed, I would want that too.
“So, yeah, I think that for us, we just have to kind of zoom in on all the details. There are a lot of things in plate racing that are out of your hands, and I think we all recognize that. But being competitive, running our race and putting us all in a position to have a shot, is ultimately the best way to help him.”
For their part, with Blaney and Logano at 40 and 44 back respectively, they’re just going to try to go win a race at Talladega. It’s something they have done very well over the years.
“I would say ‘try not to screw it up’ if we were 40 points ahead,” Logano said. “Instead, we're 44 points behind and you got to attack at that point. We got to get points at every stage and we got to go out there and be in contention to win this thing at the end of it. It's just the facts of where we are.
“Three races left and 44 back. It's one thing if we were second, 44 back, which we have a lot of cars in front of us we got to pass to do that too. And it's close and it's very achievable. We definitely can do this but you can't afford to be much further back than where we are right now and realistically think you're going to pull us off.”
Ditto Blaney.
“I’ve always tried to go to these places – Daytona and Talladega and stuff – and just try to do the best job that you can,” Blaney said. “Do you prepare as much as you can with your team and with your group and can you go execute that day? If you do, that’s very, very rewarding if you can go and do the right things and everything works out for you. But, if things don’t go your way and something happens that is outside of your control, that’s just kind of it is what it is.
“Sometimes, there’s not a lot you can do about it and you just have to deal with that, but, yeah, I think everyone thinks of these speedways a little bit differently, but I’ve always enjoyed coming just because I like the style, and I feel like it’s just a different form of racing and you just hope you make the right decisions. Sometimes you don’t, but you just hope you make the right ones between yourself and your group.”