NASCAR at Talladega 2014: Start Time, Lineup, TV Schedule and More
Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is the final race of the Chase's Contender Round, which means it will be do-or-die time for many of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' top drivers.
Former Sprint Cup champions Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth are all currently in position to get eliminated, as is NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. If all of them are cut before the Eliminator Round, things will get quite interesting moving forward.
Those drivers still have a chance to advance if they can pull off a win or if something crazy happens with many of the other Chase drivers getting involved in a wreck. That is a very real possibility since "The Big One" is always lurking around the corner at Talladega.
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It is fitting that one of NASCAR's most unpredictable tracks is playing host to such a crucial Chase race. Here is everything you need to know about this weekend's Geico 500 as the world's best drivers attempt to stay in the championship hunt.
Where: Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama
When: Sunday, Oct. 19, at 2 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN
Live Steam: WatchESPN
Radio: Motor Racing Network
Qualifying Participants
Qualifying for the Geico 500 took place on Saturday and Brian Vickers took the pole, according to NASCAR.com. Here is a rundown of the entire lineup:
| 55 | Brian Vickers |
| 48 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 47 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski |
| 95 | Michael McDowell |
| 33 | Travis Kvapil |
| 5 | Kasey Kahne |
| 32 | Terry Labonte |
| 7 | Michael Annett |
| 31 | Ryan Newman |
| 78 | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth |
| 23 | Alex Bowman |
| 99 | Carl Edwards |
| 21 | Trevor Bayne |
| 43 | Aric Almirola |
| 41 | Kurt Busch |
| 13 | Casey Mears |
| 27 | Paun Menard |
| 38 | David Gilliland |
| 26 | Cole Whitt |
| 49 | Mike Wallace |
| 29 | Joe Nemechek |
| 16 | Greg Biffle |
| 34 | David Ragan |
| 9 | Marcos Ambrose |
| 10 | Danica Patrick |
| 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 40 | Landon Cassill |
| 3 | Austin Dillon |
| 1 | Jamie McMurray |
| 83 | J.J. Yeley |
| 15 | Clint Bowyer |
| 66 | Michael Waltrip |
| 98 | Josh Wise |
| 14 | Tony Stewart |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick |
| 22 | Joey Logano |
| 18 | Kyle Busch |
| 42 | Kyle Larson |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon |
Drivers to Watch
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Among the four drivers who are currently below the cut line, none are in worse shape than Dale Jr. He is in 12th place and sits 26 points behind eighth-place Kasey Kahne. Getting back into the top eight on points alone could be a tall order, so taking the checkered flag Sunday represents Earnhardt's best chance.
Nobody is more cognizant of that than the driver of the No. 88 car, as evidenced by his recent comments to The Associated Press (h/t USA Today).
"The facts are the facts," Earnhardt said. "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."
Having to win such a chaotic race isn't a great spot to be in, but Junior has a legitimate chance since only two drivers in the history of NASCAR have won more races at Talladega than he has, per NASCAR on Fox:
Earnhardt has three overall victories this year, and he has elite equipment as a member of Hendrick Motorsports. Everything he needs to have success at Talladega is in place, but it is now up to him to get the job done in a high-pressure situation.
For much of the season, it looked as though this was possibly Earnhardt's best chance to win a title. With that in mind, it is hard to believe that he would be willing to go down without a fight.
Brad Keselowski
It can be argued that Keselowski has been the favorite to win the Sprint Cup title for much of the season. He has five wins to his credit and has been in great form, but things have gone south for the No. 2 team over the past couple races.
The frustration truly boiled over following last week's race at Charlotte. Keselowski got involved in on-track altercations with Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart and Kenseth before getting into a physical altercation with Kenseth following the race.
Keselowski was ultimately fined and put on probation for his involvement in the incidents, according to ESPN's Marty Smith:
While NASCAR will be watching the 2012 Sprint Cup champion closely Sunday, don't expect him to be timid out on the track. He is 19 points out of the all-important eighth spot and well aware of the fact that he needs to do something big in order to move on.
A win would be the ideal result for Keselowski and his supporters since he can't necessarily rely on those ahead of him to falter. With two wins and six top-10 finishes in 11 career races at Talladega, Keselowski certainly has a history of success.
He will need to draw on that in order to keep his season alive beyond Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson
Johnson is in search of his seventh career Sprint Cup title, but it is quite clear that his chances are starting to wane. He is 26 points out of eighth place, and it has been 17 races since JJ last visited Victory Lane.
Nobody has conquered the Chase quite like Johnson and the No. 48 team over the years, but this new format hasn't been particularly kind to them. With that said, someone of Johnson's caliber can pull out a win at any time, so it would be crazy to rule him out.
Based on this tweet following last week's disappointing 17th-place finish at Charlotte, Johnson realizes that he still has a puncher's chance to advance:
While Talladega may not be one of Johnson's best tracks, he has won there twice and knows how to have success at superspeedways. Luck often comes into play at Talladega, though, and that is something Johnson hasn't had much of in 2014.
The clutch factor is something that is difficult to measure in sports, but Johnson has to possess it, as evidenced by his six career titles. If he is able to channel the qualities that helped him win all those championships, then perhaps he will find a way to sneak into the Eliminator Round.
Prediction
Earnhardt, Keselowski and Johnson will all have their backs against the wall Sunday, so they are unquestionably drivers worth watching. With that said, they aren't the only ones with a great opportunity to win at Talladega.
Kenseth has the best chance of the four drivers below the cut line to race his way into the next round without winning, but he is overdue for a victory, with no wins on the season. He has won at Talladega before, but it would be even sweeter to do it again this weekend.
As far as active drivers are concerned, nobody has more Talladega wins than Jeff Gordon's six. While the pilot of the No. 24 car is in pretty good shape currently, he would love to put an exclamation point on his advancement.
Kevin Harvick is also a former Talladega winner, and he has an opportunity to build a ton of momentum entering the Eliminator Round with a win this week. After taking the checkered flag at Charlotte last weekend, the No. 4 team is playing with house money.
In terms of non-Chase drivers to keep an eye on, both Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray have won this race twice, and Stewart is a former Talladega winner as well.
Almost anything can happen in this race, but Gordon will be the one doing burnouts when the dust settles. He closed the last segment with a victory, and after coming so close to winning last week, he will do what it takes to end this segment triumphantly as well.
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