5 drivers who can win at Talladega Superspeedway

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Monster Energy Series racing at Talladega Superspeedway always has the potential to be a crapshoot.

Drivers and teams are working with only 14 minutes of practice after Friday’s sessions were cut short and cancelled due to rain.

That means anything can happen, and likely will, in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

With that said, here are five drivers with the best shot to roll into Victory Lane at the 2.66-mile Alabama track.

Stenhouse knocked Dale Earnhardt Jr. off the pole in the final moments of Saturday’s qualifying session, showing off some stellar speed in his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

It’s hard to call Stenhouse an underdog with such a fast pole-winning lap, but he could pull off the upset by earning his first career Monster Energy Series victory.

Elliott is sporting a special pair of shoes commemorating his father, Bill Elliott, and his record-setting qualifying lap of 212.809 miles per hour at Talladega in 1987. That could give him some good luck.

With quality Hendrick Motorsports power under the hood, Elliott has a shot win his first career Cup race and take his sponsor, Hooters, back to Victory Lane for the first time since Alan Kulwicki last did it in the 1992 Champion Spark Plug 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Keselowski is the defending winner of Sunday’s race and Team Penske has become a dominant force at restrictor-plate tracks.

Starting third in Sunday’s race, don’t be surprised if the 2012 Cup champion stays up front all day and battles for the win at the end of it.

After announcing his retirement from full-time Monster Energy Series racing at the conclusion of the 2017 season, this is Earnhardt’s final spring race at Talladega. 

NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver has earned six career wins at the track, including four straight between 2001 and 2003. Earnhardt’s last win at the 2.66-mile track came in this race two years ago.

He’ll be a force to be reckoned with from the outside pole as JR Nation would love to see the No. 88 in Victory Lane once again in “Earnhardt Country.”

Logano has one two of the last three races at Talladega. After an encumbered win at Richmond due to a rear suspension violation, the driver of the No. 22 Ford is determined to gain back the playoff points lost from the penalty.