Last Lap Pass For The Win! | Fuel Saving Has To Change | Panic For Ford? (Talladega Analysis)

You would have thought the Dark Horse Mustangs had the GEICO 500 victory in the bag, right?

Fans witnessed Austin Cindric winning the first stage by a nose, Joey Logano follows in the footsteps of his Team Penske teammate with a victory in the second stage, and a late-race domination by Michael McDowell, which saw the polesitter lead much of the final green-flag stint.

The way things were playing out on Sunday, it looked as though Ford was going to break through and score its first NASCAR victory of the 2024 season. However, when a bad block by the No. 34 triggered a multi-car accident on the final lap, and stunted the momentum of the Ford-led inside line, Tyler Reddick was able to breeze by victorious.

Now that 10 races have come and gone without a victory, is it time to push the panic button for those in the Ford Performance stable? Or, is there still some time to turn things around?

Beyond the concerns for one manufacturer, the greater issue plaguing the entire field on the superspeedways is fuel saving. Though this has been a struggle that began with the introduction of the seventh-generation car, it has become more and more prevalent as time passes.

Why is fuel saving as bad as it is and what is the solution? Join Taylor Kitchen to analyze the race at Talladega on the latest episode of Above The Yellow Line.

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Taylor Kitchen

Taylor Kitchen found her passion for motorsports after watching a NASCAR Xfinity Series race with her grandma in 2016. The following year, she would attend her first race at Kentucky Speedway. The smell of the gas and roar of the engines filling her ears was enough to solidify her love of the sport. She spent the next few years working her way into the NASCAR online community and researching as much as she could to gain a vast knowledge of the sport. However, something was bothering her. At the time, Taylor struggled to find content within the space that was female-led and came from the perspective of a new fan. This inspired her to create her own media outlet, “Above The Yellow Line” in 2021. On this platform, Taylor writes, films, edits, and markets high-quality videos discussing the latest news and events from the sport. In April of 2022, her company partnered with the prominent NASCAR media outlet TobyChristie.com to provide them social media content and to report on location during select race weekends. Since then, Taylor has been able to help build TobyChristie.com's YouTube audience to well over four thousand subscribers and continues to help expand the company's social reach with her team. 2022 marked a new era for the brand as Taylor expanded ATYL’s capabilities to help various drivers with their communications, public relations, digital media, and marketing. In June of that year, she was hired by ARCA Series Champion, Austin Theriault to work for his driver development program, "AT Racing Development". As the organization's Director of Digital Marketing and Media, she produces and directs her clients tailor-made social media strategies. She also takes part in marketing efforts for her drivers. In May of 2023, Austin Theriault of AT Racing Development partnered with Team Hornaday Development and brought Taylor to the team as their Communications Manager. Working with Ron and Candice Hornaday, Taylor helps direct their drivers social media strategy and PR efforts. She also partakes in company and driver marketing and recruiting efforts