Somewhere in the big white palace in Daytona Beach in the middle of last year, someone had a ‘eureka ‘ moment. It might have been when they were discussing the schedule changes for 2009, or maybe later, but no doubt someone looked at the date for this years Talladega race, maybe even looked again and went. “Wow, Talladega and Halloween, what a perfect combination.”
Indeed whether through conscious effort or a stroke of marketing luck, a race at NASCAR’s biggest track is happening on the scariest weekend of the year, Halloween.
It’s fitting because more then one driver is no doubt a bit frightened at the thought of spending several hours white knuckle racing as part of a four wide chess match where even the whisper of one wrong move can send a car flying through the air and end a race in a heap of junk in the infield.
Or in the case of Carl Edwards in a pile of twisted metal just short of the finish line. In the spring race here, Edwards was part of one of the scariest wrecks in recent memory when he attempted to block eventual winner Brad Keselowski as the lead pack was rocketing towards the finish line. Edwards Ford Fusion was launched in the air and barrel rolled along the fence before flipping over and landing upright only yards from the finish line.
After a few moments Edwards climbed from the mangled machine and jogged across the finish line.
“It was just a little bit scary because I saw the ground and then I couldn't tell exactly which part of the car I hit the wall with,” Edward said. “ I was real worried I hit the roll cage and I had to wait a minute to make sure that there wasn't something stuck in me somewhere or something. That's a little nerve-wracking to hit the wall with something other than the side of the racecar.
That's the first time I've flipped in a racecar. That's it, so we got that out of the way."
Now as the series heads back to Talladega and this Sunday’s Amp Energy 500, that scary wreck is no doubt still fresh in many people’s minds. Kind of like a horror movie you hope you never see again.
This time around the scare factor is increased thanks to NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. In the spring race the season ending Chase was far from everyone’s mind. This time around though there are only four races left and for the top five drivers in the Chase it will be an afternoon spent hoping to avoid the carnage that could end all hope of winning a championship.
For others though a race win is their only goal, and that includes drivers outside the top five in points in the Chase. While not officially eliminated, they are so far behind that all hope for winning the championship is lost. They still have something to prove though and will put it all on the line.
One of those drivers is Greg Biffle. Biffle came into the Chase seeded at the bottom. After sub par runs through the first six races though, he enters Talladega in eighth. Knowing his championship hopes are over, Biffle has one goal in mind this weekend.
"We need to survive Talladega with a decent finish,” Biffle said. “If we could have a run there like we had in the spring and walk away with a top-10 finish, I would be happy with that.”
Biffle was a survivor in the spring race, and was able to pick up his career best finish, seventh.
“I've said it before but Talladega is such a wild card in the Chase because you just never know what will happen there.” Biffle said. “We're obviously not in contention for the championship but we need to get the best finishes we can and finish out this season on a high note. Any momentum we can gain for 2010 will help."
Biffle hopes to have another good run here, and crew chief Greg Erwin hopes to bring the right equipment for Biffle to do just that.
"We're taking a brand new car to Talladega this weekend,” Erwin said. “It is a new build and we feel confident based on wind tunnel numbers that it should be as good or better than what we ran there in April. Since it was repaved, Talladega is really smooth which allows for faster speeds. Wrecks happen so quickly there because everyone is so bunched up. Talladega is just more of a mental game for the drivers.”
It’s that 500 mile mental game that will have drivers nervous and fans on the edge of their seats.
In reality though, despite a Halloween weekend of frights, drivers have no problem racing at Talladega, even when they have nothing but nightmarish memories.
“I was thinking about Talladega and going back there and everything that can happen and that really wasn't part of my thinking.” Edwards said. “Until I saw a picture and I thought, 'Oh yeah, that was a pretty wild wreck.' “
“To me, that's not the thing that's forefront in my mind going there,” he added. “It's the strategy that I'm gonna use. I did learn something about the end of the race -- block once, I probably won't block twice, but, really, personally, I feel good about it. I think that wreck showed me you can have a pretty good wreck and walk away from it."
Click here for our extensive Chase coverage with reports on all 12 drivers in this years Chase!
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