John Ray's semi-truck is ready to complete a lap around Talladega Superspeedway, which means it's time for the Cup Series playoffs to continue at NASCAR's biggest track.
Sunday's event continues the Round of 12 as the remaining championship-eligible drivers battle for spots in the Round of 8. This will be the 111th Cup race at Talladega.
Several playoff drivers have won at the Alabama track. Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano have the best odds to win, according to DraftKings.
It's not a TALLADEGA race day without John Ray's big rig leading the way 🇺🇸 #GEICO500 pic.twitter.com/fU327WObQC
— Talladega Superspeedway (@TALLADEGA) April 27, 2021
Talladega Superspeedway Cup Series race information
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for mostly sunny skies with a few clouds. A high of 83 degrees and a 3% chance of rain at the start of the Cup Series playoff race.
Green flag time: The command to fire engines will be at 2:21 p.m. ET. The green flag will wave at 2:33 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Talladega Cup Series starting lineup
Pre-race: The garage opens at 11 a.m. ET. Driver introductions will take place at 1:45 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins with "Countdown to Green" on NBC at 1:30 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues on NBC at 2 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 60. The second stage ends at Lap 120. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 188.
Playoff picture: A non-playoff driver, Ross Chastain, won last weekend's race at Kansas Speedway so none of the current playoff drivers have a secure spot in the Round of 8.
The current leader in the playoff standings is William Byron. He is 24 points above the Round of 8 cutline after finishing second at Kansas last weekend. Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell are just behind him at 28 points to the good.
The other drivers above the Round of 8 cutline are Kyle Larson (+18), Denny Hamlin (+11), Alex Bowman (+8), Chase Elliott (+4), and Joey Logano (+4).
Tyler Reddick is the first driver below the cutline. He is four points behind Elliott and Logano. Daniel Suarez (-14), Chase Briscoe (-25), and Austin Cindric (-29) are the other drivers currently below the cutline.
Past winners: Several active Cup Series drivers have previous wins at Talladega Superspeedway. Reddick won this season's spring race. He is one of four drivers with one Cup win at Talladega. This list also includes Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Kyle Busch, Elliott, and Hamlin all have two wins each at Talladega. Elliott won the 2022 playoff race. Blaney, the winner of last season's playoff race, and Logano both have three wins at Talladega.
Keselowski is the active wins leader at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. He has six wins at the track, putting him in a tie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for the second-most all-time.