It’s the final superspeedway event of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, and it comes during the semi-final round of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
While there are still eight drivers who very much find themselves in championship contention heading into Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, the storylines more than likely will come from the other 32 drivers.
It’s not rare at all for Talladega to provide a non-playoff winner, so who stands the best chance of parking it in Victory Lane come the conclusion of Sunday’s 500-mile gauntlet?
Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski is a 36-time race-winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, but for the second time since leaving Team Penske after the 2021 season, finds himself in a year-plus winless drought.
The Rochester Hills, Michigan-native has won six events at Talladega in the NASCAR Cup Series (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2021), and finished runner-up in both events at the 2.66-mile superspeedway in 2022.
RFK Racing and Ford Performance always bring some fast Ford Mustang Dark Horses to the racetrack at the superspeedways. Could this finally be the weekend that the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion returns to Victory Lane?
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
There was a time this year when it looked like HYAK Motorsports and driver Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. were going to be in contention to make the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but a horrific Summer dropkicked the No. 47 Chevrolet down the standings.
Stenhouse began the season with a solid two top-10 finishes in the first 11 NASCAR Cup Series events of 2025, but in the 22 races since, the Olive Branch, Mississippi-native has only managed to collect one more top-10 — a sixth at EchoPark — and three top-15s.
Now, it’s unlikely that Stenhouse will qualify well come Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway — HYAK Motorsports never does — but when the green flag drops, look for the defending Fall Talladega winner to start climbing through the pack.
Cole Custer
If it’s a surprise winner you are looking for this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, look no further than Cole Custer and Haas Factory Team.
Yeah, it’s been a tough season for the first-year NASCAR Cup Series team (that rose from the ashes of the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing), but some of the team’s strongest runs have come on the superspeedways.
During February’s DAYTONA 500, Custer was in a fantastic position to do something incredible in the final laps, until a move went awry and triggered a last-lap crash that handed the win to William Byron. In the Summer, Custer was in contention to win on the final lap AGAIN before finishing fourth.
You cannot tell me that was a fluke…
Justin Haley
It’s been a difficult weekend for Justin Haley.
On Tuesday, Spire Motorsports announced that the Winamac, Indiana-native would be released from his post in the No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, after joining the team at the tail-end of last season.
It’s been a struggle for Haley, who has struggled to find positive performances in a totally new Spire Motorsports atmosphere, a team that now has the resources to fight for top-10 and top-15 finishes on a weekly basis. But things weren’t working out.
Haley has always been strong at the superspeedways, winning four NASCAR Xfinity Series events on the track type with Kaulig Racing (and a fifth if you count the yellow-line-interfered one with GMS Racing). This Summer at Daytona, Haley was in that battle for the victory, and came just short of his second win for Spire Motorsports.
Yes, his second win… Haley is a NASCAR Cup Series winner, taking the victory in the rain-shortened Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Summer 2019… and at this point, Haley would take another one of those.
Cody Ware
If you’re looking for a balls-to-the-wall pick that could make you some serious money on betting websites this weekend, look no further than Rick Ware Racing and Cody Ware.
I’m aware that it sounds ridiculous to pick the driver who is comfortably last in NASCAR Cup Series points (among full-timers) to win Sunday’s YellaWood 500, but the Rick Ware Racing superspeedway program actually has some real steam.
Both of Ware’s top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series have come at Daytona International Speedway — a superspeedway similar in feel to Talladega Superspeedway — finishing sixth in 2022 and fourth in 2024.
Earlier this Summer, in the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale, Ware paced the field for a career-high 23 laps in his No. 51 Arby’s Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
With plans for Rick Ware Racing to sell the organization at season’s end to TJ Puchyr, this is likely the final legitimate opportunity for Ware to earn a victory as a sole owner of a NASCAR Cup Series team… and who better to bring it home to him than his son, Cody.
An Interesting Experiment…
The outcome of several NASCAR Cup Series superspeedway events can be attributed to the equivalent of a dice roll, with the true unpredictability and chaos that lies in the final laps of events at Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta. But are things truly that random? I’m putting it to the test.
In the story above, I’ve chosen the five drivers that I believe have the best overall shot at parking it in Victory Lane this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, with hopes that past performances will give me the advantage.
But, I’m going to roll a dice (based on points position) and select another five drivers. Then, when the checkered flag drops, whichever group of five drivers has the best finish wins.
Those five drivers are:
- No. 34 – Todd Gilliland
- No. 71 – Michael McDowell
- No. 10 – Ty Dillon
- No. 8 – Kyle Busch
- No. 21 – Josh Berry
