Race Information

Race: 1000Bulbs.com 500
Laps: 188
Date: October 13^th
Venue: Talladega Superspeedway
2018 Winner: Aric Almora (3:20:24)
Broadcast: NBC

Track

Talladega Superspeedway. There is a great USA article out which states: “Talladega, a guaranteed thrill machine”. When you hear the words Talladega, everyone immediately thinks of the history and excitement of this track. Opened in 1969 this tri-oval 2.5 mile asphalt track is the longest on the circuit. It has turns ranging from 32 – 33 degrees with the straights being around 3 degrees. Trust in the quicker cars.

Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Power Rankings

The Favorites

Alex Bowman (fourth selection this year) — He has three top 10 finishes in the playoffs so far and he comes to Talladega where he was 2^nd earlier this year and 8^th last year.

Kurt Busch (eighth selection this year) — Kurt has arguably the best track record at Talladega over the last three years with a myriad of finishes in the top 10 averaging out to 5^th. He finished 9^th last week as he is progressively getting better each playoff race. He also finished 6^th earlier this year at Talladega.

High Risk / High Reward

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (fifth selection this year) — He has been in the top 20 each of the last three playoff races and outside of earlier this year at Talladega, he has averaged 7^th over the last three years. It’s not great but I think he’s a safer top 10 bet than most.

Denny Hamlin (eighth selection this year) — He finished 31^st, 1^st and 14^th here the last three years. In addition to that he’s alternating finishes in the top 5 and outside the top fifteen each playoff race. So, expect a top 5 or bottom 15 finish.

The Dark Horse

Aric Almirola (fifth selection this year) — The winner here last year, Aric finished 9^th here earlier this year and now has an average finish of 12^th here. Additionally, he’s been in the top 17 each playoff race and seems to consistently finish in that area.

2019 Results

Favorite: Avg Finish 13th (34th Percent)
High Risk/High Reward: Avg Finish 10th (28th Percent)
Dark Horse: Avg Finish 17th (44th Percent)