Was Talladega an excellent race? In line with the “Good Race Ballot” by The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck, it was not. And it wasn’t even shut.
Simply 39% of the respondents stated it was an excellent race. In line with the veteran journalist, that quantity ranked because the lowest of 19 Talladega races within the ballot. The earlier low was 42% from the autumn 2018 race. It was additionally the second-lowest of 45 superspeedway races within the ballot. Solely the 2019 Conflict at Daytona was decrease at 20.9%.
Richard Petty agreed with the bulk opinion’s view of Talladega.
“So that they labored arduous at doing what they completed, however they could not do nothing,” Petty stated on his Petty Racing Household YouTube channel. “It regarded like a tempo lap each time. You understand what I imply? The fellows on the market, they thought they was racing and so they was racing, however there was no place for ’em to race.
NASCAR Cup Collection race at Talladega Superspeedway.Jason Allen-Imagn Pictures
“And to me, it wasn’t a race. It was only a taking place. They usually occurred to throw the inexperienced flag and any individual — and so they throw the checkered flag and the No. 2 automobile gained the race and he simply occurred to be in entrance at the moment.”
Throughout NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competitors Elton Sawyer’s Tuesday look on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, his remarks didn’t line up with the emotions of Petty and nearly all of followers.
“Initially, while you’re sitting in race management — and Mike can allude to this as a result of MRN’s proper subsequent door to us — and we’re standing up and also you’re watching, and our followers are standing on their ft,” Sawyer stated, describing the scene on the 2.66-mile monitor. “We’re four-wide, some circumstances we’re five-wide, they’re again to single file. Our followers are standing up, they’re cheering. So it is like, OK.
Throughout his weekly look on @SiriusXMNASCAR, NASCAR SVP of Competitors Elton Sawyer questioned what must be fastened at @TALLADEGA. pic.twitter.com/5lyONBnBXa
— Kyle Dalton (@kdsportswriter) April 29, 2025
“And then you definitely go take a look at the metrics and also you take a look at the stats after the race, and you’ve got 67 lead modifications amongst 23 completely different drivers. So, after we take a look at all of that, it is like, what are we making an attempt to repair? What’s not going the way in which we want it?
“Now, I get it after we begin speaking about short-track packages when we now have a man that leads 400 some laps of a 500-lap race. OK, we are able to do our greatest to attempt to get to work on that, determine what we are able to do. However when you’ve got 67 lead modifications amongst 23 completely different drivers, I am not actual certain what we’re gonna work on there.
“However as at all times, we wish to get higher. So we wish to have 70 lead modifications. We wish to have 25 or 30 completely different drivers that lead races. However the brief reply is we’re at all times taking a look at our product — whether or not it is superspeedway, highway course, intermediate, brief monitor — we’re at all times taking a look at it making an attempt to make it higher.”
The following superspeedway race is August at Daytona. Regardless of what followers and Petty assume, it does not sound like something goes to alter.
Associated: Richard Petty Calls Out Fox’s Protection and Says What Followers Have Been Saying for Years
