NASCAR YellaWood 500 preview: Favorite, underdog, top storylines

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

Here is what you need to know ahead of the eighth of 10 races in the Chase.

Favorite: Ryan Blaney (+1000, per DraftKings)

Blaney enters the 2.66-mile track with four consecutive top-five finishes and a resurgence back into title contention (-40). As a six-time winner at drafting tracks, three of which have come at Talladega, expect Blaney to lead laps and be in contention throughout all 500 miles.

In addition to winning at Atlanta's EchoPark Speedway in the summer, Blaney has finished in the top-two positions in 11 of his 57 drafting starts (19%), which is not too shabby considering the chaotic nature of pack racing. After qualifying 27th, it is only up from here as Blaney looks to inch closer to the points lead. 

Underdog: Todd Gilliland (+4000, per DraftKings)

While someone like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. could also earn this distinction as a two-time Talladega winner, let's not forget about Gilliland, either, even though he is further down the odds board and may not be on everyone's radar.

He was runner-up in this race last year and has four top-10 finishes in nine Talladega races, including a 12.9 average finish that is best among active drivers with at least four starts. Gilliland was also 14th one week ago at Phoenix, so perhaps a little momentum is on his side.

Compelling championship battle enters homestretch

After an uncharacteristic 34th-place finish at Phoenix trimmed Kyle Larson's points lead to just five over Christopher Bell with three races remaining, it is anyone's guess who is going to come away with the Bill France Cup with the top-seven drivers separated by just 56 points.

From Bell (-5), Chase Briscoe (-24) and Denny Hamlin (-31) to Blaney (-40), Joey Logano (-44) and Tyler Reddick (-56), Talladega is poised to throw a wrench into some of their title hopes with the "Big One" looming at any point. It's just a matter of who can avoid the potential calamity and gain some valuable points.

New package makes its Talladega debut

After NASCAR decided to implement a new superspeedway package at Daytona back in August, it chose to reduce the spoiler even more from four to 3.5 inches in an effort to reduce drag and give drivers additional opportunities to make moves in the pack.

While cars will be "closer to the edge" with the reduced spoiler, the same stage lengths of 98, 45 and 45 will be in effect just like the Spring race with the goal of limiting fuel-mileage racing. With the shorter spoiler also playing a factor this time around, though, it remains to be seen if the fuel conservation will even be an issue.

Several drivers looking to play spoiler

With a different winner in each of the last 12 races, Talladega is no stranger to a surprise victor reaching victory lane and upsetting the apple cart. As 10 of the 16 Chase drivers prepare to roll off from outside the top 10 in Sunday's race, that trend could continue this time around as well.

After all, this is the best chance a lot of drivers in the field have of winning a race this season and building on something for 2027. Briscoe may have won the pole with a blistering qualifying lap on Saturday, but expect a lot of comers and goers as drivers try to get a handle on the tweaked package.