2007 Aaron's 499:
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing at Talladega Superspeedway means high speeds, tight racing, close finishes and all too often a big multi-car wreck known as "The Big One." Chevrolet has only been beaten once at Talladega in the last sixteen races here. Will Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart keep that streak alive or is this the week that Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards or Jamie McMurray break through?
Tickets:
Speedway ticket office 1-877-Go2-DEGA
Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)
The Track:
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.
Race Distance:
188 laps = 499 miles
The Big Picture:
Jeff Gordon extended his point lead with the big Phoenix win as the top five drivers in points all held their positions. Talladega is unpredictable and any driver can get caught up in someone else's wreck and drop like a stone in the points.
The current top twelve are:
- Jeff Gordon -0
- Jeff Burton -74
- Matt Kenseth -160
- Jimmie Johnson -211
- Denny Hamlin -242
- Kyle Busch -324
- Tony Stewart -332
- Carl Edwards -359
- Clint Bowyer -363
- Mark Martin -405
- Kevin Harvick -424
- Jamie McMurray -427
Storylines:
Last week Jeff Gordon broke his winless streak in 2007 and claimed victory at a race track that he had never won at before. Will history repeat itself this week?
Tony Stewart has been running up front all season long. Yet he is winless so far in 2007. Stewart also has two restrictor plate wins on his racing resume but he has never won at Talladega.
Will Tony Stewart break two unlucky streaks at once and claim victory in the 2007 Aaron's 499?
Media Coverage:
TV: FOX Sunday, April 29th, 1:30PM Eastern.
Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite
Actual Race: 2:10PM Eastern
Posted Awards:
$6,022,630
Last Year:
In 2006 the Aaron's 499 was rained out and forced to run on Monday. This was a typical Talladega race with a big wreck on lap nine and a thrilling finish.
The frantic final five laps saw Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers running one-two. Vickers took a shot at his first NEXTEL Cup win and made a move for the lead.
Then another Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson came from third with a good push from Tony Stewart on the final lap. Johnson and Stewart took the lead in turn four and were able to protect it all the way to the finish line.
Predictions:
Picking a winner in a restrictor plate race is a crapshoot. "The Big One" can eliminate a top contender in the blink of an eye. However Jimmie Johnson won the only restrictor plate race held so far in 2007. He won the 2007 Daytona 500. Jimmie Johnson has smoking fast Hendrick Motorsports engines. He also proved that he knows how to win a restrictor plate race including the last two Daytona 500s and the 2006 Aaron's 499.
As much as a Tony Stewart victory would make for a good story I have to stay with the Hendrick Motorsports team for my backup pick. Jeff Gordon is coming off his first win of the season last week and has a long list of restrictor plate wins on his resume.
Depending on which team has the better final pitstop it is easy to imagine Johnson and Gordon finishing one-two in either order on Sunday.
