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click for more images  2008 Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway Logo Courtesy of NASCAR New posts to the NASCAR Racing forums:2008 Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway2008 Aaron's 499:NASCAR Sprint 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 drivers won sixteen of the last seventeen races at Talladega. This includes a four-race sweep over the last two seasons by Hendrick Motorsports. Is this the week that Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to Victory Lane? Tickets:Speedway ticket office 1-877-Go2-DEGABuy online from TicketsNow (direct link) The Track:Talladega Superspeedway is the longest track on the NASCAR Sprint 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 milesThe Big Picture:Jeff Burton still leads the Sprint Cup points. Burton posted another 2008 top ten finish tow weeks ago in Phoenix. Kyle Busch moved up to second place as Kevin Harvick fell all the way to fifth in points.The top twelve are now:
Storylines:Dale Earnhardt Jr. has five career Talladega Superspeedway victories. However Junior hasn't won a Sprint Cup series points race since picking up a win in Richmond in September of 2006.Hendrick Motorsports has won the last four Talladega races in a row and this is a race track that Dale Jr. has run well at in the past. Is this the week that Junior finally scores for his new Hendrick team? Media Coverage:TV: FOX Sunday, April 27th, 1:30PM Eastern.Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite Actual Race: 2:10PM Eastern Recent Events:2007 Winner: Jeff Gordon 2007 Polesitter: Jeff Gordon Last Year:In 2007 this race saw a green-white-checkers two lap dash for the checkers. Jeff Gordon lead them to the flag over Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch and David Gilliland.They only made it a quarter of a lap after the restart before the yellow flag came out and ended the race. Jeff Gordon took the victory but the rest of the scoring was confused as there were two separate incidents on that final restart. 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 Chevy drivers have dominated Talladega since 1999, winning all but one event.It is easy to imagine four Hendrick drivers in the top five as the field takes the checkered flag on Sunday. The final round of pit stops might well decide the winner of this race. I will take last year's winner, and pole sitter, Jeff Gordon for my primary pick. It is important to note that Dodge drivers dominated the 2008 Daytona 500. Dodge Chargers took six of the top eight spots and the top finishing Chevy was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 9th. This leaves open the very real possibility that my backup pick could come through. I am going to pick Kurt Busch as my backup this week. New posts to the NASCAR Racing forums: |
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