Ross Chastain walks the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway on March 11, 2023. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Ross Chastain’s victory in last year’s Talladega spring race, where he led only the last lap, marks his last trip to victory lane.
Going into Sunday’s return to Talladega, the popular driver of the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet is currently second in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings, only five-points behind leader Christopher Bell. He has three top-5 and five top-10 finishes in 2023 – his best showing a third place at both California’s Auto Club Speedway and the Richmond short track.
“I feel like I was gifted something from the (Talladega) speedway last spring and I’ll probably have to pay it back for a while now,” Chastain said with a smile. “I paid it forward for a long time – a decade – and now I’ll have to pay it back.
“I’m good with it. I could have been paying it forward for my entire career and never won here so I will take it and come in prepared to win again.”
Chastain said he’s pleased with the team’s 2023 performance, calling the Trackhouse Racing’s preparation this year, “amazing.” He insisted he and teammate Daniel Suarez are prepared and confident to win every race weekend. It’s just a matter of time.
“I think we’re as strong or stronger (than last year),” Chastain said. “I’ve learned so much so to continue to just evolve and Trackhouse is just evolving, growing quickly, you have to be born, then you crawl your first year and we ran last year and we’re continuing to run and we’re in it to sustain this pace. It’s not easy but I feel I have just as capable cars this year as last.”
Ryan Blaney Optimistic Going Into Talladega
Ryan Blaney is experiencing the second longest winless streak of his career – 55 races – but certainly arrives in Talladega with well-founded confidence. He’s finished top-10 in nine of the last 10 races on the big track including back-to-back wins in 2019-20 – making him the only back-to-back race winner since Jeff Gordon swept both races in 2007.
Although he hasn’t hoisted a trophy in more than a year, the popular 29-year old driver finished runner-up twice last year – both times in Playoff races. He was second here at Talladega in October and then again in the Phoenix season finale in November.
Blaney has four top-10 finishes in the opening nine races of 2023, including a runner-up showing in Phoenix. He comes to Talladega off a seventh place showing at Martinsville last week.
“Honestly the only time I think about it is when ya’ll ak me about it or when a fan’s like, ‘when you going to win again? I put money on you,’” said Blaney, who will roll off fifth from Sunday’s Talladega grid.
“Of course, I’d like to win. We’re trying like hell. It’s not like we’re sitting here happy with a fifth. I don’t sit around every night and stew about it, I just try to figure out how to win the next one.”
And, Blaney said, a lot of overcoming a dip in performance is being optimistic each week.
“I wouldn’t say I get more excited to come here than anywhere else,” Blaney said of Talladega. “(But) I enjoy speedway racing. A lot of people talk that they don’t really enjoy it and it’s kind of a burden. I’ve just never kinda been that way. If you’re going into a place not liking it, why show up.”
Joey Logano’s Talladega Strategy
Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano has three Talladega wins – second only to Brad Keselowski’s six victories among active drivers. Even with his impressive win tally, Logano smiled and conceded there are so many variables at play on a superspeedway, strategy changes in an instant.
Logano has led laps in eight of the last 10 Talladega races and earned a win (2018, spring) . However, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford has finished 26th or worse in four of the last five races here, suffering three DNFs in that time.
“A good race on a superspeedway is for me, not wrecking, that’s important to me because I’m inside there and I don’t want to be in one of those wrecks,” Logano said smiling. “A good race for me is interesting strategy right through the stages and that happens if it goes green.
“You see the Fords, Toyotas and Chevys pitting at all different times and how that kind of mixes back up at the end of a stage and I always think that’s interesting at a speedway and I like to see how that plays out.
“You’ll see three-wide racing. Talladega always delivers. You’re not going to know who’s going to win the race going down the backstretch, you just don’t know. So, it’s exciting. That’s why fans love it.”
NASCAR Cup Series
Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, AL
GEICO 500 – April 23, 2023
Sunday’s Starting Line Up
1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 180.751 mph.
2. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 180.642 mph.
3. (54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 180.594 mph.
4. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 180.390 mph.
5. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 180.258 mph.
6. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 179.848 mph.
7. (19) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 179.726 mph.
8. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 179.666 mph.
9. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 179.656 mph.
10. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 179.652 mph.
11. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 179.141 mph.
12. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 179.091 mph.
13. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 179.004 mph.
14. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 179.001 mph.
15. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 178.994 mph.
16. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 178.961 mph.
17. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 178.830 mph.
18. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 178.793 mph.
19. (16) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 178.763 mph.
20. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 178.620 mph.
21. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 178.560 mph.
22. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 178.487 mph.
23. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 178.420 mph.
24. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 178.347 mph.
25. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 178.341 mph.
26. (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 178.175 mph.
27. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 178.158 mph.
28. (36) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 177.831 mph.
29. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 177.748 mph.
30. (42) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 177.656 mph.
31. (62) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 177.422 mph.
32. (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 177.225 mph.
33. (47) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chevrolet, 177.205 mph.
34. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 177.140 mph.
35. (38) Zane Smith(i), Ford, 177.127 mph.
36. (15) Riley Herbst(i), Ford, 176.986 mph.
37. (78) B.J. McLeod, Chevrolet, 176.363 mph.
38. (51) J.J. Yeley(i), Ford, 175.952 mph.
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