Five successes from the Hellmans 500

There was a lot of pressure on the Chase contenders as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moved into Talladega for the final race in the round of twelve. With few points covering the twelve drivers, there was no room for error and the smallest mistake would be enough to potentially end a driver's Chase hopes. There were plenty of non-Chase contenders making the headlines though as several drivers put in strong performances. Here are the five most successful in our opinion.

Greg Biffle

2016 has not been the best of years for "The Biff", good results have been few and far between and, apart from a trio of top tens from Daytona to New Hampshire, he has rarely featured as a front runner. Talladega provided a bit of a return to former glory for Biffle as he set the third fastest time in qualifying and was the fastest Roush Fenway Racing car. This speed continued into the race and Biffle was able to run at the front for several laps before contact on lap 114 with Jeffrey Earnhardt and Casey Mears sent him spinning down the order. Fortunately, the car wasn't too badly damaged and Biffle was able to rejoin the race without losing a lap. He eventually recovered to fifteenth - his tenth best result of the season.

Brian Scott

When the Rookie Of The Year contenders for 2016 were announced, not much attention was paid to Brian Scott - he's by no means a bad driver but was never likely to challenge Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. A twelfth place finish at Martinsville has been Scott's only result to really shout about so far this season but that changed at Talladega. After qualifying a career best tenth, Scott went on to run towards the front of the field for the majority of the race and used a final caution flag to his advantage. Restarting in second place with two laps to go, he was able to block the cars behind whilst pushing Joey Logano to a crucial victory. Second place is a career best result that could have been his first Sprint Cup win, if Scott can continue performances like this, he could become a real force to be reckoned with on the restrictor-plate tracks.

Aric Almirola

The Hellmans' 500 was a good race for the Richard Petty Motorsports cars as both of them finished inside the top ten for the first time since the Coke Zero 400 in 2014. It's also Almirola's first finish inside the top ten since the Quicken Loans 500 at Phoenix last year. After a relatively subdued season, it was a welcome return to form for the thirty two year old. Despite not really running at the front for the majority of the race, some well timed moves late in the closing laps proved that Almirola still has what it takes to run at the front. Eighth place might not have been the result he was looking for but it is still a very strong finish.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr

With five top ten finishes to his name, Ricky Stenhouse Jr has been the most competitive of the Roush Fenway Racing drivers and this trend was continued at Talladega. After qualifying in sixth place, Stenhouse Jr set about making moves at the front and he very rarely dropped outside of the top ten throughout the whole of the race. On the final restart of the day he was able to move up a few places with some expertly timed moves and ended up finishing fifth, a full ten positions ahead of his nearest teammate. With six top ten finishes this year and being the highest Roush Fenway Racing driver in the points, Stenhouse Jr is starting to show that he is a future star of NASCAR.

Joey Logano

Coming into Talladega, Logano was right on the cut-off spot for the round of eight. He knew that a win was absolutely necessary in order to advance and he achieved this in style. Despite getting a jack stuck under his car during a pit stop, Logano drove one of his best races to date to take the victory and secure his place in the round of eight. With a performance like this, he is looking like a ver serious contender over the next few races. Staying in the present though, Logano's performance at Talladega was one of his best ever.

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