Previewing Talladega: More penalties from NASCAR in store? Plus how to watch on TV, radio

As drivers of the NASCAR Cup Series season hope to begin anew at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend (3 p.m., Sunday, FOX), the sanctioning body is probably hoping for a similarly fresh start about one thing in particular.

Penalties.

That three-syllable word has dominated headlines in the early goings of the 2023 Cup season. Hendrick Motorsports has received its fair share. So have Denny Hamlin and Kaulig Racing — all to varying degrees of appeal success, all causing substantial stirs about how the sport’s appeals process ought to work.

On Wednesday, another penalty was dealt: NASCAR reported that Austin Dillon’s No. 3 team violated the sport’s “overall assembled vehicle rules” that involved the underwing of his car. That penalty resulted in a $75,000 fine and a two-race suspension to crew chief Keith Rodden, as well as severe points penalties: 60 driver points and five playoff points.

Remember when team owner and Cup driver Brad Keselowski stated last year that he hoped NASCAR would give out penalties “like candy” to get control of the garage area? It looks like that’s happening now.

Richard Childress Racing announced on Wednesday that it will appeal the penalties issued to the No. 3 team, and that means the sport will see a new appeals process on display — one where the National Motorsports Appeals Panel is now at liberty to explain their reasoning for why they made their decision.

A new appeals system debuts just like a new season does, in many ways. The questions now: Will the new system work? And will it compel teams to start playing by the rules?

Other Talladega story lines

Here’s what else you need to know ahead of one of the biggest races on the Cup schedule.

▪ More on Talladega representing a new beginning. The largest superspeedway NASCAR descends upon has been a beacon of hope for years for drivers to reset their seasons. Talladega has six different winners in the past six races, including last year’s victor Ross Chastain, who is still looking for his first win in 2023. Eleven drivers who’ve won at Talladega before are active this weekend: Brad Keselowski has six wins (the latest coming in 2021). Joey Logano has three. Chase Elliott has two. Ryan Blaney has two. And Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch all have one.

▪ A lot has been said of the Next Gen car’s second season. The car’s intermediate-track package has been lauded as a strength since 2022, and the short-track package that debuted this year has received similarly positive reviews. (That is, outside of a despondent review from Denny Hamlin after his Top 5 finish at Martinsville. The driver of the 11 car, in part, said: “You got 30-, 40-lap tires, and you can just stay up front. The cars that I was lapping could restart at the front, and you just can’t pass them.”)

But what about the superspeedway package? Cup Series teams have used 510 horsepower with a 7-inch spoiler at superspeedways since 2022, and in 2023, that has set up good finishes and plenty of action at Atlanta and Daytona. Ask some drivers, and they’ll say that “racing with respect” is the larger issue at these superspeedways (and everywhere) — but Atlanta featured the kind of battle between two superspeedway studs that ended without an end-of-race caution that brought smiles to racing-purists’ faces.

▪ A fun fact about Talladega: The superspeedway holds the all-time record in green flag passes for the lead in a single Cup event with 219 in Oct. 2013. It also has the record for most green-flag passes throughout the field on the same date.

▪ NASCAR saw a boost of TV ratings at Martinsville last week. The NASCAR Cup Series netted a 1.26 Nielsen rating and 2.218 million viewers at Martinsville on Sunday, which is fractionally down from Richmond earlier this month but also a gain from Martinsville in 2022. Could that be attributed to the return of most-popular driver Chase Elliott? Or could that be the result of several factors (including the fact that last year’s Martinsville race saw several weather-related delays)? Tough to say.

NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega details

• Race: GEICO 500

• Place: Talladega Superspeedway

• Date: Sunday, April 23

• Time: 3 p.m. ET

• Purse: $7,857,314

• TV: FOX, 2 p.m. ET

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Distance: 500 miles (188 laps around the 2.66-mile track)

• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 60), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 120), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 188)