Who predicted Brad Keselowski would win here in April? Put your hands down, your jerkin’ my chain. Mark Martin calls this race "the lottery." Others call it a "wild card." With its potential to shake things up, make no mistake there’s a lot of interest in what this race will bring.
You never really know how it’s all going to shake down until the final turn of the final lap, but with the potential for the "Big One’, and given what has happened in the last two "plate races", I suspect there’ll be more than just a little interest in the goings on at Talladega Sunday.
TRACK FACTS
The first NASCAR Cup race was held under a cloud of controversy when it opened as Alabama International Speedway on September 14, 1969. Several notable drivers of the day boycotted the race as they were concerned about the safety, due to the length of the track and high banking.
Big Bill France himself drove around the track at high speeds to demonstrate the track’s safety, but Richard Petty and the ill-fated Professional Drivers Association sat out. France invited replacement drivers, and the race ran anyway. The association quickly fell apart. A young driver named Richard Childress debuted that day, but the winner was Richard Brickhouse.
The track became Talladega Superspeedway in 1989. It’s NASCAR’s biggest track at 2.66 miles. The turns are a wicked steep 33 degrees and there’s 18 degrees banking in the tri-oval. On the back stretch, the banking is 2 degrees.
The front stretch is 4,300 feet long, and it’s 4,000 feet on the back stretch.
Two races a year have run since 1970, and Sunday’s race will be the 81st Cup start. The track underwent its fourth re-paving in the summer of 2006.
Grandstand seating is 143,231.
TOP PERFORMERS AND PERFORMANCES
"The Intimidator", Dale Earnhardt, is the track’s all-time winningest driver with 10 wins. His 76th and last win was at Talladega in the Fall of 2000.
Among active drivers, Jeff Gordon is tops with 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has 5. Brad Keselowski got his first career win here in the spring, Tony Stewart got his final win in his old #20 last fall.
Mark Martin ran the fastest race on this track in the May 10, 1997 Winston Select 500. He ran a speed of 188.354 miles per hour in a time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, and 18 seconds.
Bill Elliott has earned more poles than any other here with 8 all-time. Though he’s not on the entry list for this event, and a part-time driver, we’ll still call him the active leader, if for no other reason than respect. Interestingly enough, Joe Nemechek and Elliott Sadler have a trio of poles on here.
In the "pre-plate" era, Bill Elliott set a qualifying record with a blinding speed of 212.809 miles per hour on April 30, 1987. The time? 44.998 seconds.
In the "restrictor plate" era, Elliott is still your track record holder for qualifying with a speed of 199.388 miles per hour. This is with a 15/16th inch plate.
The record for lead changes is 75. That happened on May 6, 1984 in the Winston 500 won by Cale Yarborough. The fewest occurred on May 6, 1973 when David Pearson won the Winston 500. There were just 13.
On three occasions, there were races with no caution flags. The most recent was the Fall, 2002 race won by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the EA Sports 500. A record 11 cautions flew in the spring of 2004, when Jeff Gordon won the Aaron’s 499.
In April of 2001, a record 40 cars finished when Bobby Hamilton won the Talladega 500. Just 13 cars followed Bobby Hillin to the finish of the July, 1986 Talladega 500.
WHEN & WHERE TO TUNE IN
The green flag waves at approxinately 1:19 PM Eastern, 10:19 AM Pacific for Sunday’s race at Talladega.
SPEED’s NASCAR Raceday coverage kicks off at 10:00 AM Eastern, 7:00 AM Pacific with John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer and Kenny Wallace.
ESPN on ABC starts their pre-race show, NASCAR Countdown gets underway at Noon Eastern, 9:00 AM Pacific. Allen Bestwick, Rusty Wallace, Brad Daugherty and Tim Brewer are your studio hosts.
When the race gets going, Dr. Jerry Punch, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett provide the call trackside. Pit reporters are Dave Burns, Shannon Spake, Jamie Little and Vince Welch.
WHO WILL WIN IT?
It’s almost easier to say who’s not going to win it. Once you clear out the "start and parks" (and even some of those could stick around), it’s wide open.
Some guys just thrive on plate tracks. Michael Waltrip could be a factor here, or he could be a big help to his team- for guys like David Reutimann or Marcos Ambrose- a guy you wouldn’t think of first, but someone with a high racing I.Q. If Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t seem so down mentally, I would list him as a favorite with that Hendrick horsepower under the hood and his keen knowledge of the draft.
Horsepower will be huge. The entire gangs from Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs will be factors- especially Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and probably even Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. Let’s also not forget the the Stewart- Haas team of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman gets some big time help from HMS.
Having help is at a premium, right down to finding draft partners. Given that, it MAY be hard for points leader Jimmie Johnson to find a willing dance partner, even from his own team. At the same time, the aforementioned teams will all helps each other out. I’d also be remiss not to mention the Richard Childress crew of Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Casey Mears. Bowyer topped the charts in "Happy Hour."
You can see this is a real crap shoot, and I would not be shocked to see a Reed Sorenson or perhaps even a Robby Gordon win. Look at how the truck race came out. The Cup race will be all that and then some. Because of points, I would not be surprised to see some of the point leaders hung out to dry come the final lap.
I suppose if I’m forced into an educated (or not) guess, I’d have to go with Jeff Gordon. He’s come so darn close the last several weeks and he’s got a plan and the know-how to win here. His next career win ties him with Cale Yarborough at 83 and winning it at one of NASCAR’s "crown jewel" tracks would make it extra special.
At the same time, Tony Stewart could very well be a factor. Juan Pablo Montoya may be feeling his tacos (Now wait, Montoya reportedly tweeted a day or two ago that he was out enjoying a taco, so don’t get the wrong idea). JPM has been a beast in the Chase.
It could be just about anybody. That’s the beauty of racing at Talladega.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I watched the truck race yesterday..it was great! For Talladega it wasn’t a crash fest..there was one “big one” affecting the points leader..but all in all it was a nail biter. The last 20 laps..especially the “green white checker” was thrilling..and the push Aric gave Kyle was art in motion. I am excited to watch this afternoon…and even more excited because this will probably be the LAST time this year we WON’T spend most of the race watching the 48 lead the pack lap after lap after lap.
@josie. Take heart, we’re away from Jimmie’s “wheel house” tracks, so there’s still hope that Texas, Phoenix and Miami could bring good races for guys named Smoke, Gordon, Martin, Montoya and Hamlin.
Nothing against, Jimmie. Just keepin’ it real. I’m ready for a new champ.
The truck race was great! A nailbiter throughout and multiple lead changes during the green-white-checker finish. The pass for the lead pulled off by Kyle and Aric was a thing of beauty. They could not have scripted it any better.
As for the Cup championship, I am not ready for a new champion until next year. JJ in 2009, KB in 2010. My two favorite drivers simply could NOT be more different. But difference is the spice of life…and racing. Kyle is GOOD for the sport in ways his haters don’t even imagine.