Out of their hands:
This week the 2005 Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup rolls on to Talladega Superspeedway. This is the final race of the year where the drivers are forced to race with restrictor plates. These plates reduce the horsepower available to the motor and place a premium on drafting skill. The multi-car wreck called "The Big One" that Talladega is famous for can take out 25 drivers at a time and ruin a chasers Championship hopes in an instant.
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 = 500 miles
The Big Picture:
The top six drivers in The Chase are separated by just 23 points. This points race is too close to call with just eight races to go. After two bad races only Kurt Busch in tenth is too far back to have a realistic chance.
The current points top ten are: 1. Jimmie Johnson 5,362. 2. Rusty Wallace 5,355. 3. Ryan Newman 5,350. 4. Mark Martin 5,341. 5. Tony Stewart 5,339. 6. Greg Biffle 5,339. 7. Jeremy Mayfield 5,281. 8. Carl Edwards 5,259. 9. Matt Kenseth 5,238. 10. Kurt Busch 5,192.
Storylines:
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.
Tony Stewart said this week “(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."
Media Coverage:
TV: NBC Sunday, October 2nd, 1:30PM Eastern.
Radio: MRN and XM Satellite
Actual Race: 2:30PM Eastern
Posted Awards:
$5,168,472
Last Year:
In 2004 Dale Earnhardt Jr stormed from 11th place to the checkered flag in the last five laps to take the win. This win temporarily gave Earnhardt Jr. the point lead in The Chase. However, Dale Jr. used one of George Carlin's "Seven Words you can Never say on Television" during his post race interview and NASCAR docked him 25 points after the race which dropped him back to second place overall.
Predictions:
Jeff Gordon has won four of the last seven restrictor plate races on the schedule including three so far in 2005 starting with the 2005 Daytona 500. Jeff Gordon has been the master of the plates lately so he must be the top pick this week.
Tony Stewart has never won at Talladega but does have four second place finishes to his credit including earlier this year. His team will be fired up and looking avenge his dismal performance last week in Dover. He makes a strong backup choice this week.
