NASCAR: Who’s Hot And Who’s Not Heading Into Talladega

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

HOT – Joey Logano

Lost in the dramatic aftermath of the race in Charlotte was the fact that Joey Logano once again had a top-five finish. Logano has finished all five of the chase races inside of the top-five, winning two of them. If you’re a believer in patterns than you might believe that Logano is going to win this weekend in Talladega because that seems to be where the trend is pointing. Since the start of the chase Logano has alternated 4th place and 1st place finishes each race. After finishing in 4th place last weekend it would seem that it is time for him to finish in 1st place again. With a win in this round and his spot in the third round of the chase already locked up, it would not be surprising to see Logano take some risks on Sunday in an effort to win the race. After all, even if the driver of the No. 22 machine were to wreck it’s not like it would cost him anything in regards to chasing for the championship. The only downfall to running hard for the win and taking more risks is the potential to ruin other drivers days. If Logano makes a daring move that he normally wouldn’t and wrecks half of the field, you can be sure that he will have plenty of angry drivers to deal with.