As NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s Aarons 499, one driver is looking for redemption while another just needs a break.
Mention Talladega to Regan Smith and you’ll no doubt conjure up a quite a bit of emotion as he remembers his last trip to the 2.66-mile track.
During NASCAR’s last visit to the Superspeedway, Smith led the field to the checkered flag after passing Tony Stewart on the final lap. Unfortunately NASCAR ruled that Smith made the pass below the yellow ‘out of bounds’ line and awarded the win to Stewart.
Smith, driving for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated at the time, was credited with 18th place.
"It's hard not to think about that last lap," said Smith who would go on to win 2008 Rookie of the Year honors. "I was being blocked and it was either passing Stewart or crashing the field. I felt I made the proper move and won the race."
A lot has changed for Smith in the few months since NASCAR’s last visit to Talladega. Dale Earnhardt Incorporated has become Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, and Smith has moved to the No. 78 Chevy for Furniture Row Racing.
Despite the fact he was denied his first career Cup win last year Smith is looking forward to Talladega where four wide racing a high-speed chess match are the norms.
"Talladega brings out all of the emotions," said Smith. "I've always liked racing there -- it's 500 miles of excitement and mind games -- an incredible rush."
And even though Smith returns with a new team he feels that he can once again be a contender.
"The team sat on the pole at last year's Talladega race,” Smith said. “We also had a solid performance in this year's Daytona 500. So, right now I am feeling upbeat about this weekend. But first things first -- we're still a go-or-go-home team and need to qualify."
One driver won’t have to worry about qualifying, he just needs to worry about winning.
There was a time not too long ago when Dale Earnhardt Junior owned Talladega.
During a seven run stretch from 2001-2004 Earnhardt won fives races, four of those in a row, and finished second twice. Those five wins are the most for him at any one track and rank him third all-time among drivers at Talladega behind his late father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., who scored 10 wins and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon who has recorded six.
For Earnhardt Talladega couldn’t come at a better time.
His 2009 season to date has been nothing to get excited about. He has only two top ten finishes and is currently 19 in driver points, his lowest spot at this point of a season since his rookie year of 2000.
Numerous problems have plagued the team during the first eight races of the year. Bad pit stops, missed chassis setups and some plain old bad luck. It’s a season that needs in desperate need of a turnaround. And if ever that turnaround was going to happen Talladega would be the place.
One of the reasons for his past success at Talladega according to Earnhardt is simple.
"I go in with a real good attitude,” he said. “When you go into something with a good attitude you normally get good results. Dad was real good at it. We always just put a little extra attention into those races and those racecars that we took to those tracks. We spent a little more time with them, and we just take it very, very seriously."
Another key is the ability to draft, where one car uses the slipstream of others to gain positions, in the large packs typical of Talladega racing. It’s a skill that Earnhardt has seemingly mastered.
"It's definitely something you learn,” Earnhardt said. “You can watch it on television and gain a little bit of knowledge, but you have to get out there and make the mistakes and make things happen to understand them."
That ability to draft is one of the main reasons Earnhardt has been so successful in the past according to his crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Junior.
“Dale learned a lot about that from his daddy, but I think some of it is natural talent,” Eury said. “He's smart about anticipating what's going on around him and good at putting himself where he needs to be at the end of the race.”
When the checkered flag falls Sunday, Earnhardt hopes to regain some of the success he enjoyed at Talladega only a few years ago and be at the front of the field. Even a top-10 would go a long way. Because even Earnhardt knows that he needs to make up ground in the championship battle. Fall any lower and his season could go from bad to disastrous.
"I'm always thinking about 'em (points),” Earnhardt said. “I always watch them since the first race (of the season). You can start counting some people out of the Chase. Anybody who is 25th on back is going to have a hard time making it."
Fast Facts
The Race: Aaron’s 499
The Date: Sunday, April 26
The Track: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval)
The Time: 2 p.m. ET
The Distance: 500 miles/188 laps
TV: FOX , 1 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN and Sirius Satellite (local station WTDR-FM 92.7)
2008 Polesitter: Joe Nemechek
2008 Winner: Kyle Busch
Friday—Practice, 1-2 p.m. and 2:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday—Qualifying, 10:15 a.m. (All times CT/local.)
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