Talladega

Through the Gears

First gear: Next up on the NASCAR Cup Series playoff schedule is a little stock car sand trap called Talladega Superspeedway. Sunday’s Round of 12 race is sure to jumble the playoff standings thanks in part to a Big One, the multicar crash that drivers know will happen and pray they avoid. Because of the draft, cars that run back in the pack are suddenly race-winning contenders, which can make for hairy moments. The three drivers bringing up the rear of the standings all have plate-racing victories on their records, so expect Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon to all go for the gusto. “We’ve got two races left in the Round of 12 and we’re not giving up,” Dillon said after his 32nd-place finish Sunday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “It’s on to Talladega Superspeedway, where anything can happen.”

Second gear: Ford seems to own the keys to Talladega in recent years. Since the second race in 2012, the boys from the Blue Oval have won a dozen times in 16 starts. If you just count Ford’s wins since the second race of 2015, it boasts nine wins in 10 races. Its seven-race winning streak was snapped by Chevrolet’s Chase Elliott. Most recently Ryan Blaney has led the charge by scoring back-to-back wins at the 2.66-mile track, which is a supersized version of Daytona International Speedway.

Third gear: Silly Season took an unusual but popular turn when NBA legend Michael Jordan announced he will become a majority owner of a Cup team next season. Denny Hamlin will be a minority owner in the operation, and Bubba Wallace has signed on as the driver. Expect this team to sprint from the blocks because Joe Gibbs Racing will help with equipment and technology.

Fourth gear: Clint Bowyer calm, cool and collected? Bowyer is in 10th place in the playoff standings, but after the Las Vegas race basically said no worries. “I like the next two races, you can’t go out there and feel like you have to. It ain’t Hail Mary time,” Bowyer said. “Twenty points can fall in your lap pretty easy at a track like Talladega and the roval.”

ISAAC BREKKEN/AP Although 10th in the standings, Clint Bowyer says, “Twenty points can fall in your lap pretty easy at a track like Talladega and the roval.”