Everyone is hearing whispers (and shouts) that Team Penske might be staging a serious playoff comeback just as Toyota’s grip seems to be loosening. After Penske’s domination in New Hampshire, where Ryan Blaney won, leading 116 laps, and teammate Joey Logano racked up 147 laps at the front, it was a clear signal that Ford means business this postseason.
Meanwhile, Toyota’s previously strong momentum has shown cracks. At Loudon, in what was supposed to be their stronghold, their performance fell short, with Bell as their top finisher in sixth, while Penske and Hendrick more than held their own. And in Kansas, while Hamlin led a ton of laps, he couldn’t close it out, and handling issues surfaced amid relentless pressure.
So now the narrative’s shifting: Penske, once chasing, looks like it’s charging, while Toyota has to fight to keep its edge. If Penske’s Fords continue this surge and Toyota stumbles even a bit more, the balance of power in this playoff could tilt fast. Meanwhile, the focus is now on the upcoming superspeedway.
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Schedule for Talladega
The Talladega weekend is a superspeedway showdown, with green flags flying across three series. As per Bob Pockrass’ tweet, Friday’s Trucks hit FOX at 4:23 p.m. ET (3:23 p.m. CT), Saturday’s Xfinity drops on CW at 4:10 p.m. ET (3:10 p.m. CT), and Sunday’s Cup main event roars on NBC at 2:28 p.m. ET (1:28 p.m. CT), with sundown at 7:06 p.m. ET (6:06 p.m. CT).
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Friday’s Truck qualifying is 12:30 p.m. ET on FS2, with the race at 4 p.m. ET on FOX, 20-20-45 stages, four tire sets, and 80s temps with 0% rain chance. Saturday’s Xfinity qualifying is 11:30 a.m. ET on CW App, Cup qualifying 1:30 p.m. ET on TruTV, prerace 3:30 p.m. ET on CW, and green flag 4 p.m. ET on CW, 25-25-44 stages, four tire sets, 80s with 20% rain.
Sunday’s prerace 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC, green flag 2 p.m. ET on NBC, 60-60-68 stages, six tire sets, 70s with 55% morning rain, 30% afternoon. It’s prime drafting weather, with mild temps setting up a pack race where one push can flip the script.
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Betting odds for Talladega
The Talladega odds have Ryan Blaney as the +950 favorite, so there is no shock for the three-time winner with a knack for the tri-oval’s draft. William Byron and Joey Logano sit at +1000, with Austin Cindric and Chase Elliott at +1200. Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson are +1800, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace +2000, and Chris Buescher and Denny Hamlin +2200. Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, and Ryan Preece are +2500, Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, and Tyler Reddick +2800, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +3000.
Josh Berry and Carson Hocevar are +3500, Ty Gibbs, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez +4000, and Todd Gilliland +4500. Austin Dillon and Justin Haley +5000, Noah Gragson and Zane Smith +5500, A.J. Allmendinger, Cole Custer, John Hunter Nemechek, and Shane van Gisbergen +6500.