If winning at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR‘s biggest and baddest race track, isn‘t enough, four drivers will have even more incentive — and 100,000 reasons — to claim their first triumph at the 2.66-mile track in the Ag-Pro 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, April 24.
As a result of being the highest eligible finishers in last weekend‘s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Josh Berry, who won the event for his first career triumph, along with Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones, will now make the trek to Talladega with a shot at the Dash 4 Cash program, which awards a $100,000 bonus to the highest finishing Xfinity Series regular in select races. It will be a battle between two cars from the JR Motorsports camp verses two machines from Joe Gibbs Racing. The Dash 4 Cash program started at Martinsville before moving to Talladega, then Darlington and Dover.
Each of the quartet will be vying for not only the extra cash but their first triumph at the iconic venue. Who has the edge? Jones has the most experience in the Xfinity Series at the 33-degree venue with six starts. Here‘s a look at each:
- Berry: The 30-year-old from Hendersonville, TN, is the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, and is coming off his impressive victory – in only his 13th start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 2020 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Champion has competed in 13 total NASCAR Xfintiy Series races, dating back to 2014. This season, he is running a limited schedule, but did compete for the first time on a “Super” Superspeedway in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. He started ninth and finished 27th after being caught up in an accident. The Ag-Pro 300 will be his first attempt at the biggest, baddest race track on the planet.
- Gragson: The 22-year-old from Las Vegas, NV, pilots the No. 9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. With his runner-up finish at Martinsville, he pocketed the $100,000 bonus of the first leg of the Dash 4 Cash program. In four Xfinity starts at Talladega, he has an impressive resume with results of s third-place effort, a fourth, a 10th, to go along with an 11th. He currently sits ninth in the title chase.
- Hemric: The 30-year-old Kannapolis, NC native drives the 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Not only will he hope to claim the big bonus, but a win would also mean his first career triumph in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He has five Xfinity starts at NASCAR‘s Most Competitive track, with two top-five results, including a fifth last fall. He currently sits second in the championship standings.
- Jones: The 24-year-old from Atlanta, GA, will again be behind the wheel of his No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is coming off a fourth-place result from his last attempt at Talladega in October, which gave him his second top-five result in his six starts. He ranks 10th in his quest for the championship.
The greatest race track in the world will host the Ag-Pro 300 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series as well as the General Tire 200 for the ARCA Menards Series on Saturday, April 24 before the weekend culminates with the GEICO 500 for the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, April 25.
The Saturday doubleheader starts with the General Tire 200 at 12:00 p.m. CT. The Ag-Pro 300 gets the green flag at 3:00 p.m. CDT. Sunday‘s anchor event, the GEICO 500, is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. CDT start. Kids 12 and younger are admitted free (with a paying adult) to grandstands/towers on Saturday.
To learn more about attendance opportunities for the weekend, including camping options, the modified Talladega Garage Experience, along with the new GEICO Grounds Blue Drive-In Experience (Sunday only) located in the infield, visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
Fans are encouraged to keep up with all the happenings at the biggest, baddest race track on the planet by following Talladega Superspeedway on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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