Cup Series Rookies Steal the Show at Talladega

For Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson, the final finishing order from Sunday’s (April 23) race at Talladega Superspeedway will never tell the whole story. The pair of NASCAR Cup Series rookies wound up 31st and 32nd respectively, both falling victim to late race issues. Yet Sunday’s race also marked the first time both drivers looked capable of scoring a victory at NASCAR’s highest level. Even if Kyle Busch stole the victory in the end, Gibbs and Gragson stole the show.

Up to this point, neither one of the 2023 rookies has made much noise. Gibbs finished midpack for the first few races of the season before quietly stringing together four consecutive top-10 finishes. Even so, he had led zero laps this season prior to Talladega. Gragson has been struggling mightily in his first full-time season. His only finish better than 20th is a 12th-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month. Despite featuring two drivers who battled down to the wire for last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series title, the Gibbs versus Gragson showdown for Cup Series Rookie of the Year has been a non-story so far.

Yet Talladega favors underdogs as much as any track on the Cup Series circuit. During the race’s final stage, it looked like Gibbs or Gragson could have pulled off the upset. Gibbs started in the top five and fell back early, but he was able to work his way back to the front during the second half of the race with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates. Gibbs often found himself leading one of the long drafting lines and did a superb job holding his position at the front of the pack.

Gragson also emerged as a potential contender late in the race, drafting with anyone and everyone who could get him to the front of the field. His only major mistake was a botched bump draft to leader Harrison Burton, a move which sent the No. 21 car spinning to bring out a caution on lap 142. Gragson himself escaped with no damage and, like Gibbs, stayed among the front runners as the laps ticked away.

So, what went wrong for the two rookies? As so often happens, the complexion of the race changed when a wreck back in the pack brought out a caution with five laps to go. This put Gragson and Gibbs, in particular, in an unenviable position. Neither of them has much experience with Cup Series overtime restarts, and it was obvious that the aggression level would bump up a notch during a two-lap run to the finish. Additionally, most of the leaders were trying to save fuel, and the…