Bubba Reigns over Talladega!

Cup Series YellaWood 500:

History. Bubba Wallace became the second Black man to win in the NASCAR Cup Series on Monday (Oct. 4, 21) in the rain-delayed and rain-shortened win at Talladega Superspeedway. But it was absolutely no fluke - not even close. Bubba raced his way to the lead in the last 15 laps of the race before caution fell due to an accident and ultimately the red flag for rain that ended his race. Many will say it was handed to him; many will say it was a fluke. Many will be wrong because it was neither. Bubba has been, especially this year, one of the top drafting track drivers. On Monday, nearing the end of stage two and teams shouting that rain was likely on the way, Bubba smashed that loud pedal and out drove the entire field to take the lead and fend off a fast approaching Penske duo to retain the lead when the caution flew. This, ultimately and deservedly so, landed the 23XI Racing driver in Victory Lane.

Now for the rest of the race: it was what you'd expect Talladega to be - intense. From the drop of the green flag the racing was absolutely insane. Big pushes, big side drafts, and big moves. The closer to halfway and closer to the rain, the more the action picked up on track. This type of racing is what makes me love Talladega and makes me love NASCAR. I firmly believe, rain or no rain, the racing action was not going to slow down. Too many drivers had nothing to lose and too many drivers needed big days for the playoffs to simply cruise around single file as we have seen at drafting tracks in the past. We saw this in the first two crashes of the day: big bump drafts led to cars getting out of shape and wrecking, and that was for the end of stage one and typical 'Dega racing. We go full distance - or heck even go back green period - we likely see several more pileups and carnage. My hope now is the NextGen brings us this type of racing (or better) at drafting tracks. Onto the ROVAL!

Xfinity & Truck:

These two series have not been much of a disappointment at all this season. Saturday's doubleheader was once again lights out for the Xfinity and Truck series. Both were rather unpredictable and all out racing for stage points and wins. For the Truck series - which may be my favorite on drafting tracks - it was all out chaos and cut-throat racing from start to finish. The last lap, to me, was the epitome of the truck series. Big crashes and the leaders wrecking to the checkered flag. Tate Fogleman snagged his first win in a gutsy last lap, last second pass (wreck?) for the win. Second winner interview from the infield care center in the past several weeks. While I hate to see wrecking and tearing up Trucks for the win, it sure does make for one hell of an entertaining story after the checkered flag.

As for the Xfinity Series, another barn burner of a race. Even as much as I loved the Cup race, I am still a firm believer the Xfinity Series still has the best package on all tracks. Saturday's race reminded me of Cup (and Xfinity Series) races at Daytona and Talladega when I was a kid, and I loved every lap of the race. I was bummed to see several big contenders taken out by wrecks, but that is what we pitch these tracks to bring. Talladega once again delivered that for the fans. My only issue is NASCAR (and I know TV contracts are mainly to blame) is the late start time. They robbed us of a great finish. Nonetheless, Brandon Brown (a fan favorite in my opinion) wheeled his way to the lead. The raw emotion from him winning with his family team was picture perfect and a shot in the arm NASCAR needed. A family built organization winning their first race - truly a great story.

Overall, I freakin' loved the racing from this weekend. I may be biased as Talladega is in my top 3 of favorite tracks, but it delivered once again. The action on the track and the well-earned story lines from the weekend will make this Talladega triple-header weekend unforgettable for many NASCAR fans.

ROVAL Time:

Playoff cutoff race this weekend for the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series is sure to deliver pandemonium in Charlotte. I am here for it this weekend. What I once thought was a cute ploy by SMI, turning the playoff Charlotte race in the ROVAL, has turned into must watch racing. So tune in to see some hardcore battles for the win and to advance in the playoffs. My predictions for the races this weekend:

• Xfinity Winner = Austin Cindric

• Xfinity Darkhorse = Ty Dillon

• Cup Winner = Chase Elliott (I know not going out on much of a limb)

• Cup Darkhorse = Chase Briscoe

Header Photo Credit: Talladega Superspeedway