By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
With three races left in the NASCAR season, seven drivers have a realistic chance, with Kyle Larson leading six others in the NASCAR Chase.
FRANKIE MUNIZ, No. 33 Team Reaume Ford F-150 – HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT PARTICIPATING IN THE FORD PROUD TO HONOR VETERANS DAY CLASSIC NEXT MONTH? “I was at the event in San Diego when they announced the race and it was one of those where I was like, ‘Hey, I better be included in that,’ because it’s going to be a really fun event for an amazing cause for our military on Veterans Day. I obviously wanted to be involved if I could be and I’m thankful for my amazing relationship with Ford that they invited me and I’m excited to go race with some of the guys I don’t get to race with all the time. We’re ultra competitive. Even though it’s an exhibition race, no, it’s not. We’re there for the military, but I’m also there for the trophy. I’m not gonna lie.”
| PROUD TO HONOR Ford, in collaboration with NASCAR, Blue Star Families, IMSA and HSR, is bringing together motorsports, music and a shared mission of military support all in honor of service members, veterans and their families. It’s a first-of-its kind military tribute race with all six branches of the armed forces being represented. The inaugural Ford Proud To Honor Veterans Day Classic is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at Daytona International Speedway. The event will feature 12 Ford Racing drivers representing a variety of disciplines competing in a race on the road course with the Ford Mustang Dark Horse R that is used to compete in the IMSA-sanctioned Mustang Challenge and Mustang Cup series. Another highlight will be a musical performance by Zac Brown Band. Donations and proceeds from ticket sales will go to benefit military families through a variety of non-profit organizations. Tickets can be purchased through the official website at fordveteransdayclassic.com.  FORD DRIVERS IN THE CHASE 5th – Ryan Blaney (-40 behind leader Kyle Larson)6th – Joey Logano (-44)8th – Austin Cindric (-130)15th – Chris Buescher (-204)16th – Ryan Preece (-211)  TALLADEGA PLAYOFF SUCCESS No track has provided more playoff success for Ford than Talladega Superspeedway, which has seen 10 Blue Oval wins in the postseason. Team Penske has been at the forefront of that success with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney each winning twice. FORD PLAYOFF WINS AT TALLADEGA2005 – Dale Jarrett, Robert Yates Racing2009 – Jamie McMurray, Roush Fenway Racing2012 – Matt Kenseth, Roush Fenway Racing2014 – Brad Keselowski, Team Penske2015 – Joey Logano, Team Penske2016 – Joey Logano, Team Penske2017 – Brad Keselowski, Team Penske2018 – Aric Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing2019 – Ryan Blaney, Team Penske2023 – Ryan Blaney, Team Penske  KESELOWSKI CLIMBING ALL-TIME TALLADEGA WIN LIST Brad Keselowski, who will be making his 34th career start at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, is the winningest active driver at the track with six NASCAR Cup Series victories. That ties him for second on the all-time list with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon and puts him four behind all-time winner Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won 10 times during his NASCAR Hall of Fame career. In 35 races, Keselowski has registered 12 top-5 and 17 top-10 finishes while completing almost 95 percent of the laps (6251-of-6599). |
| Chevrolet’s Cup Series History at Talladega: Chevrolet has recorded 46 victories in the 114 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Talladega Superspeedway, a count that includes Carson Hocevar’s breakthrough victory in the track’s spring event that made the young Team Chevy driver a first-time winner in the sport’s top division. Highlights of the manufacturer’s history at the iconic superspeedway includes a record-setting streak of 13-straight wins (Apr. 1999 – May 2005), as well as Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s 10th win at the track (Oct. 2000), a record that still stands, that also marked his 76th and final victory of his career. The Bowtie brand has carried that success into the Next Gen era, winning five of the nine races at Talladega with five drivers from five different organizations: Ross Chastain (Trackhouse, Apr. 2022), Chase Elliott (Hendrick, Oct. 2022), Kyle Busch (RCR, Apr. 2023), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Hyak, Oct. 2024) and Hocevar (Spire, Apr. 2026). |
 LARSON LOOKS FOR A TALLADEGA TURNAROUND. While it was a challenging afternoon that ended early with a tire failure and a 34th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team were able to tap into their points cushion to hold onto a five-point lead as their title-defending pursuit heads into the eighth stop of the NASCAR Cup Series Chase. The California native has shown encouraging gains at Talladega, finishing fourth in the fall of 2024 before recording a career-best runner-up finish in the spring of 2025. While he continues to pursue his first Cup Series victory at the Alabama superspeedway, Larson has averaged 29.4 points per race there in the Next Gen era – the fourth-highest mark in the series behind only Chevrolet teammates Chase Elliott, William Byron and Carson Hocevar – giving him a strong points-scoring foundation as he looks to protect his championship lead. |
 HOCEVAR IN PURSUIT OF TALLADEGA SWEEP Carson Hocevar returns to Talladega Superspeedway as the NASCAR Cup Series’ most recent winner at the track, looking to sweep its 2026 events after earning his first career Cup victory there in April. His breakthrough continued a steady climb for the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team at the Alabama superspeedway, with a pair of sixth-place finishes in both 2025 races preceding his trip to victory lane earlier this spring. Across his six starts in the Next Gen era at the track, he’s averaged 29.8 points per race to rank him third among the series’ active drivers. Hocevar has also delivered three top-five finishes in this season’s five drafting-track races, pairing his Talladega victory with fourth- and third-place finishes at EchoPark Speedway. |
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS/NCTS
Toyota earns first Cup manufacturers’ championship since 2019… With Tyler Reddick’s sixth win of the season at Phoenix Raceway, Toyota has clinched the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship. It is Toyota’s first title since 2019 and fourth overall.
Toyota’s 18 wins put it one shy of matching its single-season record of 19, set back in 2019.
Another milestone possible – 700 wins… With two wins this past weekend, Toyota currently sits at 698 NASCAR national series victories and looks to hit the milestone 700 this weekend. Since first debuting in the NASCAR national series ranks in 2004, Toyota has amassed 221 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, 221 in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and 256 in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Reddick plans to add to series-leading win total… Tyler Reddick continued his stellar season with his series-leading sixth win of the year last weekend. Reddick charged from sixth to first on the final restart to claim his first victory at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. Reddick heads to Talladega a former winner (April 2024), and off a year where he has simply been stellar on superspeedway style tracks, including winning the Daytona 500 in February. With five combined starts at Daytona, Atlanta and Talladega this year, Reddick has two wins, three top-fives and four top-10s, with a worst finish of 14th. Since joining 23XI Racing in 2023, Reddick has completed every lap at Talladega with all seven finishes inside the top-20.
Briscoe looks for second straight fall Talladega win… Chase Briscoe continued his performance surge this past weekend at Phoenix, as he earned his fourth straight top-10 finish to now sit just 24 points out of the lead. Briscoe is the reigning race winner as he took the lead from fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace on the final lap to clinch his Championship 4 berth last fall. It was Briscoe’s first Cup Series superspeedway win.
Team Toyota battles for points lead… The championship picture continues to be tight in the NASCAR Cup Series with Christopher Bell only five points out of the lead. Briscoe (-24 points), Denny Hamlin (-31)and Reddick (-56) are all within one race heading into Talladega.
Crews plans to be one-spot better at Talladega… Brent Crews continues to look for his first NASCAR victory and Talladega might be the place for it. In his superspeedway debut, the 18-year-old was impressive, driving through the field to finish second at Talladega earlier this year. The runner-up result was one of 11 top-five finishes this year for the Toyota Development Driver – tied for third amongst all drivers.
| DENNY HAMLIN No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE HAMLIN AT TALLADEGA: Denny Hamlin is a two-time NASCAR Cup Series winner at Talladega Superspeedway with victories in 2014 and 2020. Overall, Hamlin has recorded 11 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s, one pole award, and 476 laps led in 41 career starts at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.PHOENIX RECAP: Hamlin finished 28th in last weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway. After finishing second and eighth in the opening two stages, Hamlin was challenging for the third position before a flat right-rear tire on lap 221 forced the No. 11 team to make an unscheduled pit stop. The misfortune put Hamlin one lap down and he was never able to rejoin the lead lap over the final stretch of the race.2026 CHASE: With three races remaining in the Chase, Hamlin is currently fourth in the standings, only 31 points behind overall leader Kyle Larson. FAN VOTE CONTEST: Last month, National Debt Relief and Joe Gibbs Racing allowed fans to choose the design for Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota this weekend at Talladega. The winning selection is a throwback design reminiscent to the car Hamlin piloted to his most recent Talladega victory in October 2020. The design holds special memories for Hamlin and crew members who have been mainstays on the No. 11 team, including Ryan Bowers (race engineer), Brandon Griffeth (car chief), Frank Hodel (hauler driver), Chris Lambert (spotter), and Scott Simmons (mechanic). |
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| CHASE BRISCOE No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE BRISCOE AT TALLADEGA: Chase Briscoe is the defending fall race winner at Talladega Superspeedway. In that race, Briscoe led 16 laps and locked him into the Championship 4 to compete for the 2025 championship. Overall, Briscoe has one other top-five finish in NASCAR Cup Series competition at the track and one top-five finish in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. PHOENIX RECAP: Briscoe finished eighth in last weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway. After starting third, he ran all 312 laps inside the top 10. He earned valuable stage points by finishing fifth in stage one and second in stage two. Late in the race, Briscoe took the lead after not pitting under a caution on lap 283. He maintained the lead for several laps before being passed by eventual race winner Tyler Reddick. In the end, Briscoe couldn’t hold off the cars on newer tires and finished eighth for his fourth consecutive top-10 result.2026 CHASE: Briscoe moved up a spot in the points standings with his performance at Phoenix and currently sits third, only 24 points behind leader Kyle Larson.JAMES SMALL: 2026 is crew chief James Small’s seventh season leading the No. 19 team and his second year with Briscoe behind the wheel. The first five years of his tenure as crew chief were spent with Martin Truex Jr. Small has led his drivers to 14 wins across those seven seasons. Small’s teams have one win and two top-five finishes in 13 races at Talladega. BASS PRO SHOPS: Bass Pro Shops is North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Under the visionary conservation leadership of Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops is a national leader in protecting habitat and introducing families to the outdoors and has been named by Newsweek as “America’s Most Trusted Retailer for Outdoor Gear”. For more information or to shop online, visit www.basspro.com. |
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| Michael McDowell – Driver, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
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| Michael McDowell will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 71 RCA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in Sunday’s YellaWood 500. McDowell owns three top-five and four top-10 finishes at Talladega, highlighted by a pair of third-place results in May 2021 and October 2022.After a rained out qualifying session this spring, the 41-year-old started 31st but was involved in a single-car wreck, leaving him 32nd when the checkered flag waved.The two-time Cup Series race winner led the field to the green flag at both Talladega races in 2024 and combined to lead 78 laps. Unfortunately, he was collected in late-race incidents at both events, erasing his hopes for a trip to Victory Lane.Across his last six starts at the famed 2.66-mile high-banked superspeedway, McDowell has combined to lead 99 laps. In 31 Talladega races in NASCAR’s premier series, he has topped the scoring pylon for 101 total laps, a career-high at any venue, while winning the pole position in three of the last five races.In last October’s YellaWood 500, the 2021 Daytona 500 Champion earned Spire Motorsports’ third pole award in team history and second of the 2025 season where he finished 17th.McDowell posted a fourth-place finish in the team’s most recent superspeedway outing – the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The solid effort marked the 19-year Cup Series veteran’s third top-five of the year.Over the first 33 races of the season, the Glendale, Ariz., native, has led 24 laps and logged three top-five and six top-10 finishes. McDowell is currently 20th in points with three races remaining in the 2026 season. |
HENDRICKMOTORSPORTS / 2026All-TimeTalladegaRaces331,45085Wins4324*14*Poles0259*13*Top 5301,352*72*Top 10532,313*109*Laps Led1,71187,078*3,115*Stage Wins141516 *Most**Tied for most The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the seventh race of The Chase. Hendrick Motorsports is the all-time leader in wins (14), poles (13), top fives (72), top 10s (109) and laps led (3,115) at the 2.66-mile tri-oval. Among the 10 tracks in The Chase, Hendrick Motorsports has piled up 136 victories including 21 in the Next Gen era. The organization leads the field in postseason wins (64) and has won at least one race in The Chase/Playoffs in 23 of 24 seasons. That includes multiple victories in each of the last seven years.The Hendrick Motorsports engine department enters the weekend with 584 victories across all three national NASCAR touring series including 23 of 30 events in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series this season. Hendrick Motorsports remains the Cup Series’ all-time standard bearer in wins (324), poles (259), top-five finishes (1,352), top 10s (2,313), laps led (87,078) and championships (15). |
| QUOTABLE / Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet, on Talladega Superspeedway: “Talladega, like any superspeedway race, is challenging because there are so many things that can happen outside of your control. Focusing on what you can control is always an important part of racing at those tracks. As a Chevrolet group, I think we work really well together. We’ve continued to improve how we work together, and I think we’re in a good place.” “I know I haven’t had the greatest finishes at Talladega throughout my career, but we’re also one of the top contenders when it comes down to the end of the race. Outside of the final stage, we do a great job as a team of scoring stage points. I don’t view Talladega as negatively for us or for Kyle Larson as others might. I truly believe we can have a good day.” Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet, on fan support at Talladega Superspeedway: “I love Talladega [Superspeedway]. Genuinely love going over there for that reason. I feel like the people have always just been really accepting of me and just always treated me with a lot of respect and also just felt a lot of support there too. I just really appreciate that. I’ve been fortunate to get a win over there [in the Next Gen] and I would love to get another one at some point down the road. I think we’ll have a great opportunity to do that again this upcoming race.” William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet, on Talladega Superspeedway: “I don’t think Talladega [Superspeedway] is as much of a wild card as it used to be when it was the playoff format. You knew if you had a bad race, you probably weren’t moving on to the next round. Now, if you have a bad race, it may make things harder but you’re not out. And in the inverse, if you have a good day, you could make a big jump. We’re not sitting in the position we would want to be, but we’re still chasing wins and points, so the goal stays the same.” |
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| Sammy Smith – Driver, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado RST |
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| Sammy Smith will pilot Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Spectrum Chevrolet Silverado RST in Friday’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.. With just three races remaining to determine the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Owner’s Championship, Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 team sits ninth after last weekend’s race at Phoenix Raceway, 195 points behind the leader. The team enters race 23 of 25 with two wins, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. In the team’s most recent start, Connor Mosack raced the No. 7 Chevy to an 11th-place finish |
 Centurion and Ryan Ellis Motorsports AnnounceMulti-Year Partnership Beginning at Martinsville SpeedwayMOORESVILLE, N.C.: Ryan Ellis Motorsports announced a multi-year partnership with Centurion, a leader in secure construction and infrastructure solutions for government, defense and commercial organizations nationwide.  The relationship will debut in NASCAR’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series when Centurion supports Ellis and the No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet in the National Debt Relief 250 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Saturday, October 31, 2026. The agreement establishes Centurion as a long-term partner of Ellis and Ryan Ellis Motorsports and extends beyond the 2026 season.Recently announced, Ellis will rejoin Alpha Prime Racing for the 2027 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season, with Centurion confirmed to continue its support across five race weekends next year. |
