NASCAR YellaWood 500 preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

On Sunday, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series head to the high banks and unpredictability of Talladega Superspeedway for the running of the YellaWood 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Here is what you need to know ahead of the middle race in the Round of 8 of the playoffs.

Favorite: Ryan Blaney (+900, per DraftKings)

Despite three straight finishes of 20th or worse at Talladega, Blaney has three wins there in 22 starts and has impressively led laps in six of the last seven races, which speaks to a driver who can find his way to the front of the pack.

After a disaster to begin the Round of 8 when Blaney blew a left-front tire in Stage 1 at Las Vegas and finished 36th in the 38-car field, he now finds himself last in the playoff standings (-31). It may not be an ideal situation, but with his drafting track success and back-to-back wins in the cutoff race at Martinsville, don't eliminate the 2023 champion from title contention yet.

Underdog: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2000, per DraftKings)

Every time the Cup Series visits a drafting-style track, Stenhouse seems be near the front in the closing laps. All four of his Cup Series wins have come on superspeedways, including two at Talladega. One year ago, he played playoff spoiler and went to Victory Lane after leading 19 laps.

The 2025 season has not been kind to Stenhouse with only one top five and three top-10 finishes. As he has demonstrated before, though, when drafting is thrown into the mix, Stenhouse rises to the occasion and usually has a shot to win if he avoids the chaos that is bound to ensue.

How will William Byron respond after bizarre incident at Las Vegas?

It was a dominant day gone bad for Byron in "Sin City" after leading 55 laps and winning Stage 1. After losing the lead to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in the final stage, Byron's day came to an end when he plowed into the back of Ty Dillon, who was pitting ahead from 32nd without giving any warning.

Byron goes to Talladega fifth in the standings, 15 points below Chase Briscoe for the final transfer spot. He has no wins at the 2.66-mile track, but has won the last two Daytona 500s, so a bounce-back performance cannot be ruled out.

Past champions looking to keep playoff hopes alive 

In addition to Blaney, 2020 champion Chase Elliott (-23) and three-time champion Joey Logano (-24) are below the cutline entering Talladega. Elliott had to settle for 18th at Las Vegas after an uncontrolled tire penalty and Logano came up short in sixth after a two-tire call for track position.

Both are multi-race winners at Talladega and know their way around the draft, but they are in desperation mode after a disappointing Round of 8 opener. Stage points will be a must if they don't leave Alabama with a win.

Talladega makes first foray into Round of 8

For the first time in its history, Talladega will host a race this late in the playoffs, adding even more stress to those competing for a title. Aside from Denny Hamlin, who punched his ticket to the Championship 4 at Las Vegas, the looming "Big One" and potential for non-playoff drivers to pull the upset only add to the intrigue.