This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to what is perhaps the biggest wild card in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup -- Talladega Superspeedway.
Sunday's AMP Energy 500 may very well be a chance for non-Chase drivers to shine, provided they avoid the big one(s). It has been more than two years since a non-Chase driver has won a Chase race, the last time being Sept. 30, 2007, when then non-Chase competitor Greg Biffle broke through to visit the Kansas Speedway victory lane.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., for one, could be one to watch. Granted he hasn't visited victory lane in over a year, and he's not even in the top-20 in points, but Earnhardt Jr. is a five-time Talladega winner, including three wins in the fall race.
Then there's Brad Keselowski, who will be spending the Nationwide Series off weekend behind the wheel of the No. 09 Phoenix Racing Sprint Cup Series entry to defend his win from the last time the series visited Talladega Superspeedway, the Aaron's 499 back in April.
Among the Chase drivers, NASCAR's driver rating system seems to give the edge to Denny Hamlin. He ranks first in 2009 restrictor plate racing this season. Also, among drivers who have raced more than one Talladega race since 2005, Hamlin ranks first in driver rating and second in average running position.
Hamlin also has momentum on his side, being the most recent Sprint Cup Series winner with his victory last weekend at Martinsville Speedway.
In contrast, Talladega Superspeedway is one of point leader Jimmie Johnson's worst tracks. According to NASCAR driver ratings, Talladega is his third-worst track.
Good news for Johnson though, his two closest competitors in the Chase, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon haven't fared so well when it comes to restrictor plate racing this season.
Gordon has an average finish of 26th in the three plate races so far this season. Martin has fared even worse, with an average finish of 32.3 after three plate events.
“Talladega is the lotto," Martin said. "I used to think that if you took a fast car down there, you would be speedy enough to be ahead of the trouble, but that's not the case anymore.”
This may very well be the week a driver or two who looked to be out of the Chase has the winning ticket that allows them to climb back into contention.
“A year ago, I didn't want to go there at all because I knew the potential for losing points," 10th-place driver Carl Edwards said. "But right now, I know the potential for Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin and those guys to lose points. So greedily, I'm kind of hoping to go there and have things get mixed up and gain some points."
Television coverage for Sunday's AMP Energy 500 is scheduled for a noon ET start on ABC.
To stay up to date on when new articles are posted, follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/nascarexaminer or become a fan of NASCAR Examiner on Facebook.
Comments