NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell (20) leads the pack through the tri oval during the NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, April 24, 2022, in Talladega, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Talladega for the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, Oct. 2. The race will be live streamed on fuboTV (free trial) and DirecTV Stream (free trial).

NASCAR’s most popular driver said Saturday the sport has taken an unacceptable step backward in safety with its new Next Gen car, a rare public offering of opinion by Chase Elliott.

RELATED: Auburn’s Bruce Pearl named honorary starter for Talladega’s YellaWood 500

NASCAR’s top drivers essentially have turned into an angry mob as they head into Sunday’s playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway. Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch are both sidelined with concussions, and Cody Shane Ware will race with a broken foot. All three drivers were injured in crashes in NASCAR’s new Next Gen car.

The car had a honeymoon phase when it debuted at the start of the year because it delivered on its promise to improve the racing and level the competitive playing field. And while the Next Gen faced some bugs in the first seven months, the car is now experiencing serious problems during the playoff portion of the season.

That’s created a growing sense of urgency from the drivers that NASCAR must soften the rear of the cars in the interest of safety.

Bowman and Busch were both injured when the rear of their cars hit the wall. Because the Next Gen was designed to be durable, their crashes looked routine, when in reality most of the energy from the impact was absorbed by the driver. Busch is out for an 11th consecutive race; Bowman crashed on the 98th lap last Sunday at Texas, radioed his team to say it was the hardest hit of his life, appeared unwell on his in-car camera and yet continued to drive 231 laps. He was diagnosed with his concussion on Thursday.

The YellaWood 500 at Talladega is 1 p.m. (2 p.m. ET) on Sunday, Oct. 2.

The game will be live streamed on fuboTV, which offers a free trial. The most basic of plans is the “fubo standard” package, which comprises 121-plus channels for $69.99 per month. Like all cord-cutting alternatives, there are plenty of options, especially for sports. It comes with more than 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR, and up to 10 screens at once.

DirecTV Stream offers a free trial.

There are four options of DirecTV Stream:

The Entertainment Package, which consists of 65+ channels, is $54.99 until the promotion runs out April 30. It’s the basic package for can’t-miss entertainment - including ESPN, TNT, Nickelodeon and HGTV.

The Choice Package has more than 90 channels and is $74.99 during the promotion. The channels in ENTERTAINMENT, plus MLB Network, NBA TV, college sports networks, and more. Enjoy Regional Sports Networks with no additional fees.

The Ultimate Package has more than 130 channels and is $89.99 during the promotion. Everything in CHOICE, plus Oxygen, Golf Channel, NHL Network, Universal Kids and more.

The Premier Package has more than 140 channels and is $134.99 during the promotion. Everything in ULTIMATE, plus HBO Max, SHOWTIME, STARZ, Cinemax and more.

DirecTV Stream offers a free trial that doesn’t require much effort.

To sign up, enter a phone number, email address and credit card, and you’ll receive five days of the service without charge.

In addition, enhance your experience with the DirecTV Stream device. While it doesn’t include a free trial, it give you access to thousands of apps like Netflix and more on Google Play. You can search using the voice remote with Google Assistant, and you can enjoy a traditional live TV channel guide. It is sold separately.

Stanford and Oregon will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

BELL ON THE POLE: Christopher Bell won the pole for Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway, the middle race of the Round of 12 of the playoffs. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the most consistent playoff driver in the first round, but a crash last week in the second-round opener dropped him to 11th in the standings.

The field will be cut from 12 to eight next Sunday on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Bell turned a lap at 180.591 mph in his Toyota in Saturday qualifying to top reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson, in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Hamlin, teammates with Bell at Gibbs, qualified third and was followed by the Stewart-Haas Racing Fords of Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe.

Ross Chastain, winner at Talladega in the spring, qualified sixth in a Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing. Noah Gragson was seventh and is the replacement driver at Hendrick Motorsports for Bowman.

OFFICIAL HIT: Tyler Reddick was visibly upset after he hit a NASCAR official when he couldn’t get his car stopped as she guided him on pit road following his qualifying run.

Kelly Sullivan was knocked down by Reddick’s car and was treated for what appeared to be an ankle injury.

“We were coasting in and I thought I was going to be a lot further down pit road and last minute, they wanted me to turn in here,” Reddick said. “I just screwed that up.”

The collision seemed to damage Reddick’s car, but he wasn’t focused on that.

“That’s not really important; I am just glad she is not seriously hurt,” Reddick said. “If I wouldn’t have hit her, she’d be in great health, but I’m really glad she’s able to walk. That’s what is important, that she’s OK and she can put weight on her leg.”

Reddick said he planned to check on Sullivan again later Saturday.

GIBBS LEARNS: Ty Gibbs this week was fined $75,000 by NASCAR for what it called “retaliatory vehicle contact on pit road with crew members/officials in close proximity; second offense” at Texas Motor Speedway.

It was another high-profile incident for the 19-year-old grandson of Joe Gibbs. The Xfinity Series driver currently is filling in for Kurt Busch at 23XI Racing and is expected to be named Kyle Busch’s replacement at his grandfather’s team.

Gibbs earlier this year drew criticism for throwing punches at a rival driver on pit road after a race, and fans have begun to paint him as NASCAR’s newest villain.

He said Saturday he’s continuing to learn from each incident.

“I’m just making these mistakes, and these decisions are unacceptable to NASCAR and the whole team and everybody sees you,” Gibbs said. “Only thing I can do going forward is show by my actions, not words — words don’t change, but actions are what’s actually going to change people’s thoughts and opinions, and so that’s what I’ve got to do — I’ve got to hammer down and focus.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.