NASCAR Barometer: Wallace Wins Rain-Shortened Talladega

Bubba Wallace and 23XI Racing grabbed their first NASCAR Cup Series win Monday at Talladega Superspeedway. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday but was moved to Monday afternoon as rain halted the race before it even got started. The rain persisted on Monday, causing a brief stoppage before racing resumed, only for it to return and end the race three laps shy of the completion of the second stage. It was Wallace who had his car out front at that moment after successfully working his way to the lead and holding off multiple charges from those behind. Wallace has been no stranger to success at superspeedways, and Monday's race finally gave him the opportunity he needed to visit Victory Lane for the first time. 

Behind Wallace, the battle to be part of the final eight playoff drivers raged on. Next week's visit to Charlotte's road course will finalize which seven drivers will join Denny Hamlin in the penultimate round of championship eliminations. Less than 40 points separate Joey Logano in seventh and William Byron in 12th, with just 18 points separating Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick on the cutoff line. Chase Elliott won the last two races at the track but nothing is settled yet.

UPGRADE

Bubba Wallace – Wallace earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series win in a rain-delayed and shortened race Monday at Talladega. The driver in his first season with a new team anticipated the rain coming in the second stage and forced his way to the front as the weather approached. He leveraged his position, mainly in the outside line, to stay ahead of many challenges for the lead and then was out front when a race-ending caution came out just three laps from the stage finish. He learned the news that he had won while sitting on the pit box as track drying efforts eventually couldn't keep up with the moisture. He is now the 15th different driver to win this season and heads to Charlotte where he finished 21st last year, his best result at the track.

Joey Logano – While Logano didn't get the chance to race to the finish Monday, he was one of the fastest cars throughout the race and was able to walk away with a top-five finish, which is extremely valuable in the playoffs. Monday's tally put him 21 points above the transfer line with one race remaining in the round. The battle for the final eight playoff spots heading to Charlotte remains very tight, however. Road courses haven't been bad venues for Logano, though. He has three top-10s from three Charlotte visits and was the runner up in this race last season. Logano is is in a nice position to advance to the final eight but will need to have another smooth and mistake-free race this coming week. He has also finished 11th or better in the last five races.

Brad Keselowski – Keselowski and the entire Team Penske squad enjoyed a confident race Monday at Talladega. The Ford-powered cars were the class of the field and fought their way to the front numerous times. Keselowski survived a number of aggressive bumps that pushed him off of his preferred line but remained pointed forward and avoided the crashes. The final caution and rain ended the afternoon early and eliminated his chance of racing for the victory, though. Still, he was scored second, leaving him eighth in the playoff standings. Monday's points could be the difference maker in advancement or elimination for him. Keselowski has just one top-five at the Charlotte ROVAL and has an average finish of 18th from his three starts there.

Chris Buescher – A late caution left Buescher out front to claim the first stage victory in Monday's rain-delayed race. Ford powered machines dominated the front of the field at the start of the race, and after some shuffling in the final laps, Buescher was scored as the leader as a crash forced the stage to end under caution. He was working his way forward in the second stage again as rain approached. He ultimately worked his way up to sixth when a caution and more rain ended the race, which was also his best finish of the season. While he does have a good reputation on superspeedways, road courses aren't Buescher's specialty. His best finish on the Charlotte ROVAL was 17th in 2018, and his average finish at the track is 18.3 from three tries.

Kurt Busch – Busch put his superior superspeedway skills on display again this week at Talladega. His fourth-place finish was his ninth at the track and first there since 2018. Monday's finish was also his third top-10 in the last five races. He may no longer be among the championship contenders, but he continues to show the potential for top finishes nearly every week. Road courses haven't been bad for him either. He won at Sonoma in 2011 and also finished sixth there this year. In three Charlotte races he finished in the top five twice. His recent results coupled with past road course statistics could make Busch a valuable option for fantasy players this week as he continues his hunt for another 2021 victory.

DOWNGRADE

Kyle Larson – Larson's history of bad luck on superspeedways continued Monday as he got caught out by Justin Allgaier's crash at the end of the first stage. Larson had worked his way to the front of the field multiple times in the early miles, but was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His car continued but was heavily damaged. He then had trouble getting the car restarted after the team tried to make some repairs on pit road and lost a lap to the field only to blow a tire just a few miles later. Next week's race could be the ticket for Larson to bounce back quickly, however. He has been great on road courses this season and led 52 laps in his two prior races there. His best finish of the two starts was 13th in 2019.

Alex Bowman – While leading in the second stage, Bowman got a push that was too much to handle. The car wiggled and then turned hard into the outside wall, triggering one of Talladega's infamous multicar accidents. The crash was particularly damaging to Bowman given his spot in the playoffs. He entered the weekend 11th in the championship, below the cutline, and needed as many points as possible to help his chances of advancing to the next round. While the team will walk away from the race without the points they wanted, all is not lost. In three Charlotte road course starts, Bowman has finished in the top 10 every time. His best finish there was a runner-up result in 2019. He may need to do one better this week, though.

William Byron – Byron joined teammate Bowman with an early exit Monday at Talladega. The No. 24 was toward the back of the pack but couldn't avoid Ryan Preece who crashed ahead of him. Like many wrecks at Talladega, Byron was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. His car made heard contact with the outside wall and he was forced to stop with the car on fire. The loss of points left him below the cutline heading into this coming week's final race of the playoff round. While it may take a win for him to advance, doing so wouldn't be out of the question. Byron has two top-10s from three starts at the track. Both were sixth-place finishes. He also led 50 total laps in those two races, but will likely have to lead the final one this week to continue in the playoffs.

Matt DiBenedetto – The trip to Talladega was likely DiBenedetto's best remaining chance to score the 100th win for Wood Brothers Racing. His Ford was quick early in the race as he battled at the front before he dropped back to focus on the finish. That turned out to not be the safest spot, as he was one of the cars collected when Preece lost control and hit the wall. DiBenedetto was caught in the incident and turned hard into the outside wall and out of the race. As far as we know, he still does not have a ride after this season, and his career in the series may be drawing to a close. He will need something special in the remaining races to continue making the argument that he deserves to remain in the series. That will be hard to do this coming week at Charlotte where his best finish from three starts was 11th in 2019.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Kevin Harvick – Things looked positive for Harvick early at Talladega. The Stewart Haas Racing driver was among the leaders and looked aggressive as he fought to remain in position to score as many points as possible. The race being shortened due to weather ended his chances to truly be able to capitalize on that, however. When the race was officially declared over, he was eighth in the running. That isn't bad except that many of the other playoff drivers were also in good positions at the time. Harvick now heads to Charlotte's elimination race 18 points below the cutoff line. While it isn't a must-win scenario and anything can happen, the margin Harvick faces this week is more uncomfortable than he would like. His best Charlotte road course finish was third in 2019 when he led 34 laps.