What a weekend it was at Talladega. All three national series ran, all three had first time winners, all three had winners from outside of the playoffs.
Let’s start with the first-time winners. They’re not unusual at Talladega, but having three of them in the same weekend; that had never happened before. Think about the contrast, especially in the last two. Brandon Brown, driving a family-owned car, that is always in the hunt for sponsorship, contrasted with the well-funded 23XI car of Bubba Wallace. Yes, they’re still a first-year team, but the emotion was the same. Only the historical significance was different.
Then you look at the fact that no one locked themselves into the next round of the playoffs with a win. The Trucks go to Martinsville with no one locked into the Championship Four. Austin Cindric is the only Xfinity driver with enough points to guarantee a spot in the Round of Eight after the Roval. And, only Denny Hamlin is locked into the Cup playoffs after this week.
Plenty of drama ahead thanks to an unpredictable, unprecedented weekend.