NASCAR at Talladega 2014: Latest NASCAR Team News, Top Drivers and More
There's only one race to go in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series before the field of 12 contenders is knocked down to eight, and those very drivers will embark toward Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for their last chance to clinch said spots.
The start of the Contender Round saw the field of 16 trimmed to 12, but the final lap of Sunday's Geico 500 will mark the start of the Eliminator Round. That means every driver from No. 9 to No. 12 in the standings will see their Sprint Cup aspirations come to a screeching halt.
It could turn out to be a fateful Sunday for some of the sport's top names. Currently, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are in position to be eliminated, although plenty can change in the span of 188 laps.
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Let's jump right in and break down everything you need to know entering Talladega.
Geico 500 at Talladega Race Information
Site: Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega, Alabama
Date: Sunday, October 19
Start Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Latest Team News
The big winner from Charlotte was Joey Logano, who remained atop the Sprint Cup standings with another top-five finish coming off his Kansas win and in control of the Chase. But unfortunately given the point in the season we're at, the focus shifted to nastiness off the track.
Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth were at the center of it, with the two getting into a physical altercation after hijinks on the track and on pit road. In response, NASCAR levied fines to both Keselowski and Tony Stewart—who played a role in the pit-road scuffle—as well as probation through the final four races.
With the parties involved receiving a slap on the wrist and a final warning for the season, we can finally focus on what is most important—deciding which eight drivers will keep their Sprint Cup title hopes alive.
Earnhardt Jr. is one of the drivers with his work cut out for him to advance, currently sitting in 12th and needing to leapfrog four drivers to get in that final No. 8 spot. He hasn't had his best of performances as of late, with mechanical problems in each of his last two races, but remains confident.
"The facts are the facts," Earnhardt Jr. told The Associated Press' Tom Gibbons, via Charlotte Observer. "We are going to Talladega to try to win. We'll see what happens from there. We've had two pretty bad races, and we still have a chance to win it. We appreciate that."
While Earnhardt Jr. is one of many household names on the cusp of elimination, a few others remain comfortably in the hunt—like Jeff Gordon. His incredible season has kept pace in the Chase, as he sits in sixth place.
With a win already on the tally for the Chase, Gordon is enjoying the ride to what he hopes is another championship.
"The (Chase) format is definitely creating a lot of drama, a lot of intensity, a lot of pressure, and each round seems to intensify that much more," Gordon told Yahoo Sports' Kenny Bruce. "I like our chances. I think we've got an excellent race team and I really hope we can make it through Talladega because I think the next round suits us very, very well."
Gordon has five drivers—Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards—ahead of him who are likely feeling a similar way, but first there lies Talladega. And with names like Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski needing big performances to stay alive, it should be must-watch television.
Get your popcorn ready, because it's sure to be another wild ride—punches thrown or not.
Top Drivers
Joey Logano
The season has turned out quite well for many drivers atop the Sprint Cup standings, but none are feeling the vibes that Joey Logano is as we head to Talladega.
After winning at Kansas two weekends ago, Logano now has five victories on the year—tied with Keselowski for the most in the Sprint Cup. His 15 top-five finishes are more than anyone, and only Gordon can match his 20 top-10 finishes.
Oh, and he's on top of the all-important Sprint Cup standings.
Of course, all of that matters little other than who actually advances. The points are reset at the beginning of each round, as he'll have 4,000 along with everyone else to start the Eliminator Round and 5,000 to begin the Championship Round if he gets there.
But no driver has been able to sustain success from the start to finish quite like Logano has. With so much star power around him vying for a wide-open Sprint Cup, Logano remains in the best position to be the last driver standing.
Jimmie Johnson
While almost anyone in contention would trade career resumes with Johnson, it's safe to say he envies the situation that Logano and others are in entering Talladega.
Johnson had to fight from the back of the standings to win his sixth Sprint Cup championship in 2013, and he's in a similar position in 2014. Currently in 11th place, he likely needs a victory to catch Kasey Kahne for the eighth and final spot.
But hope isn't lost for Johnson's camp, according to his Twitter:
The 39-year-old has kept afloat this season with three victories and 18 top-10 finishes, but being a regular near the front of the pack won't do him any good on Sunday. Without a victory, his hopes for an incredible seventh Sprint Cup will more than likely have to wait until 2015.
At least he has six shiny trophies to come home to if his season does end on Sunday.
Kasey Kahne
Is there any driver in a better position mentally to handle the stress of holding the final Eliminator Round spot than Kasey Kahne?
Simply take a look at what unfolded just to get to this point. Kahne had to win the second-to-last race of the Sprint Cup regular season just to make the Chase and flirted with elimination there before notching the 12th and final spot in the Contender Round by just two points.
This time, however, he will have to hold off much more than promising drivers. As mentioned before, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. and Keselowski all sit in the wings chomping at the bit to take Kahne's spot.
The stress isn't getting to him, as he's solely focused on his own performance as he should be.
"We have good, fast cars for those types of tracks," he told NBC Sports' Chris Estrada. "…I think Talladega is a track I have always liked and look forward to. Sometimes, you can’t control everything and that is something that will be the same for all of us…It will be interesting how it all works out. It will be a lot of pressure on everyone. It will change throughout the entire race all the way to the checkers."
It will take a big performance from Kahne to hold off those behind him and in some ways, it really is out of his control. But with the way Kahne has raced in pressure moments this season, don't expect anything less than a top-10 finish from him.
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