Championship Hopes on the Line in fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, Hellmann’s 500

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For drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS), Friday was about making the most of practice sessions and dialing in that all-important setup for racing this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway.

The hours spent doing so will pay off in a big way for some drivers, especially those able to handle the intense action at NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track and advance in their respective championship battles. At the conclusion of Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 and Saturday’s fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, the field of title contenders will shrink. The weather forecast will be perfect for racing with beautiful sunny skies with a high of 71 Saturday and 78 on Sunday. Great tickets remain for both events. For information on how to attend, log onto www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 1-877-Go2-DEGA.

Qualifying for the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola will be the first order of business at the 2.66-mile mammoth venue on Saturday, which starts at 9:30 a.m. CDT for the NCWTS, with the race following at noon. Then, the NSCS drivers will hit the track at 3:00 p.m. CDT to begin Foodland/Food Giant qualifying for Sunday’s running of the highly anticipated Hellmann’s 500.

The weekend culminates with the tension and excitement of Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500, set to start at 1:00 p.m. CDT. The scheduled 188-lap event is the final race of the Round of 12 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The number of drivers eligible to win the title will be trimmed from 12 to eight following the race, with Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick guaranteed advancement by virtue of wins in this round. Several drivers, including rookie Chase Elliott and four-time Talladega Superspeedway winner Brad Keselowski, have their backs against the wall and will likely need a victory Sunday to avoid elimination.

“I think any success at the Cup level no matter what track, the keys are doing everything right. You have to have a great team, you have to make the right moves, and the strategies have to change and you have to have a little bit of good fortune. I don’t think there is one key,” Keselowski, who is hoping for a 2016 Talladega sweep, told NASCAR.com about his previous restrictor-plate success. “I’ve been very fortunate to win [at Talladega] a handful of times and each time there was probably one moment that was more important than another moment and they aren’t shared between the races.”

The battle is also building up intensity for the first-ever running of the Chase format in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. William Byron is the only driver who has guaranteed a spot in the Round of 6, while others vying for the championship include: Christopher Bell (-18 points behind Byron), Matt Crafton (-19), Ben Kennedy (-25), Talladega Superspeedway’s defending two-time fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola winner, Timothy Peters (-27) and Johnny Sauter (-28). Daniel Hemric (-43) and John Hunter Nemechek (-43) sit below the cut-off line. 

“Anything can happen. So we just have to go out, execute, not make mistakes, do the best that we can do, run up front and try to win the race,” Nemechek said. “Just try not to get caught up in any of the wrecks and be able to be there at the end when it counts and have a shot at the win.” 

Peters is set for an opportunity to pull off a feat that has never been accomplished in the first 10 years the NCWTS has been at Talladega. He will seek to become the only driver to win three consecutive NCWTS races in the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola.

Talladega Superspeedway’s action-packed weekend continues tomorrow with qualifying for the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca Cola (9:30 a.m. CDT) and Foodland/Food Giant qualifying for the Hellmann’s 500 (3 p.m. CDT). The fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola gets the green flag at noon CDT. The Hellmann’s 500 is set to begin at 1 p.m. CDT Sunday.

TSS PR

Speedway Digest Staff
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