FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 15th, 2017

NOTES & QUOTES FROM NBC SPORTS’ MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES COVERAGE FROM TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

“As much as we hype up and talk about Talladega, I don’t think anyone could have envisioned what we saw here today.” – Kyle Petty

“The unpredictability and chaos of this track was on full display today.” – Rick Allen

 

LINCOLN, Ala. – October 15, 2017 – NBC Sports Group surrounded the second race of the Round of 12 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, with more than 11 hours of trackside coverage from Talladega Superspeedway, in Lincoln, Ala. Coverage was highlighted by this afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race on NBC. Brad Keselowski and the No. 2 Team Penske Ford won the race, and secured a position in the Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.

 

NBC Sports Group’s lead race announcer Rick Allen, 21-time Cup Series winner Jeff Burton, and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte called the race. Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Dave Burns reported from pit road alongside features reporter Rutledge Wood.

 

Coverage began on NBCSN at 1 p.m. ET with NASCAR America, followed by Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Krista Voda anchored pre-race coverage alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Dale Jarrett.

 

RACE RESULTS

 

Position Driver Car#
1 Brad Keselowski 2
2 Ryan Newman 31
3 Trevor Bayne 6
4 Joey Logano 22
5 Aric Almirola 43

 

MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR PLAYOFFS ROUND OF 12 STANDINGS

 

Position Driver Points
1 Martin Truex Jr. 3120
2 Brad Keselowski 3101
3 Kyle Larson 3096
4 Kevin Harvick 3089
5 Denny Hamlin 3088
6 Chase Elliott 3087
7 Ryan Blaney 3076
8 Jimmie Johnson 3074
9 Kyle Busch 3067
10 Matt Kenseth 3066
11 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 3052
12 Jamie McMurray 3045

 

The following are highlights from this afternoon’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series coverage on NBC.

 

POST-RACE COVERAGE

 

Petty on race-winner Keselowski: “Some race tracks just suit a driver’s style. Talladega, Daytona, and big tracks fit Brad Keselowski’s style.”

 

Petty: “First there were 40 cars, then there were 20, and then there were only 10 cars competing in the final laps. As much as we hype and talk about Talladega I don’t think anyone envisioned what we saw here today.”

 

Jarrett: “Gambling comes with consequences, and we saw those consequences play out here today.”

 

STAGE 3

 

Allen following the checkered flag: “The unpredictability and chaos of this track was on full display today. Until the last turn of the last lap, you had no idea who was going to win this race.”

 

Letarte added: “Brad Keselowski, on his 300th start, what an impressive day and burnout.”

 

Burton on Chase Elliott’s race-ending crash with five laps to go: “He has been so close to winning races, and he had another shot today.”

 

Letarte added: “If you aren’t going to go for the three-wide hole, you aren’t going to win this race. That is going for the win at Talladega.”

 

Letarte on the multi-car crash on lap 16: “You never want to see it happen, but there is only so much space on the track here. These drivers start going three-wide and four-wide, but it is only a matter of time at Talladega.”

 

Letarte on Kevin Harvick: “This has not been a good day for Kevin Harvick. Every time I look at him it seems like he is three-wide or four-wide, and never in the right lane. I’m not sure if the car is not driving the way he wants, or if it has just been some bad lane choices. We have not seen the No. 4 up front at all today.”

 

Letarte on Kyle Busch’s pit stop on lap 138: “Big surprise, the No. 18 of Kyle Busch makes up time coming on and off pit road. Even at Talladega it seems like he is making time.”

 

STAGE 2

 

Burton on Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “He has just been stuck. He can’t seem to get out of the middle of the pack.”

 

STAGE 1

 

Letarte on Jamie McMurray’s collision with Jeffrey Earnhardt on lap 26: “Jamie McMurray did not mean to do it, but that is a bad place to be on the race track to try to get to pit road. You have to get to the left and blend your way through the traffic. You can’t do what he just did.”

 

PRE-RACE COVERAGE

 

Letarte on the field at Talladega: “You are going to hear names up front that we don’t normally talk about a lot, because this is their opportunity. This is their chance. They come into this weekend knowing that they can get airtime for their sponsors and their team by driving up to the front, leading laps, and contending for the win.”

 

Burton added: “You look at a guy like Landon Cassill, who doesn’t know yet what he is doing next season. This is an opportunity for him to put his name on the map. He can tell teams, ‘Give me a shot, I can win races for you.’”

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–