Ryan Newman

For years, Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway (2019 GEICO 500, Sunday, April 28 at 2 p.m. ET on FOX) have been the most unpredictable on the circuit. First-time winners have mixed with unimaginable wrecks, snarling packs separated by inches at the finish line. Talladega Nights was based in part on the outright insanity this type of racing produces on an annual basis.

Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott are both good friends, the sons of famous former drivers and the faces of NASCAR’s next generation. Come Sunday, they’ll also be who the field starts chasing, on the front row for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway (Phoenix).

Can both men turn around a sluggish start to 2019?

Typically, NASCAR’s Daytona 500 is the most unpredictable race of the season. Restrictor plate racing provides parity, giving hope any of the field’s 40 cars has a chance to win. The second race of the season, Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500, in Atlanta is supposed to be a return to normalcy. Only a handful of favorites are supposed to forge to the front as the sport’s 2019 championship picture takes shape.

Not this year.

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs wind down Sunday, Nov. 18, at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford EcoBoost 400. But after nine races, surprise winners and even a cheating scandal, the usual suspects are the ones competing for the series title.