NASCAR playoffs at Talladega: Where to watch, live stream, race preview, pick to win for the YellaWood 500

LINCOLN, Ala. -- Ever since NASCAR first adopted its first playoff system back in 2004, Talladega Superspeedway has loomed large as the single biggest wild card in the race to the Cup Series championship. That's to be expected, as Talladega weekend is one that puts championship contenders' hopes of hoisting the Cup title at the mercy of the biggest, fastest, and most intimidating speedway in all of stock car racing. But this year, it looms larger than it ever has before.

With just three races to go in the 2025 season, the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway serves as the middle race in the Round of 8 for the very first time, putting the seven drivers who have yet to earn a Championship 4 spot -- sans Las Vegas winner Denny Hamlin -- in as delicate a spot as any playoff drivers have ever been before. At Talladega, mere fractions of a second -- and one right or wrong move in the draft -- can singlehandedly make or break championship ambitions.

NASCAR playoffs 2025 race schedule, results: Complete list of Cup Series race dates, winners, tracks

Steven Taranto

Where to watch the NASCAR playoffs at Talladega

• When: Sunday, Oct. 19 | Time: 2 p.m. ET
• Where: Talladega Superspeedway -- Lincoln, Ala.
• TV: NBC | Stream: Fubo (Try for free) 

Storyline to watch

Of the 16 wins that Ryan Blaney has had in his Cup career, three have come at Talladega, including a narrow 2023 victory that launched his run to that year's Cup Series championship. That alone would be enough for Blaney to be in the spotlight this weekend, as he stands a great chance of contending for the win again particularly given the strength of Team Penske's superspeedway program and the fact that the company is looking for a 'Dega season sweep. But considering the way the Round of 8 opened, Blaney stands to gain as much as anyone this weekend, and it's highly likely he needs to.

After a blown tire sent him into the wall at Las Vegas and relegated him to a DNF in 38th, Blaney enters Talladega 31 points below the cut line to advance to the Championship 4, putting him in a situation where his likeliest path to a third straight Championship 4 berth is to win either at Talladega or at Martinsville, where he's won the last two years. With as many as 20 points and two playoff points available in the first two stages of Sunday's race, Blaney told reporters that he doesn't view himself as being in a must-win position. At least, not yet.

"At Talladega, you never know what can happen," Blaney said. "You can go have a massive points day and be short of the win, but maybe a couple other guys don't have as good of a points day and you go into Martinsville maybe in a spot where you could point your way in if you go have another good day short of winning. Our prep is really no different. It's how do we try to be efficient through the stages and gather up all the stage points. That could change. 

"Let's say the first two stages don't go our way and, alright, maybe now it's a must-win type scenario. That might switch up a little bit, but as far as our prep this week, it's kind of business as usual and try to go gather the most points we can and go try to figure out a way to win the race, so pretty similar."

Blaney's circumstances underscore just how dramatically the Round of 8 standings stand to change at Talladega, and how no one above the cut line is safe, nor is anyone below the cut truly out of a position where they can still point their way into Phoenix. It certainly helps that of the four drivers currently below the cut line, three -- Blaney, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott -- have multiple Talladega wins in their careers.

NASCAR news of the week

Kaulig Racing fires spotter for Ty Dillon after playoff-altering accident involving William Byron

Steven Taranto

• Kaulig Racing has fired Joe White, the spotter for the No. 10 team and driver Ty Dillon, after last week's accident at Las Vegas where William Byron collided with Dillon as he was slowing to come to pit road under green flag conditions. White, who announced that he had been let go via his X account, defended himself by saying that he had told Byron's spotter that the No. 10 car was coming to pit road and that the No. 24 team had misinterpreted his message.
• Spire Motorsports announced Tuesday that Justin Haley will not return to the team in 2026, leaving the No. 7 Chevrolet open for next season. According to The Athletic, Daniel Suarez is reportedly one of the leading candidates to replace Haley as the third driver for Spire's Cup team.
• Richard Childress Racing has hired Jim Pohlman, the crew chief for defending Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier, as the new crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 Chevrolet beginning in 2026. Pohlman rejoins RCR after previously working as the team's head of research & development prior to joining JR Motorsports, where he has won nine races and the 2024 championship as crew chief for Allgaier.
• 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports have filed a response to NASCAR's summary judgment motion, arguing that their antitrust lawsuit against the sanctioning body should not be thrown out on the grounds that, among other arguments, there is no alternative for teams to race elsewhere because NASCAR sanctioning agreements prevent tracks from hosting other stock car racing events and that the Next Gen car cannot be run outside of NASCAR. "The motion is a meandering combination of mischaracterizations of Plaintiffs' claims, misstatements of governing antitrust law, and disputed facts which must go to trial," say the teams in court documents.

Pick to win

Ryan Preece (+3000 at DraftKings) – Preece's second-place finish at Talladega in the spring was thrown out due to violations with the rear spoiler found in post-race inspection, but that doesn't take away from how strong Preece has been in his last two superspeedway starts. After getting to the front of the pack and racing Austin Cindric for the win at Talladega, Preece went to Daytona in August and got to the front in the closing laps yet again, only to miss out on a chance to win when the Hendrick Motorsports cars -- looking to protect Alex Bowman's playoff spot -- shucked him into the middle lane and to the back of the lead pack.

Assuming Preece gets to the end of the race (we all know what's happened to him before at Daytona), it wouldn't be a surprise at all if he ends up at the front again in the final 10 laps. And as the saying goes, perhaps the third time will be the charm.