This past weekend, NASCAR would head south from Martinsville to Talladega to the biggest oval the series goes to. Every NASCAR fan knows that Talladega is the definition of chaos. For years, it has always been a fan favorite track that is known for three major things. Parties that last all hours of the night, crazy pack racing, and big wrecks. Talladega is also known to be a track to produce a first-time winner more frequently than any other track, as well as Daytona. When the 2.66-mile track debuted in 1969, drivers said that the superspeedway was too fast, and too dangerous. As the years progressed, the danger remains, but the drivers show little fear when it comes to Talladega. But one fact remains the same when it comes to winning at Talladega, you must have luck. And luck was exactly on Kyle Busch’s side this past weekend at Talladega.
Chaotic Talladega Racing:
Since the debut of the next-gen car almost a year and a half ago, it became obvious quickly that the new car did not handle superspeedway racing well. Fans and drivers expected Talladega to be a double file pack race the entire race. That was thankfully not the case. For a good majority of the race, the pack was three wide creating some exciting pack racing. But it was still not the great pack racing that fans have come to love in the past 5 years. With that being said, NASCAR is reportedly looking into a new aero package for superspeedway races. If they could create a new aero package for superspeedway races, it would bring more excitement back to the superspeedway races in the future.
As previously said, you need to have luck when it comes to winning at Talladega. Coming to the white flag on Sunday, it looked like it was going to be Bubba Wallace’s or Ryan Blaney’s day. Talladega is where Wallace earned his first career victory, and Blaney hasn’t won since August of 2021 at Daytona. It seemed that the two drivers, who are best friends off the racetrack, were going to battle it out for the win. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. After a bad block from Wallace on Blaney, which caused Wallace to spin out, allowed Kyle Busch to sneak through for the win. This is Busch’s first superspeedway win in 15 years, his 62nd career victory, and the second at Talladega. However, Busch winning the Cup Series race on Sunday is not the big headline from the weekend.
Nasty Wrecks During the Weekend:
Talladega has always been known for massive and spectacular crashes. This is where a tiny bit of fear can creep into all of the drivers’ minds. Throughout the weekend, Talladega was grumpy. In the Xfinity race, Blaine Perkins suffered a massive flip down the back straightaway before the end of stage two. The car would thankfully land on all four tires. Perkins would be taken to a local hospital for further evaluation but would be released on Sunday during the Cup race. Later in the Xfinity race with just three laps to go, a good portion of the field would be caught up in a massive wreck in turn three. Daniel Hemric would end up flipping and skating on his roof from turn three to the exit of turn four. Hemric would be evaluated and cleared from the infield medical center.
On Sunday for the Cup race, one of the big stories would be Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece. On an overtime restart, the outside line would get stacked up, which sent Larson spinning to the inside of the track. Larson would then spin back up towards the track, and eventually into the path of Preece. Both drivers were thankfully okay, but the video from the wreck is disturbing. Thankfully, both drivers would be okay. The hit from Preece to Larson was so hard, that it knocked Preece’s visor shield up all the way on his helmet. Preece hit the driver’s side door of Larson, which knocked a rollbar out of place. NASCAR has taken both vehicles to the R&D center for further evaluation. Thankfully, these wrecks are in the past, and the field looks forward to this coming weekend’s race in Dover.
What to expect from Dover:
For years, Dover has been a favorite track amongst the fans as well as the drivers. The track nicknamed “The Monster Mile” is known to have massive wear and tear on cars. Dover is a great track for Hendrick Motorsports. The team has won 22 times at Dover, the most all-time. With that being said, it was announced on Wednesday afternoon that Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 for Hendrick, will miss 3-4 weeks due to injury. Bowman fractured a vertebra in his back after suffering a terrible wreck at 34 Raceway in a Sprint Car event. Bowman, who won at Dover in 2021, is missing a great opportunity at being able to win for the first time on the season. Josh Berry will be the substitute for Bowman. Overall, it would not be a surprise to see all the Hendrick cars running up front this coming Sunday at Dover.
