The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs roll into Talladega Superspeedway, a center of uncertainty, for the second race in the Round of 12 this weekend.
Sunday’s race (2 p.m. ET, NBC) could place the first driver in the Round of 8. Any playoff driver who wins the race automatically advances to the next round.
Through the playoffs to date, playoff drivers are batting zero in the race-win category. Non-playoff drivers -- Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones -- have scored wins in the first four playoff races.
Joey Logano leads the playoff points entering the race. Ross Chastain, who won at Talladega earlier this year, is second.
The four drivers below the cutline are Austin Cindric, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Alex Bowman. Byron was above the line earlier this week but was penalized 25 points for spinning Denny Hamlin under caution last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. That move lifted Chase Briscoe above the cutline.
Playoff races also are scheduled for the Xfinity Series (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, USA Network) and the Camping World Truck Series (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., FS1) at Talladega.
Here’s a look at the Talladega weekend schedule:
Talladega Superspeedway (Cup, Xfinity and Truck)
Weekend weather
Friday: Sunny. High of 78.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. High of 74.
Sunday: Intervals of clouds and sun. High of 75.
Friday, Sept. 30
(All times Eastern)
Garage open
- 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. -- Truck Series
- 10:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. -- Xfinity Series
- 2 - 7 p.m. -- Cup Series
Track activity
- 3:30 - 5 p.m. -- Truck Series qualifying
- 5:30 - 7 p.m. -- Xfinity Series qualifying (USA Network)
Saturday, Oct. 1
Garage open
- 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. -- Cup Series
- 9:30 a.m. -- Truck Series
- 1 p.m. -- Xfinity Series
Track activity
- 10:30 a.m. - Noon -- Cup Series qualifying (NBC Sports app, Motor Racing Network, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio)
- 12:30 p.m. -- Truck Series race (94 laps, 250 miles; FS1, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
- 4 p.m. -- Xfinity Series race (113 laps, 300 miles; USA Network, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday, Oct. 2
Garage open
- 11 a.m. -- Cup Series
Track activity
- 2 p.m. -- Cup Series race (188 laps, 500 miles; NBC, Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
