October 3, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

A tamer Talladega? NASCAR's biggest speedway appears to be trending that way

Sunday’s YellaWood 500 was anything but a typical Talladega Superspeedway Playoff race.

After an uncharacteristic kickoff to the Round of 12—that included a record 16 cautions at Texas Motor Speedway—what has long been considered a ‘wild card’ event in the postseason, proved to be anticlimactic over the final two stages unless you were one of the 34 remaining drivers in the race.

For the contestants anticipating a calm before the storm, blue skies and green flags offered a welcomed change.

“I thought it was a good show,” said race winner Chase Elliott, who advanced to the Round of 8 with his fifth win of the season. “Another close finish right there at the start/finish line. Not much more you can ask for really.”

Ryan Blaney certainly wanted more. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford led 31 of the final 128 laps only to be a bridesmaid once again following an ill-timed caution with seven laps remaining in the race. Blaney had the momentum for the end game. But the assist from Erik Jones at the end was all Elliott needed on the last lap after Blaney became disconnected from Michael McDowell.

“I had a couple of chances to move up to the top and cover it and I was just getting nervous about getting hung in the middle with the 9 (Elliott), the 43(Jones) and the 1(Ross Chastain) lined up,” Blaney said. “Before the restart and when we got going green, you turn into race win mode. For a moment I was like, ‘It would be good to line up on the front row and see what we can get. I just don’t want to get turned.’

“But, I forgot all about that. I just wanted to win the race.”

While Blaney had a solid points day. He accumulated 45 points after winning the first stage and finishing second. But after scoring consecutive wins at Talladega two years ago and posting a career-best three-win season in 2021, he is still desperately seeking a victory in 2022.

Instead, he left Talladega wondering what might have been.

Blaney won’t be the only Penske driver experiencing that would’ve-could’ve feeling on Monday morning. Joey Logano, who entered Talladega with the points lead and a 30-point advantage over the cutline, dropped to fifth on the Playoff grid due to the No. 22 Penske crew adopting a conservative approach for the race.

“We just wreck all the time so we thought, ‘Boy, we’ve got a big points lead, let’s just be smart and don’t wreck and we’ll be able to get out of here with a top 10,’ assuming they would wreck because they always do,” said Logano. “That was the only time I’ve ever stayed in the back, ever, was today and they didn’t wreck.”

Trepidation was Logano’s downfall. Over the final 123 laps, the only caution that didn’t signal the end of a stage was when Daniel Hemric’s Chevy stalled at the exit of pit road with seven laps remaining in the race. Logano finished 27th, last among the Playoff drivers. He spiraled to fifth in the standings after the team’s gamble didn’t payoff.

“We gave up a bunch of our points lead,” Logano added. “We’re still plus-18, which is a decent spot to be, but, the goal was to race for stage points and then drop to the back and wait for the crash.  I hate racing that way. I’ve gotten beat many times from people that do that then I tried it and it didn’t work.”

If for whatever reason Logano does not advance out of the Round of 12, he’ll have Talladega to reflect upon. The 32-year-old racer has won three times at the 2.66-mile track. While racing up front might not always be the most comfortable place over the course of 500 miles on a superspeedway, his overall results have been admirable.

And as well as the Penske Fords have worked together in the past, Blaney could have used an assist from Logano in the closing laps. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found.

Denny Hamlin had a similar dilemma due to Christopher Bell’s earlier issues, last year’s winner Bubba Wallace not being a factor and Martin Truex Jr., lagging behind with Logano, the last car on the lead lap.

The Toyotas are usually at a disadvantage simply due to a lack of numbers. On Sunday, a lack of cars translated into a lack of results. Hamlin finished fifth but was the only Camry with a top 15 result.

“We pushed as hard as we could,” Hamlin said. “There were a few moments where I didn’t want any harder pushes than what I was giving. I typically don’t slam draft. I typically slow down and push.

“The track is pretty bumpy too down in turn three and it makes it really, really violent and you see a lot of cars getting out of shape. These cars are pretty stable as long as you’re square. You’re not going to get us to back down much, especially when checkered flags and points are on the line.”

Hamlin wasn’t surprised there were only 25 laps of yellow-flag racing during six cautions throughout the race. The spring event also featured six cautions with the new cars. Last year’s fall race featured just five caution periods. As both a driver and an owner, Hamlin is grateful.

“This is the type of speedway racing that we have and this car will not run three wide,” Hamlin said. “It’s only a two-lane car. You can’t put drag on two sides of it so you have to be on the inside lane or the outside lane and when you don’t have three wide or four wide, it’s just a less likelihood that you’re going to have wrecks.

“As a car owner, I love it because I had a $200,000 bill here in the spring. It may be less eventful watching, but there’s a lot going on that we’re all trying to fight. You saw with the pushing, we’re all trying to get as aggressive as you could, but it’s all about the line that you’re in at that point.”