This Week in Auto Racing October 30 - November 1
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - It should be an exciting and wild weekend of racing as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the seventh race in the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" championship. The Camping World Truck Series also will be at Talladega, while Formula One will wrap up its season with the inaugural running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Sprint Cup Series
Amp Energy 500 - Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL
It's Talladega, the "wild-card," the "crap-shoot" in the 10-race Chase, and points leader Jimmie Johnson is hoping to leave the final restrictor-plate event of the season unscathed. Johnson finished second last Sunday at Martinsville and padded his lead to 118 points.
Talladega is the Chase race which the title contenders fear the most, since the unpredictable can happen there, including the "big one," a major pileup involving numerous drivers.
Johnson has finished second and ninth in the last two fall races at Talladega, but finished 30th there in April when he was involved in a 10-car incident in the closing laps. If Johnson has a good finish at Talladega this weekend, it should be clear sailing for him the remainder of this season, as he attempts to win his unprecedented fourth straight Cup championship.
"Talladega, there's no telling, but I feel good with the other tracks after that as long as we don't have any mechanicals," said Johnson, who is the sentimental favorite to win this year's title.
Mark Martin finished eighth at Martinsville and remained second in points. After skipping Talladega as part of his 2007-08 limited Cup schedule, Martin finished 43rd in his return at the track earlier this year. He was involved in the first big pileup. The 50-year-old driver doesn't exactly consider Talladega as one of his favorite tracks.
"No, it's not," Martin said. "But that is why it's time for it to pay. It's my turn. Why not go there? To me it's my opportunity to really get back into the running for it. So I plan on going there and driving like I know I am not going to wreck."
When the series last competed at Talladega, the final lap concluded with Brad Keselowski, a Nationwide Series regular, crossing the finish line first and Carl Edwards violently crashing into the catch fence along the frontstretch. Ryan Newman held the lead on the final restart with four laps to go. Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran behind Newman's bumper heading into the final lap, but Edwards, with help from Keselowski, shot past the two front runners.
As they approached the line, Keselowski attempted to pass, but Edwards blocked as the two drivers made contact. Edwards spun, hit Newman and then sailed into the fence.
"I did learn something about the end of the race -- block once," said Edwards, who has yet to win a Cup race this season after leading the series with nine victories last year. "I probably won't block twice, but I feel good about it. I think that wreck showed me you can have a pretty good wreck and walk away from it."
After his crash, Edwards climbed out of his battered car and ran across the finish line to fictitiously complete his 188th and final lap. He ended up finishing 24th.
Eight spectators sustained minor injuries when they were struck by debris from Edwards' car. None of the injuries were life-threatening. Track officials recently raised the fence along the frontstretch by eight feet as a safety precaution.
"Hopefully, they made the screens tighter -- the holes in the fence smaller -- and hopefully we don't have anything like that happen again," Edwards added.
Jeff Gordon, currently third in points (-150), leads all active drivers with six wins at Talladega.
Tony Stewart is the defending race champion. Regan Smith crossed the finish line first, but NASCAR ruled Smith passed Stewart below the yellow line and awarded Stewart with the victory. NASCAR rules state that any driver advancing their position below the yellow line at Talladega or Daytona is out-of-bounds and therefore considered illegal.
Stewart survived two major wrecks in a race that featured a whopping 64 lead changes among 28 drivers.
"Everybody kind of crosses their fingers when we go to Talladega because one mistake or not even a mistake, just two different guys going two different directions can make it a big deal," Stewart said.
Stewart heads to Talladega fourth in points (-192).
Forty-four teams are on the preliminary entry list for this weekend's Amp Energy 500.
Camping World Truck Series
Mountain Dew 250 - Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL
Saturday's Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega should be more of a treat than a trick on Halloween.
Todd Bodine is hoping no trick will interfere with his attempt at a fifth straight superspeedway victory. Bodine has won the last two races at both Daytona and Talladega. He finished fourth the first time the series competed at Talladega in 2006.
"You have to be smart when you race at Talladega," Bodine said. "If you get too anxious or rambunctious, you end up getting in trouble."
In the '06 race, Bodine was penalized for dipping below the yellow line while battling Mark Martin for the victory in the final laps. Martin went on to win the race.
Ron Hornaday Jr. comes to Talladega with a comfortable 224-point lead. Hornaday padded his lead over Matt Crafton with a fourth-place finish at Martinsville. Timothy Peters picked up his first series win in last Saturday's race.
Hornaday has finished 10th or better in the first three races at Talladega. He finished second there last year. With four races remaining, Hornaday is looking to become the first driver in series history to win four championships.
Talladega will be a treat for one of NASCAR's most famous families. For the first time in NASCAR, a father and daughter will compete in a national touring series race. Mike Wallace and his 21-year-old daughter, Chrissy, will race against each other.
"As we have for many years, the Wallace tradition is very long-tied to NASCAR as far as my brothers -- Rusty and Kenny and myself," Mike Wallace said. "Chrissy and Steven are making a living now, and I'm just really excited about the opportunity to show up there and be part of NASCAR history."
Mike Wallace has competed in the series since its inception in 1995, while Chrissy Wallace made her truck debut in March at Martinsville.
"Racing against my dad, it's something that we've always wanted to do," Chrissy Wallace said. "It's something that means a lot to me, and I think it's a good thing for me and him both. Hopefully I'll wind up beating him."
Thirty-eight teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Mountain Dew 250.
FORMULA ONE
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
The 2009 Formula One calendar concludes this weekend with the first running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
While the Abu Dhabi GP should be entertaining, the F1 driver championship and constructors' title have already been wrapped up. Jenson Button won his first world championship with a fifth-place finish two weeks ago in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Brawn GP also clinched the constructors' title in Brazil.
Button began this season by winning six of the first seven races, but has not finished better than fifth since his victory in the June 7 Turkish Grand Prix. He will come to Abu Dhabi with an impassable 15-point lead over Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and a 17-point advantage over his Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello. A driver can score a maximum of 10 points only in each grand prix.
"This season has been a roller coaster ride from the elation of the wins at the start to the hard graft in the second half of the season which has seen us grind out the results needed to take the [driver and constructors'] titles," Button said.
Drivers have yet to experience Abu Dhabi's newly-built Yas Marina Circuit, but they've certainly read about it or perhaps sampled it on a simulator in preparation for the 55-lap event.
Fernando Alonso won the most recent F1 inaugural event -- the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
"I always enjoy the challenge of a new circuit, and the track in Abu Dhabi looks very impressive," Alonso said. "It will be a new experience for everyone, so it's important that we maximize all the sessions and learn as much as we can quickly to try and find an advantage."
Alonso will make his final start for Renault before heading to Ferrari for next season. Alonso is replacing Kimi Raikkonen, who is likely moving to McLaren to team up with Lewis Hamilton.
"The race in Abu Dhabi will be my last grand prix with Ferrari, and as usual, I will give it everything to gain the best possible result," Raikkonen said.
For the second straight grand prix, reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi will substitute for the injured Timo Glock at Toyota. Glock suffered a cracked vertebra during a crash in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix earlier this month. He is expected to make a full recovery in time for next year's season- opener in Bahrain.
Auto Racing Glance
Amp Energy 500 - Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 2-3:30 p.m., 4-5 p.m.); Saturday, qualifying (Speed, noon-3 p.m.); Sunday, race, 1 p.m. (ABC, noon-5 p.m.).
Track: Talladega Superspeedway (oval, 2.66 miles).
Race distance: 500 miles, 188 laps.
Last year: Tony Stewart ended a 43-race winless streak with his lone victory in his final season for Joe Gibbs Racings. Stewart blocked Regan Smith for the final three laps, forcing Smith to dip below the out-of-bounds line to make a last-ditch pass that NASCAR later ruled illegal.
Last week: Denny Hamlin raced to his third victory of the year, holding off series leader Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville Speedway. Johnson won five of the previous six races at the 0.526-mile track.
Fast facts: Johnson has a 118-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin with four races left. Fellow Hendrick driver Jeff Gordon (-150) is third, followed by Stewart (-192) and Juan Pablo Montoya (-200). ... Johnson has six wins this season - three in the first six Chase races - and 46 overall. ... Brad Keselowski won the April race at Talladega for his lone Cup victory. He made contact with Carl Edwards on the last lap, sending Edwards airborne into the safety fence. Johnson was 30th. ... Gordon leads active drivers with six Talladega victories, one more than Dale Earnhardt Jr. ... Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth and David Ragan are using Ford's new FR9 motors.
Next race: Dickie's 500, Nov. 8, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas.
Mountain Dew 250 - Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL
Schedule: Friday, practice, qualifying (Speed, 5-7 p.m.); Saturday, race, 4 p.m. (Speed, 3:30-6:30 p.m.).
Track: Talladega Superspeedway (oval, 2.66 miles).
Race distance: 250.4 miles, 94 laps.
Last year: Todd Bodine won the race for the second straight year, taking the lead on the final turn and holding off Ron Hornaday Jr. and Kyle Busch. Bodine also won the 2008 season-opener at Daytona, NASCAR's other restrictor-plate track.
Last week: Timothy Peters raced to his first career Trucks win, holding off Todd Bodine over three restarts at Martinsville Speedway. Peters stopped just once in the 200-lap race, after 33 laps, and led the final 84 laps.
Fast facts: Mike and Chrissy Wallace are set to become the first father-daughter combination in a NASCAR national series event. The 21-year-old Chrissy made her series debut in March at Martinsville. ... Hornaday has a 224-point lead over Matt Crafton with four races left. The 51-year-old Hornaday won five straight races this summer and has a series-high six victories. He has 45 career victories and three season titles, both series records. ... Busch has five series victories this year.
Next race: WinStar World Casino 350, Nov. 6, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas.
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Yas Marina Circuit - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Schedule: Friday, practice (Speed, 9-10:30 a.m.); Saturday, practice (Speed, 9-10:30 a.m.), qualifying; Sunday, race, 8 a.m. (Speed, 7:30-10 a.m., 4:30-7 p.m.).
Track: Yas Marina Circuit (road course, 3.45 miles).
Race distance: 189.8 miles, 55 laps.
Last year: Inaugural race.
Last race: Brawn GP's Jenson Button wrapped up his first season title in the next-to-last race of the season, finishing fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Oct. 18. Brawn became the first first-year constructors' champion. Red Bull's Mark Webber won the race.
Fast facts: The season-ending event is the last for BMW, pulling out of the sport to reduce costs, and also marks the final race for Fernando Alonso with Renault and Kimi Raikkonen with Ferrari. Alonso, a two-time season champion with Renault, will take Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari next year. ... Button is winless in the last nine races after winning six of the first seven. ... The 21-turn, Hermann Tilke-designed Yas Marina circuit sits on a man-made island.
Bodine Back in Potent Truck
By Racingone.com
Todd Bodine is bringing his best superspeedway truck back to Talladega this weekend as he attempts to capture his fifth consecutive win with it in Saturday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Mountain Dew 250.
Bodine has scored four wins with chassis No. 058 with two each coming at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. He's led a combined 130 laps with the truck that also won the pole for this event in 2007.
The Truck Series will be making its fourth appearance at Talladega and Bodine leads all drivers at the track in wins (2), top fives (3), laps led (61) and average finish (2.0).
Along with a great truck provided by crew chief Mike Hillman Jr., Bodine credits some of his success in the draft at Daytona and Talladega after learning from Dale Earnhardt Sr. and his brothers, Geoffrey and Brett.
"Experience is everything at Talladega, especially in the draft," Bodine said. "Knowing what you want to do and how you can accomplish it. The draft is a tricky thing and you can just as easily make a mistake as make the right move.
"Being smart is more important than luck, and so is understanding how to use the draft to your advantage instead of your disadvantage. Talladega is a lot about using patience in the draft and understanding you're not going to pull out and pass, you have to use other trucks to make your passes."
Last year in the Mountain Dew 250, Bodine pulled off a thrilling last lap move to take the checkered flag after leading nine laps earlier in the 94-lap event.
Another superspeedway victory could help Bodine's bid to take the "Copart Challenge of Champions". Currently, Bodine trails Ron Hornaday Jr. by 106 points in the special promotion that matched the two Copart drivers during specified races this season.
"You know every time you race Ron he's giving it all he's got, 110 percent," Bodine said. "If you can end up beating him, you've accomplished a lot. Ron's a great racer, a veteran and well established."
Talladega marks the final race in the challenge and the winner will receive a trophy and $5,000 to donate to their favorite charity. Bodine, who will wear a pink helmet in Saturday's race to help promote National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, has selected the American Cancer Society as his charity of choice.
If Bodine wins the Challenge, not only will the American Cancer Society benefit, but a lucky race fan will to.
Bodine will have Darlene Coleman of Beloit, Wis. cheering him on this weekend from the pits after she received a VIP race weekend from Copart.