NASCAR’s Alabama 500 playoff race at Talladega: What you need to know

Race: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500

Distance: 188 laps, or 500 miles.

Where: Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.67-mile, asphalt tri-oval in Lincoln, Ala.

When: 2 p.m. Sunday.

TV: NBCSN.

Radio: MRN.

Last year’s winner: Joey Logano.

Worth mentioning: Of all active drivers, the person who has won this race the most times is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has won three times ... but not since 2004.

Who’s Hot/ Who’s Not

HOT

Martin Truex Jr.: Truex won Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, giving him six victories this year and advancing him through to the third round of the playoffs.

Chase Elliott: He has finished second in each of the past two races and vaulted to fourth in the standings, even having never won a Cup Series race.

NOT

Kyle Busch: Busch was one of the championship favorites as of last week, but a poor showing at Charlotte means his work is cut out just to advance to the third round.

Brad Keselowski: Keselowski won a stage at Dover two weeks ago, but a 15th-place finish at Charlotte put him in danger of elimination.

Brendan Marks

This story was originally published October 11, 2017 at 8:11 PM with the headline "NASCAR’s Alabama 500 playoff race at Talladega: What you need to know."