Neither Busch Nor Harvick Have Time To Waste

Neither Busch Nor Harvick Have Time To Waste

Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have this in common: Each has won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway – Harvick in 2010 and Busch in 2008.

Both remain serious contenders for the championship entering the second half of the Chase. Harvick is third, 29 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. Busch stands fifth, 37 points arrears. The largest comeback after five Chase races was 146 points by Jimmie Johnson in 2006. That was under the “old” point structure. Under the current one, that deficit equates to roughly 35 points. In other words, a comeback like the one Harvick and Busch have to make is not unprecedented.

Those are the positives. The not-so-good news is their three key rivals entering Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 500 entering Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 500 entering Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 500 – Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon - also have victories, nine of them to be exact.

The take-away is that Harvick and Busch must elevate their Talladega performances if they’re to make gains this week. That didn’t happen when the series visited Talladega in May. Harvick finished 40th, eliminated by the multi-car accident at lap 44 that also hobbled Busch. The latter driver wound up 37th, 54 laps behind winner David Ragan.

Busch was third in last fall’s ’Dega event; Harvick finished 11th.

Harvick’s Talladega Driver Rating is 77.0, 20th-best and nearly 15 points behind his season-to-date mark. His average track finish is 16.4.

Busch’s stats are similarly below par: 16th- best Driver Rating (79.9) with an average finish of 22.9. The latter number makes Talladega the driver’s third worst track behind Kansas and Homestead-Miami speedways.

“Don’t wreck; that’s the perfect strategy,” said Harvick. “How you do that I don’t know, but I'm hoping we have the luck we need to make sure that we don't have any major issues this weekend.”

 

Who Can Follow Brad In Playing Spoiler?

Brad Keselowski, the reigning 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, became the first driver in almost two years to play spoiler during the Chase by winning as a non-Chase contender in Charlotte.

This week the Chase rolls into Talladega Superspeedway, a track where non-Chase qualifiers have won four fall races – most of any Chase track.

Front Row Racing teammates David Ragan and David Gilliland shocked NASCAR Nation this spring with their charge to the front and subsequent one-two finish in Talladega’s Aaron’s 499. Ragan has two plate-race wins and three top-fives in the last three years at Daytona and Talladega.

Similarly, Jamie McMurray is another driver to watch when it comes to success at the restrictor-plate tracks where drafting ability is key to a driver’s success. McMurray has three wins and eight top fives at the two plate tracks.

Talladega has also been a place for first-time winners. Austin Dillon, who will be the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet, has three top-five finishes in four Talladega starts in combined NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition. Dillon has proven he can get the job done at Talladega. Can he bring that success with him to his NASCAR Sprint Cup car this weekend?

 

Can Junior Reclaim Talladega Glory?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t visited Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway in awhile – the last time was the very first Talladega Chase race October 3, 2004. Seventeen Talladega races have passed since his last win on the series’ largest track.

But it’s not like he hasn’t been in contention. Not at all. The opposite is true. In his 27 career Talladega starts, Earnhardt has led in 24 of them. In addition, he ranks second in the telling Driver Rating statistic with a solid 89.9. Only Matt Kenseth (91.5) has a better Driver Rating.

In all, Earnhardt has five wins, nine top fives and 19 top 10s at Talladega, to go along with 737 laps led, which is second only to Jeff Gordon’s 840 laps led among active drivers.

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Etc.

Milestones: David Ragan will start his 250th NSCS race this weekend at Talladega. … Five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be shooting for his 200th top-10 finish in NSCS competition. … Seven Chase qualifiers have visited Victory Lane at the 2.66-mile track. … Michael Waltrip will drive the No. 55 MWR Toyota in place of Brian Vickers.