Critical Path Security 6 Drivers to Watch: Playoff Talladega

For the remainder of the 2025 season, all three NASCAR national series will share the weekend. The Cup, Xfinity, and Craftsman Truck Series will be battling it out in Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway. Moving from the Round of 12 to 8, Talladega now represents a giant hurdle for the playoff field. Do you drive for the stage points or attempt to survive the potential wreckage? For the Cup Series, this is especially daunting for certain playoff drivers after a miserable Las Vegas. Of course, Talladega marks the most likely spot for a non-playoff driver to steal a win. When the whole field has the potential to win, it creates difficult choices for the Critical Path Security 6 Drivers to Watch for Playoff Talladega.

Whose idea was this? Having Talladega as part of an elimination style playoff format has been a somewhat controversial topic. The calamity and wildcard nature of this style of racing seems unfit for a format that punishes a driver for one bad race. However, keeping it in the Round of 12 allowed for some wiggle room. 12 drivers meant the cutline would not potentially eliminate the second best driver in points that round. Usually, a bad Talladega could be forgiven with a strong first and third race in the round. Now though, Talladega Superspeedway sits neatly in the Round of 8, waiting to be a burden on the playoff competitors.

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William Byron

As the South Point 400 was entering its final moments, it looked as if William Byron would be cruising to his third straight Championship Four. Riding in second behind Kyle Larson, Byron was setup to enter Talladega 20 points above the cutline with drivers in between. Instead, Ty Dillon’s entry onto pit road went uncommunicated and Byron plowed into the 10 car. From Championship Four destiny to the wrong side of the playoffs, Byron now enters Talladega looking to avenge his Las Vegas disaster.

Luckily for William Byron, Talladega has been a great track for him during the Gen7 era. His worst finish there was 15th in the first NextGen race. Since 2023, Byron rides into this weekend with 5 consecutive Top-7 results. Although the Talladega win eludes the Hendrick Motorsports driver, he has been on the podium in 3 of the past 4 races. Last year, Byron pushed eventual winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr to the win before trying to pass him at the line. While a win would be the best way to lock his spot into the Championship Four, another race similar to what he has done the past 5 races would work well. Sitting 20 points below though, Byron would need some help of calamity to put himself in a good position heading to Martinsville.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

From a driver who has yet to win at Talladega to the reigning fall winner, Ricky Stenhouse Jr could play spoiler again this weekend. Last year, a hole in the driver’s side door could not prevent the 47 from reaching victory lane. That and team Chevy orders to stop pushing Brad Keselowski through the tri-oval. Still, that win marked the first time in Stenhouse’s Cup career where he went back-to-back seasons with a win. With Talladega marking his best chance at a win this weekend, can he make it three straight seasons?

A win this weekend would be a great boost for Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Hyak Motorsports. It has been a rough season, especially in the second half. Before Nashville, Stenhouse was a fringe playoff competitor looking to point his way in. After that race though, it has been tough sledding for the 47 team. Stenhouse’s 14 place finish marked his best result since summer Atlanta and only his second Top-15 after the Coca-Cola 600. Winning is everything in NASCAR though, so that one win could help wipe away some of the pain from this 2025 season.

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Jesse Love

At the start of the season, if you were told a Richard Childress Racing driver would be 20 points to the good in the Round of 8, you would think it would be Austin Hill. Instead, Jesse Love remains as the lone RCR driver in the playoff across both top series. A solid Las Vegas Saturday has given Love a buffer heading to Talladega. Naturally though, Love will not be looking for another solid day this weekend. Rather, the young driver will be in search of his second win of the season to lock his spot in the Championship Four. With how well the 2 car has competed on superspeedways, Love should be one of the favorites.

Perhaps the most confident prediction of this weekend will be a front row start for Jesse Love. In his three Talladega starts, Love has either started from the pole or second. There would be no reason to believe anything else would be true this weekend as the worst either RCR entry has qualified on a superspeedway this year was 10th at Daytona. If Love is starting at the front, expect him to lead a significant number of laps. Love has learned well from the Austin Hill school of leading the draft. He manages both (or all three) lanes behind him to ensure he does not get shuffled out of line while maintaining the lead. The big question for RCR this weekend is whether team orders could be at play. If Austin Hill has a shot at the win with Love upfront, does Hill go for it?

Anthony Alfredo

Featured in the Drivers to Watch article for the first time for his Xfinity seat, Anthony Alfredo should be a name that immediately pops into mind for an upset pick this weekend. Alfredo has a strong reputation on the superspeedways, especially given as Beard Motorsports has him piloting their 62 car this weekend. On the Xfinity side, Alfredo usually finds his way near the front of the lead draft. Other competitors trust him to push or be pushed, which bodes well for Alfredo’s prospects at snagging his first win.

Where Anthony Alfredo’s superspeedway races usually run a muck is a late race incident. Since he finds himself in the middle of the lead draft, Alfredo gets collected into the last large incident of the race. When he avoids that, his record on superspeedways is quite good. At Talladega specifically, Alfredo is averaging a 8.2 finish when he finishes the race under power. This is across three different teams as well. In the spring race, Alfredo managed to snag a Top-10 while leading a lap. Could Alfredo be in contention to pull off an upset win? Maybe; the big question there is whether a Chevy teammate in the playoffs is nearby.

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Grant Enfinger

Between the three series, the Craftsman Truck Series has the most intriguing playoff scenario heading into Talladega. After the ROVAL, the last driver on points (in the playoffs) sits only 4 back of the cutline. On the flipside, the first driver in points is only 2 points above the cutline. With those stakes, Talladega is likely the last thing the 7 non-Corey Heim playoff drivers want to see right now. By the time Talladega is over, the playoff bubble could be a massacre.

One of the drivers who is in that playoff fracas is Grant Enfinger. Enfinger (along with Kaden Honeycutt) sit 4 points back of the cutline. However, the points will likely be secondary to Enfinger’s goal of winning at his home track. He won this race last year to clinch his spot in the Championship Four. Why not repeat that process again this year? As long as he can survive the likely carnage, Enfinger should find himself in a good spot to win. The Front Row tandem of Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs should be Enfinger’s stiffest competition, if Corey Heim decides to ride this one out especially.

JJ Yeley

For the first time since 2020, JJ Yeley will make a start in the Craftsman Truck Series. Driving for Spire Motorsports this weekend, Yeley is the latest feel good driver that Spire is tabbing to drive for them. Hopefully, this weekend will see a better result for Yeley compared to the other feel good stories from this season. In theory, this should net a positive result for both team and Yeley. Based on his runs with NY Racing at Daytona, Yeley is competitive on the superspeedways. Meanwhile, the Spire Motorsports Truck teams are not short on speed.

JJ Yeley’s Truck Series career is littered with subpair organizations. As a journeyman driver, Yeley has been tasked with helping these ailing teams and keeping the truck together. In his 36 Truck starts, a staggering 26 have resulted in a DNF. Of those 26 DNFs, only 2 were for wrecks. Whether Yeley can compete for the win or not is an afterthought; the idea that Yeley will be able to compete with the rest of the field is a prize.

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