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If there is one thing we’ve heard about this weekend’s race at Talladega, it’s that it will be unpredictable.  The COT combined with the restrictor plate and the current rules package means the cars will run around the 2.66 mile superspeedway in tight packs.  And tight packs often mean big wrecks.  What I don’t really understand, is why all of a sudden it seems as if “Talladega” and “Daytona” have become four letter words.

While I’m certainly not a fan of wrecks of any kind (big or small), I do enjoy the racing at the superspeedways.  Having the entire field running right together, lap after lap, has always been exciting to me.  The thought that literally everyone has a decent shot to win (see Brad Keselowski), coupled with the 200mph chess game that goes on for 500 miles really makes for great racing in my opinion.

Some have argued that because races at these tracks are so unpredictable, and that the drivers don’t have as much control, maybe Talladega shouldn’t be in the Chase.  With crashes being common here, this race could theoretically end a driver’s chances of winning the championship.  But, I would contend that the fact that we have no idea what will happen is exactly why this race should be in the Chase.  Right now, only Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick sit within 100 points of leader Jimmie Johnson, but bad finishes by all three could put everyone from fourth to tenth right back in the hunt.  Now that would be excitement.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t watch sports of any kind because I want to see finishes that are easily predictable.  If the favorites won all the time, no sport would be fun, interesting, or entertaining to watch.  We want to see good racing, upsets, and crazy finishes.  As ESPN’s Chris Berman says, “that’s why they play the game.”

With all that is on the line this weekend, I believe we could be in for a great race.  We’ve got a very tight championship battle, along with plenty of non-Chasers who are hungry for a win, and that combined with the madness that is Talladega and we’ve got a recipe for a real wild card weekend.

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Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Talladega Superspeedway, Richard Childress Racing

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Kevin Harvick made a masterful move at the start-finish line to put a wheel ahead of Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray in triple overtime to win the most competitive race in NASCAR history and snap a 115-race winless streak dating back to his own Daytona 500 win in 2007.

Harvick pushed McMurray around the 2.66 mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for all but the final 50 yards of the last two laps before dropping low and pulling his No. 29 Shell Chevrolet alongside McMurray's Chevy as they approached the start-finish line.

Harvick's final margin of victory was 0.011 seconds.

It was essentially a photo finish in a fast and furious Talladega that one-upped itself Sunday and upheld its reputation for drama and suspense -- for most of the day, more pass than crash.

The Aaron's 499 set NASCAR records for lead changes, 88, and race leaders, 29, breaking marks also set at Talladega in 1984 and 2008, respectively. And for the first time since the 2008 season, all the cars stayed earth-bound even if it ultimately became a busy day for the wreckers.

 

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Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, Talladega Superspeedway, Richard Childress Racing

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Appearing calm, flashing a grin and handing out good-natured jabs at the media, Kevin Harvick hardly appeared a driver worried about his future, despite the fact that he becomes a free agent at the end of this season and teams are already announcing future driver lineups.

Meeting with reporters before opening Sprint Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway on Friday, Harvick admonished the media about a story this week quoting anonymous sources that said he had "burned bridges" with his current team owner Richard Childress, and indicated it was still a possibility that he returns to Richard Childress Racing (RCR).

"Anonymous sources are crap, if you want real quotes, go to real people,'' Harvick said. "If someone is too chicken to use their name, then don't put their name in the paper.

And he added, "I don't have a journalism degree, I have a common sense degree."

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Ryan Newman, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR Crashes

For two mornings this week, Ryan Newman struggled just to lift his head off the pillow to get out of bed, his neck muscles still sore from a frightening airborne smash-and-roll wreck at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last Sunday.

Even as he suited up Friday to practice for Race 8 of NASCAR's 10-race Chase for the Championship at Texas Motor Speedway, he was still aching from the crash, and bristling that it even happened.

Newman had been outspoken about NASCAR's immediate need to keep the race cars from launching into the air during accidents -- only to take that scary ride himself Sunday afternoon.

Ryan Newman Calls Talladega Crash 'Worst Hit I've Ever Had' originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR Crashes

Before Ryan Newman's horrific Talladega flip-roll-smash-and-slide on Sunday, there was Carl Edwards' car somersaulting into the front stretch fencing.

The late Dale Earnhardt had one of his most frightening accidents at Talladega Superspeedway, barrel-rolling through the tri-oval. Before that it was Ricky Craven and Bill Elliott on E-ticket rides. In 1993, driver Jimmy Horton's car flipped over the Turn 1 wall and landed outside the track.

Rusty Wallace's Talladega crash footage -- pick a year -- used to be standard play before any NASCAR restrictor plate race.

The point is -- while there is a justifiable outcry at the scary accident involving Newman this weekend -- spectacular, highlight-reel wrecks here aren't news. They are old news.

Different Day, Same Talladega originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Geoffrey Miller

Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Talladega Superspeedway, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Sprint Cup

A car length here, a lane change there and one incredible pit call.

No matter what it was, Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team seemed to do it right on a mild then wild Sunday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway -- even when it looked like holding par in the point standings wasn't going to happen as the laps clicked off and the drama kept rising around the 2.66-mile wildcard.

But when the cars stopped flipping and the smoke stopped rising, Johnson -- to the chagrin of plenty -- stood alone in his pursuit of the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup with what amounts to be an insurmountable lead with an unstoppable team.

Johnson's Fourth Title in Full View originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Ryan Newman, Talladega Superspeedway, Chase for the Sprint Cup

In this week's edition of Inside the Chase, FanHouse's Holly Cain visits with Ryan Newman, the driver of the U.S. Army-sponsored No. 39 Chevrolet, to talk Talladega safety improvements, a rough qualifying lap at California Speedway, reading to school kids, a vacation to Jackson Hole and the benefits of earning his college degree.

Ryan Newman is currently ranked ninth among the 12 drivers vying for the Sprint Cup title as the series stops at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California for the fourth of the 10-race Chase for the Championship.

Newman was a vocal proponent of having NASCAR make safety modifications in light of a horrific airborne crash at the spring Talladega 500-miler. In the midst of a multi-car accident at the front of the field, Newman's car launched Carl Edwards' car into the front stretch catchfence. Debris injured seven people in the grandstands.

Inside 'The Chase' With Ryan Newman: On NASCAR Safety, More originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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