NASCAR: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. not the big winner at Talladega

As a seasoned NASCAR enthusiast with over two decades of racing under my belt, I can confidently say that William Byron is the unsung hero of this year’s playoffs. The YellaWood 500 at Talladega was a rollercoaster of chaos, but Byron sailed through it like a seasoned sailor in a stormy sea. His consistent performances at Kansas and Talladega have sealed his spot in the round of 8 without even needing to win a race – now that’s what I call mastering the art of NASCAR!

On Sunday afternoon, Talladega Superspeedway once again played host to a thrilling NASCAR Cup Series event filled with unexpected incidents, known as “The Big One,” which involved an unprecedented 28 cars this time around. In total, the race saw 66 lead changes, making it the third highest in any Talladega race since 2011.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver for JTG Daugherty Racing, repeated his success at the Lincoln, Alabama oval – a four-turn, high-banked track spanning 2.66 miles (4.281 kilometers) – where he secured his initial career victory in 2017. On Sunday, he returned to victory lane, marking his fourth win overall and the first since clinching the Daytona 500 at the start of the 2023 season.

But the driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet wasn’t the biggest winner of the YellaWood 500.

That would have to be William Byron.

In this phase of the Cup Series playoffs, also known as the Round of 12, there’s an element of unpredictability due to the inclusion of tracks like Talladega and Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, alongside the Kansas Speedway for the start.

By securing runner-up positions at Kansas and third place at Talladega, Byron managed to secure his spot in the round of 8 without needing to win outright.

Due to circumstances, the driver operating the No. 24 Chevrolet will be spared from dealing with potential disorder during this coming Sunday’s 109-lap Bank of America Roval 400 at the 17-turn, 2.28-mile (3.669-kilometer) track in Concord, North Carolina, as there will be no such chaos to manage.

Byron currently enjoys a significant advantage of 74 points over Joey Logano, who is in ninth position in the playoff standings. If a competitor manages to win from outside the cut line, the crucial difference would be between Byron and the driver in eighth place. Byron also leads his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott by 61 points, but without securing a victory, a racer can earn at most 55 points per race.

Christopher Bell from Joe Gibbs Racing currently holds the second position in the standings, trailing Byron. With 57 points separating him from the cut line, he appears to be in a secure position. However, since Elliott is just 44 points behind, mathematically speaking, Bell hasn’t yet officially secured his place in the semifinal round for the third consecutive year.

Byron has made it to the final round for the second year in a row, which is also his second career Championship 4 qualification. Interestingly, Bell is the sole driver who has managed to qualify for the Championship 4 in both 2022 and 2023.

Byron currently has the fourth most playoff points at 23, following Kyle Larson from Hendrick Motorsports who leads with 47, Bell with 32, and Tyler Reddick from 23XI Racing with 28. There’s a chance for seven more playoff points to be earned during this Sunday’s race, with one point awarded for each stage win and five points for the overall race victory.

Full playoff standings can be found here.

Mark your calendars for this coming Sunday, October 13, as the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval hosts the Bank of America Roval 400 – the final event of the quarterfinal round for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Catch all the action live on NBC, beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. Why not sign up for a free trial with FuboTV today and ensure you don’t miss any of the thrilling races!

2024-10-10 15:02