This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Talladega for the fifth race of the playoffs.  Coverage of the Yellawood 500 begins with NASCAR America Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.  Countdown to Green follows at 1:30, while the green flag should fly around 2:10.  Radio coverage will be provided by local MRN radio affiliates and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).

Records and facts

Last year's 1000Bulbs.com 500 was held over two days.  Sunday dawned wet, but the track crews were able to dry the 2.66-mile tri-oval and start the race.  However, the rains returned right before the end of stage one.  This rain was there to stay (along with unseasonably cool 55-degree weather).  The move was then made to postpone the remainder of the race to Monday afternoon.

Under sunny skies, the remainder of the event was very competitive with plenty of side-by-side and three-wide racing.  Brendan Gaughan had a chance to win until he got turned in the closing laps on the backstretch and flipped his South Point/Beard Oil-sponsored Chevrolet in what turned out to be The Big One.  He was still happy afterwards, but a bit bummed out that he couldn't cash in.

Ryan Blaney took the lead by avoiding the Big One and managed to keep himself ahead of Ryan Newman to win by seven-thousandths of a second.  Denny Hamlin was third, then Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell.

Among active drivers, Brad Keselowski is the winningest driver at Talladega with five victories.  Joey Logano has three wins.  Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer and Blaney each have two.  In Blaney's case, his two victories are the last two Cup races at Talladega.

All-time, Dale Earnhardt is the winningest driver at Talladega with 10 victories.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon are tied for second with six.  Keselowski is fourth with five while Buddy Baker, Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison have four wins apiece.  Logano, Davey Allison, Cale Yarborough and David Pearson each have three wins.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length: 2.66-mile tri-oval, 188 laps (500.08 miles)
Banking: 33 degrees
Frontstretch: 4,300 ft., banked 16.5 degrees
Backstretch: 4,000 ft., banked 5.5 degrees
Grandstand Seating: 78,000
Pit Road Speed: 55 mph
Pace Car Speed: 65 mph
Opened: 1969

Website: http://www.talladegasuperspeedway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/talladegasuperspeedway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/talladegasupers

Say What!

"Talladega is a lot bigger. It’s a lot wider. The track itself is bigger. The shape of Talladega is different than Daytona because of the track being wider and the way the tri-oval is shaped. The start-finish line is almost all the way down into turn 1, which seems to change some of the outcomes of the finishes, because you have to go all the way down the front straightaway before you get to the finish line. Talladega’s tri-oval is a little bit different than Daytona’s. That bottom groove has a little less banking than the rest of the racetrack, so it’s almost like you’re dipping down into a hole. Sometimes you see guys get loose down into the tri-oval and spin out, so it ends up being where some of the wrecks are caused. It’s really hard to push through that tri-oval, especially as you are heading down into that bottom lane. It’s tough to know exactly where you need to be at the end of the race but, for me, I’ve only won one of them there. In that particular race, we were tandem racing and I was second coming into the tri-oval and was able to get past Jamie McMurray. But I would still rather be leading and in control. If I’ve made it to the white flag, then I’ve made it a lot farther than I’ve made it lately, so it’s a chess match all day. You have to have a little bit of luck on your side, but you can also put yourself in a good position by making the right moves, having a good day on pit road and not making any mistakes.

"I have no idea [what's going to happen]. You just show up and see how it develops. All you can do is show up for a weekend at Talladega and see how it develops and go from there." - Kevin Harvick

"Each race is individual and different. I think that we obviously know that we can win there, it’s just a lot of it is circumstances, a lot of it is kind of putting yourself in the right place, which you don’t always know what that place will be. It’s historically – the playoff race in Talladega – is pretty wild, because you have probably two-thirds of the field has been eliminated that’s really not racing for much except trying to win and you have some other ones that are going to be fighting tooth and nail for stage points. I suspect it will be pretty wild again, but I’m confident that all of our cars are good enough to win every time we go there. It’s just sometimes it is a number game. As Toyota as an organization, we are short on numbers from everyone else. We just kind of count on people getting selfish at the end and use them." - Denny Hamlin

"There is nothing like a superspeedway race. Of course, you have to have skills but there is a luck to it – and it’s like hitting blackjack when you are gambling. I hope I can experience a win like that one more time. I’ve always sort of dreaded Talladega late in the year. It’s such a stressful, stressful race. The weight and pressure of the importance of this race for those in championship or points battles, you can’t hide from it. Mistakes are costly and you can wipe your own, or someone else’s, season out in one split second." - Jimmie Johnson