Talladega Superspeedway
October 1, 2012
Call Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance
500 a four-wheeled version of the Alabama Lottery in which every one of
the 43 starting drivers is a potential winner. And for 12 of them –
qualifiers for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™ - it’s the "wild
card" event of the 10-race post season.
No fall Talladega winner has gone on to
become the NASCAR Sprint Cup champion during the Chase era. And ‘Dega
has ruined the hopes of many. A top-10 finish – no easy task – is the
goal for members of the Chase field this weekend.
Two streaks are on the line. Spring
Talladega winner and points leader Brad Keselowski bids for a season
sweep, the first at the track since 2007. And Clint Bowyer tries to win
the track’s fall race for the third straight year. He won in 2010 as a
Chase driver; a year ago as a "spoiler."
Jimmie Johnson’s run at a sixth NASCAR
Sprint Cup title could hinge on this week’s race. Johnson, who trails
Keselowski by five points, has yet to record a restrictor-plate finish
in three tries this season and was 26th at ‘Dega in last year’s fall race.
With non-Chase drivers winning four of the
eight fall races at Talladega under the current post-season format,
watch for an outlier to open the gates to Victory Lane on Sunday. Jamie
McMurray and Jeff Burton are two prominent choices.
Hard
to believe but 16 consecutive weekends of racing in the NASCAR
Nationwide Series effectively settled nothing. When the three-plus month
odyssey began in mid-June Elliott Sadler led reigning champion Ricky
Stenhouse Jr. by 12 points with Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
Austin Dillon trailing by 14 in third. And now? After multiple twists,
turns and lead changes it’s Sadler by 9 over Stenhouse with Dillon 25
points out. Five races remain on the schedule beginning with a
"hometown" event on Oct. 13 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
A single point is the difference between
championship contenders Ty Dillon and James Buescher as the NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series heads to its own "wild card" affair on
Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. Red Horse Racing swept Daytona’s
season opening event with John King and Timothy Peters finishing
one-two. King since has been replaced by Parker Kligerman, who is making
a late run at the title along with Peters, the 2010 Daytona winner.
Kyle Busch Motorsports has entered a
two-truck tandem for the first time this season with Kurt Busch in the
team’s No. 18 Toyota and NASCAR Mexico champion German Quiroga.
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