2006 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega is one of two tracks on the NASCAR circuit that forces teams to run a restrictor plate to limit the engine horsepower. A side effect of the plates is that it increases the importance of aerodynamics such that two cars running together are MUCH faster than one car by itself.

Talladega is a full 500 miles of white-knuckle racing for the drivers as a small mistake can cause the massive wreck at 190mph known as "The Big One." Will all ten Chasers get through without an incident?

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Talladega Superspeedway is the longest track on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup circuit measuring 2.66 miles. A steep 33 degrees of banking in the corners and 18 degrees in the front tri-oval make handling a secondary consideration. Talladega is big, fast, and all about horsepower and drafting.

188 laps = 500 miles

Jeff Burton extended his point lead a little as the series heads into Talladega. Rookie Denny Hamlin and veteran Mark Martin are still within reach if Burton should have a bad day in Talladega.

The current top ten:

1. Jeff Burton -0
2. Denny Hamlin -69
3. Mark Martin -70
4. Matt Kenseth -84
5. Kevin Harvick -96
6. Jeff Gordon -120
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -123
8. Jimmie Johnson -165
9. Kyle Busch -233
10. Kasey Kahne -273

This week we will hear a lot about "The Big One." This is the one race track where a driver really does not have their own fate in their hands. Any one of the other 42 guys on the track could make a mistake that ends their day.

In 2005, Tony Stewart said "(Talladega) just carries more variables that are out of your control than any other race. That's kind of why we view Talladega as a wild-card race. You can't really predict anything."

TV: NBC Sunday, October 8th, 1:30PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and XM Satellite

Actual Race: 2:30PM Eastern

$5,272,231

The 2005 event saw two major incidents. Michael Waltrip got upside down in an multi-car incident caused by Jimmie Johnson. Then Scott Riggs tumbled end over end during a multi-car wreck caused by Ryan Newman. Fortunately everyone was ok.

The finish was a green-white-checkers trophy dash that ended early when Kyle Petty brought out the caution on the last lap. Dale Jarrett and Tony Stewart were side-by-side when the yellow flew and NASCAR declared Jarrett the winner.

Restrictor plate racing is a crapshoot. Anything can happen and nearly any one of the 43 starters could win.

For my first pick I'm going with the odds-on favorite. Jimmie Johnson won the Daytona 500 and the spring race here in Talladega. You would have to consider him the man to beat this weekend in Talladega.

For my backup pick this week I'm going with another obvious choice. Who better than the man that won in Daytona in July, finished second in this race last year by just a few feet, and is coming off a win last week in Kansas? Tony Stewart is another great pick for this week's race in Talladega.