10/02/2024

RFK Advance | Talladega II

Talladega II Event Info:
Date: Sunday, Oct. 6
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Lincoln, Alabama
Format: 188 Laps, 500.08 Miles, Stages: 60-60-68
TV: NBC
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 1:30 p.m. ET, Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Race (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• Talladega hosts its annual fall race date this weekend as the middle race in the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Playoffs.
• Brad Keselowski enters the weekend as the active winningest driver at Talladega with six victories, accounting for 16 percent of his career wins in the Cup Series.
• Keselowski is also coming off a dramatic P2 finish at Talladega this spring, his second-straight top five in the spring event.
• Overall Jack Roush has eight wins at Talladega with five in the Cup Series.

6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com

17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: NEXLETOL (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe)

Keselowski at Talladega
Starts: 31
Wins: 6 (2009, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021)
Top-10s: 15
Poles: —

• Keselowski makes his 32^nd Cup start at Talladega with six wins on his resume, tied for second all-time with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon.
• In the last decade alone Keselowski has four wins – two each in the spring race (2016, 2021) and two each in the fall race (2014, 2017). He’s coming off a P2 finish this spring.
• Keselowski won his first-ever start at Talladega back in 2009 in the No. 09 car, and again won the spring race three years later in 2012.
• He has an average starting position of 12.4 with 14 starts inside the top-10.
• Keselowski also made five Xfinity Series starts at Talladega with one win (2010).

Buescher at Talladega
Starts: 18
Wins: —
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —

• Buescher makes his 19^th Cup start on the high banks of Talladega this weekend. He has three top-10s and a 20.1 average finish.
• He finished 19^th in this race a season ago and ran 25^th this spring. He has led laps in eight different Talladega races, and three of the last four.
• Buescher has an average starting position of 24.5 and is coning off his best qualifying effort to date, P8, this spring.
• He also made a pair of NXS starts in the No. 60 with finishes of second (2014) and sixth (2015).

RFK Historically at Talladega
Cup Wins: 5 (Mark Martin, 1995, 1997; Jamie McMurray, 2009; Matt Kenseth, 2012; Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2017)

• Running Clear Across Alabama: RFK has seen its fair share of success at the Alabama track, amassing 287 starts, eight wins, 47 top-fives and 98 top-10s across NASCAR’s three major touring series. Roush machines have also tallied seven poles, including three in cup action, and have led more than 1500 laps.
• Winning in Greenbow: RFK has won in all three of NASCAR’s major series at Talladega. The team won its first race at Talladega in the NCS event in the spring of 1995. Former RFK driver Mark Martin won for the organization in all three series at the 2.66-mile oval. Most recently, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. piloted his Fifth Third Bank Ford to victory lane four years ago when the NCS rolled through Talladega for the organization’s eighth win at the historic track.
• Fastest Chicken in the South: Former RFK driver Mark Martin won the fastest Cup race ever recorded on May 10, 1997 at Talladega piloting the No. 6 Ford. Martin, who held off NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, started from the 18th position and led 47 laps en route to the victory. The race saw 26 lead changes and had an average speed of 188.354 mph.
• Tale of the Tape: RFK has started 228 NCS races at Talladega with 81 top-10 and 40 top-five finishes along with three poles. Former drivers Mark Martin (1995, 1997), Jamie McMurray (2009), Matt Kenseth (2012) and Stenhouse are responsible for RFK’s combined five Cup wins and overall a Jack Roush Ford has led 1545 laps at the 2.66-mile track..

RFK Talladega Wins

1995-1  Martin                Cup
1997-1  Martin                Cup
1997     Martin                NXS
2006     Martin               Truck
2009     Ragan                 NXS
2009-2  McMurray          Cup
2012-2  Kenseth              Cup
2017-1  Stenhouse         Cup

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Kansas: Buescher led RFK with a P11 finish Sunday at Kansas while Keselowski finished 22^nd.

By the Numbers at Talladega

Race     Win       T5          T10        Pole      Laps              Led        AvSt      AvFn     Miles

228        5            40          81          3            39075              1176     18.2      18.3      103939.5

49          2            5            14          1            4634              245        12.5      12.4      12326.4

10          1            2            3            3            865              124        3.0         15.9      2300.9

287        8            47          98          7            44574              1545     16.8      17.3      118655.8