A glance at the 12 drivers in the Chase
A glance at the 12 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship heading into this weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway (in order of points):
DRIVER: Jimmie Johnson
CHASE POINTS: first, 6,098
CAR: No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 15
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 17.7 (won in 2006)
LAST WEEK: All this and manners too? Johnson finished second at Martinsville and passed up a chance to bump eventual winner Denny Hamlin out of the way over the final laps, a move he used to win at the track during the spring.
CHASE CHATTER: ``I wasn't just going to come in with the second-place car and take a cheap shot and pass him that way,'' Johnson said. ``If I felt like I had a car to win the race, I would have been up there leaning on him some.''
DRIVER: Mark Martin
CHASE POINTS: second, -118
CAR: No. 5 Carquest/Kellogg's Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 43
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 16.1 (won twice)
LAST WEEK: Martin refused to crack, finishing eighth at Martinsville, but still lost 28 points to Johnson.
CHASE CHATTER: ``You know, eighth- and seventh-place finishes, it doesn't look like that's going to be enough to go out here and win this championship,'' Martin said. ``But there's still some racing left and a lot of things can change at Talladega.''
DRIVER: Jeff Gordon
CHASE POINTS: third, -150
CAR: No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet
TEAM: Hendrick Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 33
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 16.4 (won six times)
LAST WEEK: Spent part of the day trading paint with Juan Pablo Montoya and led 36 laps before a late-race caution cost him on a short run and finished fifth.
CHASE CHATTER: ``We had the long run that we needed and drove all the way up (to the front) and then had the caution that we really didn't need,'' Gordon said.
DRIVER: Tony Stewart
CHASE POINTS: fourth, -192
CAR: No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet
TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 21
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 13.8 (won in 2008)
LAST WEEK: Salvaged a ninth-place at finish at Martinsville, but has been unable to find the magic he had during the regular season and is almost out of it.
CHASE CHATTER: ``Everything didn't fall the way we needed it to,'' said crew chief Darian Grubb. ``It wasn't what we wanted. I think we had a top-four or five car.''
DRIVER: Juan Pablo Montoya
CHASE POINTS: fifth, -200
CAR: No. 42 Target Chevrolet
TEAM: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 5
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 18.6 (best finish: second in 2008)
LAST WEEK: Ran third at Martinsville, but biggest headline may have been ABC football analyst Bob Griese's slightly off-color comment that Montoya was ``out having a taco'' the day before the race.
CHASE CHATTER: ``I could say I spent the last three hours eating tacos, but I was actually driving a car,'' Montoya said. ``But that's OK, I don't care.''
DRIVER: Kurt Busch
CHASE POINTS: sixth, -240
CAR: No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge
TEAM: Penske Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 17
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 12.1 (best 3rd, four times)
LAST WEEK: An error on pit road cost Busch dearly about halfway through the race at Martinsville and he was never able to recover, finishing 17th to end any hopes of catching Johnson.
CHASE CHATTER: ``I had to get too close to the wall to squeeze into our pit box and that really did us in,'' Busch said. ``We lost about 15 spots and got caught up way back in the pack.''
DRIVER: Ryan Newman
CHASE POINTS: seventh, -312
CAR: No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet
TEAM: Stewart/Haas Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 15
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 18.5 (best finish: third in 2009)
LAST WEEK: Qualified on the pole at Martinsville and led 23 laps before finishing seventh, his fifth top-10 finish in five Chase races.
CHASE CHATTER: ``It was a good run for us,'' Newman said. ``We kept our nose clean the entire day and ran up there with those guys that are running for a championship.''
DRIVER: Greg Biffle
CHASE POINTS: eighth, -350
CAR: No. 16 3M Scotch Brand Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 1
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 13
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 23.8 (best finish: seventh in 2009)
LAST WEEK: Limped to 25th at Martinsville, a performance Biffle blamed on a lack of practice time due to poor weather on Saturday.
CHASE CHATTER: ``We couldn't really do anything with our car,'' Biffle said. ``With practice getting rained out yesterday it really hurt us. That happened in the spring, so that makes it tough. Someday when we get to test or practice here we'll be all right.''
DRIVER: Denny Hamlin
CHASE POINTS: ninth, -352
CAR: No. 11 FedEx Toyota
TEAM: Joe Gibbs Racing
POSITION CHANGE: Plus 2
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 7
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 18.9 (best finish: third in 2008)
LAST WEEK: A week after his dreams of a title vanished at Charlotte, Hamlin bounced back with a win at Martinsville as he held off Johnson to post his third victory of the season.
CHASE CHATTER: ``It's kind of a fun power position to be racing around guys that are racing for a championship, and you have nothing to lose and all you're doing is going for a race win,'' Hamlin said.
DRIVER: Carl Edwards
CHASE POINTS: 10th, -413
CAR: No. 99 Aflac Ford
TEAM: Roush Fenway Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 10
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 24.5 (best finish: fifth in 2005)
LAST WEEK: Edwards' season in a nutshell? The final lap at Martinsville when his drive shaft broke, dropping him from 12th to 20th.
CHASE CHATTER: ``I was trying so hard at the end,'' Edwards said. ``We're at a point with our Aflac team in the Chase with not a lot to lose, so the guys worked hard. It just wasn't meant to be.''
DRIVER: Kasey Kahne
CHASE POINTS: 11th -439
CAR: No. 9 Budweiser Dodge
TEAM: Richard Petty Motorsports
POSITION CHANGE: Minus 2
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 11
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 23.5 (best finish, 2nd in 2006)
LAST WEEK: Kahne's roller coaster Chase continued, as a pair of incidents and a blown right front tire left him seven laps down and in 32nd place at Martinsville.
CHASE CHATTER: ``This hasn't been a great track for us, so we need to work on that,'' Kahne said. ``It was a pretty frustrating day.''
DRIVER: Brian Vickers
CHASE POINTS: 12th, -530
CAR: No. 83 Red Bull Toyota
TEAM: Red Bull Racing
POSITION CHANGE: None
CAREER TALLADEGA STARTS: 10
AVERAGE TALLADEGA FINISH: 19.7 (won in 2006)
LAST WEEK: After five weeks of Chase agony, Vickers managed to finish 11th at Martinsville, easily his best performance in the playoffs.
CHASE CHATTER: ``It's no secret that it's not gone well for us lately in the Chase, and 11th at a tough place like Martinsville is a good start to getting back on track,'' Vickers said. ``We could've run better and finished better, but we'll take it.''
Amp Energy 500 Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com
This week's race takes us to Talladega Superspeedway where anything can and usually does happen. Because of the volatile nature of the track, Jimmie Johnson will have to tread gingerly through the race because this is likely the only track of the four remaining that could spoil his efforts in becoming the only driver to win four straight Cup titles.
Should Johnson finish 30th like he did in the spring and Mark Martin, who is second in points, win the race, Martin would find himself only one point out of first place in the Chase for the Championship. If Martin were to lead the most laps he would be four points ahead with three races remaining.
All the drivers who are in striking distance will let it all hang out in this race. Included in the group who could really makes things interesting down the stretch that are hoping for similar Johnson results this time around are Martin, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart.
Gordon is a six-time winner at Talladega and swept the season in 2007. Despite having poor finishes in his last two attempts at this beast of a track, not many see the draft better.
Stewart won this race last season, the first Talladega win of his career after placing 2nd six different times over his career. In his first run with his new team this year he finished 23rd, but in his last restrictor plate race he won at Daytona.
The likely strategy for Johnson will be to lay back for much of the race keeping all the action in front of him. With about 10 laps to go we’ll see Johnson press forward and make some moves to avoid finishing too poorly. Johnson would gladly take the ninth he had in this race last season during the Chase and move on to Texas, a place where he a little more control in the outcome.
Among the more impressive plate programs the last two seasons has been Fenway-Roush Racing’s Fords. It used to be all about cookie cutters for this team and they did a complete reversal this season with Matt Kenseth winning Roush’s first Daytona 500 ever. In the process, their cookie cutter program has suffered, most notably Carl Edwards who still doesn‘t have a win this season after netting nine in 2008.
Edwards looked to be on his way to getting Roush’s first Talladega win in the spring since Mark Martin won in 1997, but he ended up in the fence with only a few yards to go in one of the more spectacular crashes you’ll ever see.
“We’re going back to Talladega and we really have nothing to lose at this point in the Chase so we’ll just go for it and try to get a win,” said Edwards. “I’ve heard they raised the fences so that is good. You never like to come back and see a new fence because of you. Our team has worked hard on our restrictor-plate package and it’s pretty good. Maybe we’ll partner up with somebody like we did last time and make it to the finish line this time to finally get a win at one of these places. That would be a blast.”
Edwards is like many of the Chase drivers who have given up any chance of winning after not performing well up to this point and is just looking for a positive to end the season.
Kyle Busch fit’s a profile similar to Edwards coming in where he is just racing for momentum to carry over into 2010. It’s safe to say that over the last 2 seasons of plate racing, no one has been better than Busch, not in just mere results, but actually having the best car. While with Joe Gibbs, Busch has been dominant in the plate races of Daytona and Talladega.
The best statistical driver at Talladega over the last eight seasons is Kurt Busch. He is without a doubt the best plate racer never to win a plate race. At Talladega in 17 starts he has an average finish of 12.1. In the spring, he raced very well with a chance to win and settled for sixth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. battled strong for the win in the spring and settled for second as the Edwards flip happened right in front of him. This looks like a great opportunity for Junior, who has won five times at Talladega, to get his first win of the season. With all the trouble he’s had this season amid all the mounting pressure of not running well considering the team he drives for, there might not be a better story to root for then seeing him win. His odds to win the race are at 10 to 1 or higher which presents some good value for a driver that should be in the lead pack.
After Bred Keselowski won the spring race at 100/1 odds, it should serve as notice that anyone can win this race. A nice long shot this week could be Jeff Burton who gets Todd Berrier as his crew this week and knows how to get a car set real good for plate racing as evident by Harvick‘s great runs including winning the Daytona 2007.
"Honestly, I think this will be one of our best chances ever to win a race at Talladega, Burton said. “Over the past year and a half, everyone back at the shop has worked extremely hard on taking things to the next level, including our engine department. We’ve seen a big difference in our horsepower when it comes to our superspeedway engines and I think we’ll be able to put our best stuff forward this weekend. Back in April, our Caterpillar Chevy was extremely fast. We ended up going three laps down because he had to change an alternator but was lucky enough to get those laps back and then fought our way to finish 10th. In the past, I can honestly tell you that I don’t think I’ve ever been to Talladega with a car fast enough to win a race. My strategy was to always try to get reasonable finishes out of it because I didn’t think I was good enough to win. I think that will be different this time."
With the front pack of drivers likely to have about 15 to 20 shuffling around for the final three laps, it might be a good idea to shop around a few long shots that have shown some kind of knack for the plate races. A driver in a Richard Childress car isn’t a bad place to begin.
Top 5 Finish Prediction:
1) #2 Kurt Busch (12/1)
2) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr (10/1)
3) #14 Tony Stewart (10/1)
4) #18 Kyle Busch (7/1)
5) #31 Jeff Burton (30/1)
Busch Searches for First 'Dega Win
By Racingone.com
Kurt Busch has great statistics in restrictor plate races but the Penske Racing driver will seek his first Sprint Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway in Sunday's AMP Energy 500.
At Talladega, Busch's record sports six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in 17 career starts. Even though he is still looking for his initial victory, his 12.1 average finish is the best of all drivers with five or more starts.
"I've always looked at it as a huge strategic exercise that puts a premium on so many of your senses," Busch said. "Of course, you have to have a fairly strong race car to begin with. But the key has always been to avoid the wrecks and be there in the thick of things when the laps are winding down. The way the drafting works, you don't always have to have the strongest car out there in order to win."
Busch understands the strategy of drafting, and getting help is a must to have any success at the massive 2.66-mile track.
"I don't know what driver first called it a high-speed chess match, but that's a pretty good analogy and I've always thought of the competition that way," Busch said. "It's like you come down to the finish looking to be among the lead pack. Then it comes down to making your strategic moves out there while at the same time anticipating the next moves of all the guys around you."
With one top-five finish and three top 10s in the three races to date this season, Busch has earned the most points of any Chase driver in plate races - 449 points.
He credits one of the reasons for his success to the fact that he enjoys this type of racing.
"The fans love it," said Busch, "and to tell you the truth, I do, too. But, first and foremost, I've grown to really respect it. It's not a fear thing for me at all, but I am aware of the great chances for huge crashes to occur. I know it's hard for most people to understand, but the more I'm right in the middle of the lead pack, the more comfortable I am in the car. I feel like I learn something each time I'm in that position, especially how to survive it and get a good finish out of it."
In reality what Busch hopes to do Sunday is pretty simple - survive for a good finish.
"So that's the strategy for our Miller Lite Dodge team as we head back to Talladega for another dose of restrictor-plate racing," said Busch, currently sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings. "If we can avoid all the mayhem that you can always expect in races there, it's an opportunity to possibly grab us a win or at least a good finish and use it to help toward closing that gap with the Chase leaders."
Driver Handicaps: Talladega
Racingone.com
This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday's AMP Energy 500. To help you make your fantasy racing picks, RacingOne brings you our weekly detailed look at some of the field for the 188-lap event.
Who's HOT at Talladega
• Jeff Gordon leads all drivers in wins (6) and laps led (805).
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has five wins and 11 top 10s in 19 starts.
• Tony Stewart has one win and six runner-up finishes.
• Jimmie Johnson has a win and four top-10 finishes in his last seven starts.
• Kurt Busch has finished eighth or better in eight of the last 10 races.
• Denny Hamlin has the best driver rating among drivers with two or more starts.
• Kyle Busch has one win and has led the 75 laps with COT.
Keep an Eye on at Talladega
• Casey Mears has the best average finish (10.8) among drivers that have competed in every COT race at Talladega.
• Brad Keselowski will be back with the same team that he captured his first career Cup win with at Talladega in the spring.
• Ryan Newman has captured three top 10s with the COT at Talladega.
• Kevin Harvick currently holds the longest streak without a DNF at Talladega (17).
• David Ragan (will have new Ford FR9 engine) has posted an average finish of 6.3 in his last three starts at Talladega.
• Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya will be back in cars that won restrictor-plate poles this season.
• Marcos Ambrose and Elliott Sadler (will debut a Ford) have respective average finishes of 9.0 and 11.3 on restrictor-plate tracks in 2009.
• Jimmie Johnson has an average finish of 13.5 with the COT at Talladega.
• Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth will also debut Ford's FR9 engine.
Track Performers
Matt Kenseth (Daytona), Brad Keselowski (Talladega) and Tony Stewart (Daytona) are the three winners this season on restrictor-plate tracks. Kurt Busch, who finished sixth at Talladega in April, leads all drivers with an average finish of 7.0 in 2009. Kenseth (8.7), Marcos Ambrose (9.0), David Ragan (10.3) and Stewart (10.7) round out the top five in average finish. Kyle Busch, who won the 2008 spring race at Talladega, has led the most laps this season with 131. Jeff Gordon leads all drivers on the all-time restrictor-plate win list with 12.
RacingOne Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Tony Stewart
Pete Pistone: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Rachael West: Kyle Busch
Top 30 Driver Notes - Ordered by Current Standings
(All stats/notes are in regards to Talladega Superspeedway unless noted)
1. Jimmie Johnson: Winner of the 2006 spring race; Finished second in both races in 2007; Has posted an average finish of 13.5 in the four races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 482) that finished 31st in the rain-shortened Daytona 500.
2. Mark Martin: Finished 43rd in first track start with Hendrick Motorsports in April; A crash has taken him out of the race in two of his last four starts; Last of 22 top 10s came in this event in 2006 with Roush Racing; Won the spring race in 1995 and 1997; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 481) that Casey Mears drove to a seventh-place finish in April 2008 at Talladega.
3. Jeff Gordon: Leads all active drivers with six wins and laps led (805); Swept both races in 2007; Won first race with the COT at the track; Has posted an average finish of 31.3 in last three starts.
4. Tony Stewart: Won this event in 2008; Finished 23rd in track debut with Stewart-Haas in April; Has led the most laps in the four COT races (123); Will race the same car (chassis No. 532) that finished second at Daytona in the Duel, 23rd at Talladega and first at Daytona in July. The car suffered engine problems in the spring race at Talladega.
5. Juan Pablo Montoya: Won the pole and finished 20th in April; A runner-up finish in the 2008 spring race is only top 10 in five starts; Has a 15.5 average finish in four starts with the COT; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 902) that won the pole at Talladega in the spring and has posted an average finish of 14.3 in the three plate races in 2009.
6. Kurt Busch: Has posted an average finish of 12.3 in seven starts with Penske Racing; Sixth-place finish was 12 top 10 in 17 overall starts; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 625) in the AMP Energy 500.
7. Ryan Newman: Finished third in first track start with Stewart-Haas in April; Finish was seventh top 10 in 15 overall starts; Has posted an average finish of 14.8 in the four races with the COT.
8. Greg Biffle: Coming off first top 10 (seventh) in 13 starts; Has posted an average finish of 18.0 in the four races with the COT; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 673) in the AMP Energy 500.
9. Denny Hamlin: Best driver rating among drivers that have competed in more than one race; Has led 164 laps in seven starts; Led 28 laps in April and finished 22nd; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 233) that led 28 laps en route to a 22nd-place finish at Talladega in April.
10. Carl Edwards: Has suffered crashes in last two events; Best finish, of fifth, came in this event in 2005; Has posted an average finish of 26.8 in the four races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 650) that finished fourth at Daytona in July.
11. Kasey Kahne: Only top 10 (second) came in this event in 2006; Has posted an average finish of 27.8 in the four races with the COT; Finished 36th in April.
12. Brian Vickers: Won this event in 2006 with Hendrick Motorsports; Has posted an average finish of 21.8 in four starts with Team Red Bull; Has started in the top 10 in four of his last five starts.
13. Kyle Busch: Won the 2008 spring race; Has led 75 laps in the four races with the COT; Led 42 laps and finished 25th in April; This weekend will mark last race with crew chief Steve Addington; Will debut a new chassis (No. 201) in the AMP Energy 500.
14. Matt Kenseth: Has posted an average finish of 24.8 in last five starts; Last of six top 10s came in this event in 2006; Has the second-best average finish (8.7 on plate tracks in 2009).
15. Clint Bowyer: Only top 10s came in both races in 2008; Fifth-place finish in this event last year is best to date; Started fifth and finished 39th in April; Will race the same car (chassis No. 260) that finished fourth in the Daytona 500.
16. David Reutimann: Has yet to post a top-15 finish in five starts; Best finish came in the 2008 spring race in 20th.
17. Marcos Ambrose: Finished fourth in track debut in April; Has the third-best average finish (9.0) on plate tracks in 2009.
18. Jeff Burton: Has finished in the top 10 in last two starts; 10th-place finish in April was fourth top 10 in 10 starts with Richard Childress Racing; Todd Berrier will take over crew chief duties this weekend; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 217) that finished 10th at Talladega in the spring after coming back from three laps down.
19. Casey Mears: Has the best average finish (10.8) among drivers that have raced in all four races with the COT; Finished 16th in the spring after leading two laps; Best finish (sixth) came in this event in 2007 with Hendrick Motorsports; Doug Randolph will take over crew chief duties this weekend; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 242) that finished 34th at Daytona in July.
20. Joey Logano: Started 22nd and finished ninth in track debut in April; Has a 23.7 average finish on restrictor-plate tracks in 2009.
21. Kevin Harvick: Has posted an average finish of 25.5 in last four starts; Last of seven top 10s came in the 2007 spring race in sixth; Will race the same car (chassis No. 237) that posted a 22.0 average finish in the three plate races this season.
22. Jamie McMurray: Has posted an average finish of 32.0 in last four starts; Best finish is fifth, which he has accomplished three times; Will debut a new chassis (No. 665) in the AMP Energy 500.
23. Martin Truex Jr.: Has posted a DNF in seven of his nine starts; Last top 10 (10th) came in the 2007 spring race; Will race the same car (chassis No. 074) that won the pole at Daytona and qualified third at Talladega in April.
24. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Five-time winner; Finished second in April for eighth top five; Has posted an average finish of 13.3 in three starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 475) that raced at Talladega in the spring.
25. AJ Allmendinger: Posted a 32.5 average finish in two starts; Finished 35th in first track start with Richard Petty Motorsports in April.
26. Elliott Sadler: Has scored three top 10s in three starts; Sixth-best average finish (11.3) on plate tracks this season; Will debut a Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports.
27. Sam Hornish Jr.: Has recorded an average finish of 34.5 in two starts; Started fourth and finished 34th in April after a crash took him out of contention; Has a 24.4 average finish on plate tracks in 2009.
28. David Ragan: Has posted an average finish of 6.3 in his last three starts; He finished in the top five in both races in 2008; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 649) that finished 13th at Daytona in July.
29. Reed Sorenson: Finished 11th in track debut with Richard Petty Motorsports in April; Lone top 10 (10th) came in this event in 2007 with Ganassi racing.
30. David Stremme: Finished 31st in track debut with Penske Racing in April; Only top 10 (eighth) in six overall starts came in the 2007 spring race.
Talladega qualifying rained out, Johnson awarded pole
Talladega, AL (Sports Network) - Rain showers at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday forced NASCAR officials to cancel qualifying for the Amp Energy 500. The starting lineup will be set by owner points, according to the rule book.
Jimmie Johnson will start on the pole since he is currently atop the standings. Johnson, who is attempting to win his unprecedented fourth straight Sprint Cup Series championship, holds a 118-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate and closest competitor Mark Martin.
Johnson last started on the pole at Talladega in October 2002, when qualifying here also was canceled due to bad weather.
"It will give us a chance to try and get five points which is nice," Johnson said. "The safest place really is leading, so if we are able to stay up front and ride around up there for a long time, the whole race would be great. There's so much here that is out of your control with not only the crashing aspect that we've all been talking about, but the draft and how impatient guys are going to be to lead a lap."
Martin will start on the outside pole.
"This is the most relaxed I've been going into Talladega in the last ten years that I can remember, certainly since 2004 when the Chase format started," Martin said. "I just really feel good. I feel like this is going to be our lucky day."
Jeff Gordon, a six-time race winner at Talladega, will roll off third, followed by Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards will start sixth through 10th, respectively.
Talladega is the sixth Sprint Cup qualifying session to be rained out this year.
Sunday's 500-mile race is scheduled to start just after 1:00 p.m. (et). The weather outlook at Talladega looks much better tomorrow with mostly sunny skies.
Amp Energy 500 Predictions
by Christopher G. Shepard
While Jimmie Johnson did not win last week at Martinsville his second-place finish was good enough to keep Johnson 118 points in front of Mark Martin and he could wrap up his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship with a solid finish this Sunday at Talladega Super-Speedway in the Amp Energy 500.
Gamblers should note that Johnson has been nothing but money in the Hendrick Motorsports' No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet since the Chase began. He has won three of the six races that comprise the Chase. His worst finish in the Chase was on Oct. 4 at the Price Chopper 400 when he finished ninth (but he led the race for 53 laps). Johnson also finished fourth in New Hampshire and second last weekend.
Who will win the 2009 Amp Energy 500?
Not even Johnson is immune to the behemoth Talladega. 'Dega is definitely not one of Johnson's better tracks and I am very confident Johnson races to avoid the "Big One" that inevitably happens at the 2.66 mile track where a driver can move up from 15th to first in the span of one lap. While Johnson has won once in 2006 at the "cursed" track, last year he finished this race ninth (en route to his third consecutive Cup championship) and in April Johnson started 36th and finished 30th. Keep in mind that Johnson also has six DNFs at Talladega. For me the All Saints Day race is the only race in the Chase I'd lay off the "Quiet Man."
You won't hear Johnson or Chad Knauss admit to this but Talladega is most likely the only track that could stop Johnson from winning his fourth Sprint Cup title. A bad finish by Johnson and a win by either Mark Martin or Jeff Gordon could make the last three Chase races much more interesting for NASCAR fans.
Sunday should be a fun race to watch for fans as a typical Talladega race sports huge fiery wrecks, flying cars (a la Carl Edwards No. 99 in April's race), and 45.5 lead changes and an average green flag run of 22 laps to only 6.4 cautions for 26 laps. Speaking of Rousch Fenway Racing's Edwards, his season did not improve when the Chase began and has gone in the opposite direction. Edwards has never won at 'Dega in 10 starts and has only three top-10 finishes so I am avoiding the tasty 20/1 odds on Carl.
Likewise, Tony Stewart, who destroyed the race card all season, has won one Chase race but has been a non-factor in the other races. Stewart needs to make up 193 points between now and Homestead. A win would help a bit, but for the newly-minted owner/operator there are too many factors that decide the winner of Talladega and given his recent history I don't see him waving the checkers on Sunday, even at 8/1.
Call me a sucker but I am backing my favorite restrictor plate race driver and that is Jeff Gordon. Gordon is one of the two drivers other than Johnson who has a slim chance to make the Chase interesting. I think it’s a make-or-break Chase race for Gordon and the six-time Talladega winner might have a chance for his fifth Cup title if he wins and Johnson DNFs on Sunday. And in a related note; wouldn't it be great if Gordon grew back his mustache for the race? Happy Halloween!
Pick! Jeff Gordon, No. 24, (8/1)
2009 Amp Energy 500 - Lucky Dog Long Odds Special
Once in a while I have to throw out a pick on NASCAR's most popular driver. For his fans, there has not been a lot to cheer about for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. And lately he's even been questioning himself, his confidence is at an all-time low, and owner Rick Hendrick is at a loss as what to do to make this things right for the No. 88 team. Obviously, switching crew chiefs had little effect on improving Junior's finish position. Last week at Martinsville was the first race in four races that Junior did not finish in the top 10. This week he'll look to build on his second-place finish at Talladega in April. In fact, Junior has five wins, eight top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes at the Super-speedway. While 8/1 barely qualifies for a Lucky Dog Long Odds play it does give me a chance to search engine optimize NASCAR's favorite son.
Pick! Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No. 88, (8/1)
2009 Amp Energy 500 - Odds for Top 3 Finish
It appears there are few drivers who hate racing at Talladega more than Mark Martin. But if Martin is to win the Sprint Cup title this year he'll need to win on Sunday. Even though his last victory at Dega was all the way back in 1997 Martin says he refuses to be intimidated by the Super-speedway; a place where he has won twice and has notched 10 top-five finishes and a whipping 65 top-10s. I like Martin this week to open her up all day and compete against his other HMS teammates for the win.
Pick! Mark Martin, No. 5, (7/2)