As the Chase for the Championship heats up, sparks continue to fly on the race track with aggressive driving and questionable tactics.
Events began to escalate two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway Joey Logano bumped race leader Matt Kenseth spinning him out of the way to claim the win, an incident that directly contributed to Kenseth’s elimination from the Chase. Logano deemed it “good, hard racing,” and insisted that he didn’t intentionally wreck Kenseth.
Kenseth had a different point of view and said that he was “really disappointed,” in Logano’s actions on the track, adding “That’s not the way I race people no matter what the stakes are.”
NASCAR chairman Brian France discussed the contact between the two drivers on SiriusXM Radio’s NASCAR channel the following Monday.
“That’s quintessential NASCAR,” France said. He went on to explain his position stating, “Late in the race, I think that’s a great example of everybody doing probably exactly what they should be doing. You had Matt Kenseth trying to block and hold his position. He had a faster car behind him, and when you block, you risk that somebody is going to be in that position and there was contact.”
France went on to say that Logano “made a very smart decision in what he did because not only did he try to win the race, which he said he wanted to do and obviously he did, but the idea to, late in that race, to have an opportunity to put one of the top teams on the outside looking into the next round in Matt Kenseth, (who) has run so well, that’s a smart thing to do.”
“You have to give them a lot of credit,” Franc continued. “This is the strategy that we all thought was going to be different when you have this kind of format. But it does reward aggressive racing at the end of the day.”
The message seems clear; aggressive driving is not only expected but encouraged in the Chase format. It also begs the question of where is the line drawn?
Last week at Talladega Superspeedway, controversy arose again when it appeared that Kevin Harvick intentionally caused a wreck at the end of the race to freeze the field and lock in his points, ensuring his inclusion into the next round of the Chase.
Harvick denied the allegations and after a review of the race, NASCAR stated that they had “completed the review of any other potential penalties from the track (Talladega) this past weekend and there will be no further actions.”
NASCAR’s decision and Harvick’s assertion of innocence were met with skepticism by many after viewing video footage from his in-car camera that show him turn his steering wheel to the right as he clips driver Trevor Bayne’s car, causing the accident. Harvick, who had a failing engine, maintains that he did not see Bayne and was attempting to get out of the way.
Again, the message seems clear as drivers do what they must, to compete for wins and the championship with no repercussions from NASCAR. But Kenseth may have crossed the line Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.
Kenseth was competitive at the short track Sunday, but his day turned sour after he sustained significant damage to his car after contact with Brad Keselowski on Lap 434. Twenty laps later, Logano’s day effectively ended when Kenseth hit Logano, turning him into the wall. Logano ended the race in 37th place and is now in eighth place in the Chase, 28 points behind the leader. NASCAR parked Kenseth for the remainder of the race.
While he didn’t admit to purposely wrecking Logano, Kenseth’s comments imply that he felt it was important for him to respond to the events of the last few races.
“You never like to be in these situations,” Kenseth said. “They really stink, to be honest with you, but sometimes you get put in these spots, and you’ve got to try to keep respect in the garage area. You can’t get yourself ran over.
“You can’t get in the Chase next year and get ran over for the same reason. Like I said, hate the way it ended. Wish we were out there celebrating or having a shot for the win like we did before we got wrecked, so a disappointing day.”
Did Logano intend to wreck Kenseth at Kansas or simply move him out of the way? Logano is the only one who can answer that question. Harvick’s actions at Talladega may seem questionable, but it is difficult to ascertain his motives with any certainty. If you consider the first two instances, should Kenseth also get the benefit of the doubt for the contact with Logano at Martinsville?
After listening to executive vice president Steve O’Donnell’s comments after the race, it is likely that Kenseth may face penalties from NASCAR.
“I think in the case with Matt,“ O’Donnell said, “we were certainly disappointed with what took place tonight on the racetrack. We had a conversation with both Matt, crew chief, Joe Gibbs. Like we always do, there’s still a lot to digest from what happened tonight. We’ll do that. We’ll have some additional conversations and probably come out with something, if there is anything to discuss, on Tuesday”.
Whether you believe the wreck was intentional or not, there is no definitive proof to back up either claim or to establish intent. But Kenseth, who is no longer in contention for the Chase, may have committed the one mistake that NASCAR won’t ignore; taking out someone contending for the championship. If NASCAR penalizes Kenseth, are they establishing two sets of rules – one for Chasers and one for non-Chasers? Or were Kenseth’s actions simply too blatant to ignore?
Given the atmosphere of aggressiveness that NASCAR has fostered, Kenseth may have felt he had no choice but to respond in kind.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to win Sunday at Talladega in order to move forward to the Eliminator Round of the Chase. For a few brief moments, it looked as though he had done that just that. However, an untimely caution flag flew and it was determined that Joey Logano was actually leading the race when the caution was called, leaving Earnhardt out in the cold.
The result was not without controversy and has left many fans questioning NASCAR’s decision-making process. Earlier in the week NASCAR announced that they had decided to limit the number of green-white-checkered attempts to one for the Talladega race, stating, “We take very seriously the responsibility of balancing exciting finishes and safety. We’re confident that this is a positive direction for both.”
It may have sounded good on paper, but the execution left something to be desired. After a first attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, a caution came out before the cars reached the start/finish line and NASCAR called a “do-over.”
Earnhardt had one last chance to claim the victory at Talladega. But shortly after the field took the green flag again, another caution was called and Logano was declared the winner.
The final yellow flag was brought out by Kevin Harvick who clipped the No.6 car of Trevor Bayne, causing a multi-car pileup behind him on the track, thereby ending the race. Bayne, along with Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman, were vocal in their displeasure with Harvick, claiming that he had caused the wreck to freeze the field and ensure his spot in the Chase.
Kenseth didn’t mince words, saying, “He pulled out of the way the first time because he knew he was blowing up and this time he said he was going to hold his lane, so we went up to go round him and then he clipped the 6 (Bayne). He knew if he put him in a slow spin the race was over and he’d make it, so, like I said, it feels we lost control here the last two weeks. I don’t think that’s what racing is about. The spot they put us in, it’s hard to blame people, but that’s not what racing’s about.”
Harvick maintained, “I thought I could get going better than I did the first time and I just didn’t get going. So, as I was pulling up, I was looking to the inside waiting for them to shoot the gap and I hit the 6.”
While the drivers and the fans played the blame game on social media, Earnhardt took the high road.
Clearly disappointed, he said, “I’m glad this weekend is over with.”
But as others pointed fingers, Earnhardt chose to accept the defeat with grace, putting the day’s events in perspective, as he explained, “I just wanted to go out there, whatever happened, put forth a good account of myself, my team. I’m real proud of what we did today. So I can feel good about that.
“I can look back on a lot of different things that put me in this situation right now, starting with the first two races in this round where we didn’t run well. We got wrecked by the 19 (Carl Edwards) and just didn’t run well at Kansas.
“I’m going to get asked about the green-white-checkered rule, which I’m fine with it. I feel like no matter the rules when the race is over, I can live with the result as long as everyone else is going by the same rules.”
“So I felt like, per the rule book, it sorted out and I finished second. I’m okay with that. We could argue they could have waited another 100 foot to throw the caution, but they didn’t have to. They threw it when they needed to. I’m fine with that.”
Judging by Earnhardt’s final words to the media, it was evident that Talladega was disappearing in his rear view mirror as he looks ahead to the remainder of the season.
“Well, the best thing that could happen for us is the same thing that happened last year; go win,” he stated. “We’re disappointed today. We were disappointed last year when we left Talladega. But we went to Martinsville and sort of surprised ourselves with our first win there.
“Dang, you know when I look at that video of all of us jumping up and down on that trailer like idiots, that’s a team that’s not too bothered being knocked out of the Chase right there. If we can go to the racetrack and win, it certainly makes our situation more bearable. If we could go to Homestead and run well, I’d love to win there, never won there. I like that track. Running against the wall is a lot of fun. We’ll see.”
As his fans adjust to the loss and a Chase without Earnhardt, it’s clear that he has already shifted his focus to the future. A victory in the weeks ahead will make the bitter pill of Talladega a little easier to swallow.
“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I need to unload on the idiotic decision to scale back to one green-white-checker attempt…again.
Now I know y’all heard me make this rant just two days ago, but if NASCAR can do two takes of “one attempt,” then so can I. Now I do wish I had waited until today to start talking on the matter because I have more evidence to support my claim.
First we have the “waving off” of the first attempt despite the fact that Joey Logano had taken the restart. NASCAR’s reasoning on this was that Logano had not passed the start/finish line before the caution flew so it “didn’t count.” In other words, similar to what IndyCar does when the race control doesn’t like the restart. Now I understand NASCAR’s explanation on the issue. Maybe this was a rule that had always been in place and never needed to be used. But what I don’t understand is why this was never brought up when we spent a whole month arguing over restarts. My understanding has always been that once the green flag flies, the race is back under green.
I wasn’t the only person who didn’t understand this. Others in the NASCAR media didn’t get it either.
If accelerating out of the restart zone is not an attempt I don't know what is
Now we move to the “second attempt” at the “first attempt” at the green-white-checker finish where Trevor Bayne got out of line, Kevin Harvick made contact with him and the “Big One” happened. This brought out the caution that ended the race and Logano was declared the winner. Being in the stands for the race yesterday, myself and everyone around me had the expression of “that’s how we’re ending this?!”
I think Pete Pistone put it best with this tweet.
You couldn't have written up a more disastrous way for this race to end – impossible
I hope NASCAR was satisfied with the change because it was a giant fiasco. You’d have to go a long way to screw up a Daytona or Talladega race and NASCAR did just that. They made the idiotic decision to reduce the number of green-white-checker attempts and ended up with this fiasco.
I truly, truly hope that NASCAR comes to their senses and goes back to the three attempts by the time we’re back in Daytona for Speedweeks. They should be embarrassed that it ended this way.
My plane is about to take off so I must get moving. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
*The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author and may not represent the views of Speedway Media.
The championship playoff known as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has had more turns that a West Virginia mountain, but Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway took the cake. It all happened at the end of the race and it changed who would vie for the crown over the last three races before heading to Homestead and the final four. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the best car all day when he wasn’t botching pit stops.
Earnhardt is probably the best driver at Talladega. He apparently inherited his father’s ability to see the air because he led the most laps and seemed to have no other driver he couldn’t pass. It was in the later stage of the race that Joey Logano got the lead and it was only just a matter of time before Earnhardt was going to pass him, except it didn’t happen due to some really strange circumstances. With only four laps to go, Jamie McMurray lost an engine bringing out only the second caution all day. That ensured there would be a green-white-checker finish, and with the new rule for this race, it was one and done. No matter what happened, during the final laps, the race would end. Then it got really weird.
Earlier, at Lap 172, when most pitted, Greg Biffle stayed out and gambled that he would have enough fuel to finish the race and steal a win. Biffle was so far ahead, it looked like his plan might work until the caution flag flew. That bunched up the field and Biffle now found himself back in a pack of superior cars. Biffle had to pit for fuel and his dream was over. He finished 20th.
The two tries to finish the race were even stranger. When the first attempt at a finish started, cars getting together in the back of the field caused NASCAR to wave it off and said it wasn’t really an attempt. Stranger, the green light can be seen on the flag stand, but one more try was ordered. After a long caution period, another attempt was made—technically the first attempt. Before the cars could get to Turn 1, the big one finally happened. With Kevin Harvick not having enough power in his failing engine, he couldn’t get up to speed. Trevor Bayne tried to pass him on the outside, but once Bayne was almost by him, Harvick seemed to turn right, clip Bayne and create the only “big one” of the day. It involved the cars of Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Danica Patrick, Austin Dillon, Sam Hornish, Bayne, and Alex Bowman. Hamlin was eliminated from the Chase.
Hamlin, Bayne, and Kenseth pointed fingers are Harvick since the only way he was going to get to the next round was to have an additional caution. NASCAR Vice Chair Mike Helton, after meeting with representatives from Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing said they could find no evidence that Harvick had done anything wrong unless something came up this week. Harvick denied any wrongdoing.
So, after last week’s controversial win, Logano had another controversial win. It’s clear that Kenseth hasn’t gotten over that tap from Logano last week, as he threatened to beat him up when an early pit stop got dicey. Kenseth seemed to cool at the end after his day was over and no beating occurred. The final result showed Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Earnhardt, and Kenseth eliminated, with Logano, Edwards, Gordon, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch left to compete for the title.
Much will be said about the last two races, but a few things are clear. Team Penske drivers Logano and Keselowski are always near the front and Logano has shown the skill to be at the front at the end of races. Jeff Gordon has speed, but will it continue? With his expertise on mile and a half tracks, he could be a factor. The rest are only dependent on what happens to those favorites, but after the last two weeks, you can’t count anything out.
In the final race of the Contender round and with the elimination of four more drivers, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Surprising: There were four surprising words at the end of this Talladega race and they were, “Let’s go to the videotape.” After what many thought was the one attempt at the green, the true attempt then ensued with another wreck and so much confusion that the sanctioning body had to indeed go to the videotape to determine the race winner.
Once the videotape was reviewed, the sanctioning body crowned Joey Logano the victor. This was the driver’s third consecutive race win, moving him into the next round of the championship in dominant style.
“I saw the lights come on when I was still in the lead and I thought we had it,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “It is all about how the timing loops are and the camera to make sure that is what happened.”
“It is such a crazy race. To pull it into victory lane here at Talladega is so cool.”
Not Surprising: Fans of NASCAR’s most popular driver were standing by their man in spite of his failure to win and move into the next round of championship contention. And they were no doubt as proud of how their driver handled that failure as the driver was himself of his team and its performance.
“I just wanted to go out there, whatever happened, put forth a good account of myself, my team,” the driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet said after finishing runner-up. “I’m real proud of what we did today. So I can feel good about that.”
“I’m more proud of the drive I had today than the two wins this year. The two wins came a lot easier than this second place did.”
This was Junior’s 16th top-10 finish in 32 races at Talladega and his 19th top-10 finish for the season.
Surprising: Not many drivers can say that they had fun at Talladega, but four-time champ Jeff Gordon did just that, finishing third.
“I actually had a lot of fun out there,” the driver of the No. 24 3M Chevrolet said. “We had an awesome 3M Chevrolet and it was so much fun battling up front even if we got shuffled back a little bit.”
“Oh my gosh. That was intense. That was wild. That was crazy,” Gordon continued. “I loved my race car today. I had a lot of fun out there. It is fun having a race car that strong. I am so proud of this race team. They never quit, they never give up and I can’t believe we are going to round three. I said all along that if we got to round three, we have an excellent shot to get to Homestead.”
Not Surprising: Not wanting to be ‘that guy’ had a major impact on the race for Greg Biffle. The driver of the No. 16 Cheez-It Ford was leading the race when the caution flag flew and he had to head to the pits for fear of running out in front of the field.
“We were gonna make it if it went green for sure,” Matt Puccia, Biffle’s crew chief said. “We were gonna make it to the end, but we just didn’t need that. I guess the 1 car blew up down the back and oiled the track down. It’s just a shame.”
“We could have possibly made it, but I just didn’t want to be that guy who was gonna wreck the whole field if we didn’t get it going on the restart. It’s unfortunate.”
Surprising: Forget speeding penalties, the most popular penalty at Talladega was the ‘crewmember(s) over the wall too soon’ penalty.
There were four of those penalties, including one for Dale Earnhardt Jr., that no doubt impacted his race results. There were also three of the ‘too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area’ penalties as well.
And even more surprising were the number of cautions, which were just three for eighteen laps.
Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip, a driver who may be rusty but always good on plate tracks, scored a top-15 at one of his favorite tracks.
“Our plan today was to get in the pack and stay in the middle of the pack – do the best we could to lead and do the best we could to get to the front so we could celebrate Maxwell House and Toyota sponsoring me in the race,” Waltrip said. “We got up towards the front a few times and finished 13th. I’m proud of my guys and really thankful for the opportunity to race again.”
Surprising: Martin Truex Jr. likened his Talladega run to some time at a local playground.
“I felt like I was on the seesaw today,” the driver of the No. 778 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet said. “My head was under the back of it. It’s crazy how fast things can change and how much is out of your control.”
“We were sitting out there riding a lap down for about 100 laps thinking that we were going to need an act of God to get back on the lead lap and have a fighting chance. We kept fighting and fighting, and had a good sequence of green-flag stops to establish ourselves in that front single-file line ahead of the guys we were racing.”
“Then we got lucky and got a caution. Once we were back in the game, we felt good about it. But it was still nerve-wracking down to the end.”
Not Surprising: The Busch brothers played their own game, one of follow the leader right into the next round of the Chase with Kurt finishing tenth and Kyle finishing eleventh.
“That’s what we pretty much planned all day today was to just race and whatever happened, happened,” Kyle Busch said. “It was crazy the way it always happens here, but I guess that’s what does always happen here. However, it was or is, it’s good if we’re in and we’re moving in. That’s what this team needs and what we need – I guess the farthest I’ve ever gone before.”
“I love all the adjectives and adverbs on how the point system works. Escapes, survived, yeah, we are in position now,” Kurt Busch said. “You’ve got the top eight guys and you’ve got to do really good things in these last four races to win the championship. I feel really good about our Haas Automation Chevrolet team and the way that we have worked through both rounds of this Chase thus far. We’ve got more for them. We will keep going.”
Surprising: Two drivers that were hoping for good runs most likely cannot wait to put Talladega behind them.
During his qualifying attempt, Justin Allgaier was wrecked when the car of Clint Bowyer went reverse instead of forward, causing him to have to start at the back of the pack. The driver of the No. 51 Auto Owners Insurance Chevrolet then ended the race weekend with an engine failure.
Ryan Blaney, who usually runs so well at superspeedways, also had a challenging day with his engine expiring as well.
“We had a good car and we were just starting to make our way toward the front then we lost oil pressure and, unfortunately, it gave up on us,” Blaney said in the garage after retiring. “These guys worked really hard to give me a fast race car and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion was going to be really good today. It was a lot of fun out there for sure. Plate races are always a lot of fun. We’ll go to
Not Surprising: While weird things traditionally happen at Talladega, some of the weirdest occurred at this race, from Denny Hamlin’s roof flap popping out to the very controversial finish at the end of the race with a late race big one and as some would say, the second attempt at a green, white, checkered finish.
Three of the four drivers who failed to move on in the Chase aside from Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some pointed words to share after the race.
When asked about the final restart, Ryan Newman said, ““Which one? The final, final restart? Or, the one where we were only going to have one and not anymore? And then the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) causing the crash. Which one do you want me to talk about?”
“Well, at the end, the 4 (Kevin Harvick) knew he was blew up and we had the first attempt, but I guess they said it wasn’t an attempt, although they threw the green, so it seems like we attempted the start and there was a wreck,” Matt Kenseth said. “So then they tried it again and the 4 knew he was blew up, so he said he was going to stay in his lane, so the 6 (Trevor Bayne) then went up and outside and he clipped him and caused a wreck because he knew he’d make the Chase that way, so it’s – I got wrecked out two weeks in a row from people doing what they had to do to make the Chase, but call it what you want.”
“4 (Kevin Harvick) could only run about 30 miles per hour so I think he saw people coming and he knew he was going to be 30th, last car on the lead lap so caused the wreck,” Hamlin said. “That’s not here nor there. We had a self-inflicted day, took us four times to get our roof fixed. It’s unfortunate, I feel like I’ve done all I could possibly do to advance in a three-race season. I feel like we could have won next week. I really can’t spin any positive on it right now.”
Let’s be honest. Trying to predict which eight drivers will make it through the characteristic chaos of Talladega Superspeedway to advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase is next to impossible. With only 25 points separating the top eight contenders and the looming likelihood of the almost inevitable “big one,” the only thing certain is that no one is safe – except Joey Logano.
After winning the first two races of the Contender Round, Logano is the only driver guaranteed to advance to the next round. Second place driver, Denny Hamlin, is only 13 points behind Logano. While that would seemingly make him a safe bet to move forward in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Talladega has a way of shaking things up.
Just ask Kyle Busch who arrived at Talladega last year with a 26-point cushion and only had to finish in the 24th position to advance. Busch, however, was caught up in a wreck and finished 40th, missing the cutoff by seven points.
With that said, as the numbers stand, this is what each driver in the Contender Round must do to capture a top-eight spot and lock into the Eliminator Round. Please keep in mind that these numbers are only a starting point, subject to the twists and turns of Talladega restrictor plate racing.
Denny Hamlin: 14th and no laps led; 15th and at least one lap led; 16th and most laps led
Kurt Busch: Eighth and no laps led; ninth and at least one lap led; 10th and most laps led
Carl Edwards: Seventh and no laps led; eighth and at least one lap led; ninth and most laps led
Kevin Harvick: Third and no laps led; fourth with a lap led
Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski: Second or better; third and at least one lap led; fourth and most laps led
Martin Truex Jr.: Second and no laps led; third and most laps led
Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth: Only a win guarantees advancement to the Eliminator Round.
Notes:
1) Dale Earnhardt Jr. has the top driver rating (92.8) at Talladega and is tied with Jeff Gordon for most wins of active drivers with six victories. He has two restrictor plate victories this season, Talladega in May and the July race at Daytona. If he wins Sunday, he will be the first driver to have three plate wins in a single season since his father did so in 1990.
2) NASCAR announced this week that they will reduce the number of attempts at a green-white-checkered finish, from three to one.
Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, explained the reason for the change, stating, “In the event the race goes beyond the advertised distance due to a caution, we will use a single attempt at a green-white-checker finish. We take very seriously the responsibility of balancing exciting finishes and safety. We’re confident that this is a positive direction for both.”
The CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will be televised this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Tune in as 12 become 8 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
Brad Keselowski topped the charts in the final practice session. The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford was the fastest with a time of 48.752 and a speed of 196.423 mph.
Ryan Blaney placed in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in second place with a time of 48.772 and a speed of 196.342 mph. Dale Earnhardt Jr., the May race winner, showed in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 49.178 and a speed of 194.721 mph, and was third-fastest.
Tony Stewart came in fourth in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 49.208 and a speed of 194.603 mph as HMS driver Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five with a time of 49.320 and a speed of 194.161 mph.
Kevin Harvick took his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to sixth followed by teammate Kurt Busch who posted in seventh in his No. 41 Chevrolet. Danica Patrick finished her No. 10 SHR Chevrolet in eighth. Jimmie Johnson timed his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in at ninth and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-10 in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Joey Logano was the lowest Chase driver in 19th. In fact, just five Chase drivers took part in the final practice session. Only 30 of the 45 drivers who are entered into the race took part in the final session.
Earnhardt ran the fastest 10 lap average (he was also the only one to run 10 consecutive laps).
Greg Biffle is off to a fast start this weekend after topping the chart in the first practice session. The driver of the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was the fastest in the session with a time of 47.597 and a speed of 201.189 mph.
Danica Patrick brought her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to second with a time of 47.731 and a speed of 200.624 mph. Justin Allgaier finished third in his No. 51 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 47.743 and a speed of 200.574 mph. Clint Bowyer timed in at fourth in his No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota with a time of 47.786 and a speed of 200.393 mph. Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 47.791 and a speed of 200.372 mph.
A.J. Allmendinger brought his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet to sixth. Trevor Bayne finished his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in seventh. Casey Mears placed his Germain Racing Chevrolet in eighth. David Ragan finished his No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in ninth. Paul Menard rounded out the top-10 in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.
None of the Chase drivers placed higher than 13th.
Matt Kenseth finished 13th. Denny Hamlin finished 15th. Carl Edwards finished 16th. Jeff Gordon finished 17th. Kevin Harvick finished 18th. Brad Keselowski finished 19th. Joey Logano finished 21st. Kyle Busch finished 22nd. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 23rd. Kurt Busch finished 24th. Martin Truex Jr. finished 31st. Ryan Newman rounded out the Chase drivers in 32nd.
“Sweet Home Alabama, where the skies are so blue. Sweet Home Alabama, NASCAR’s coming home to you.”
This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into the Alabama roulette wheel that is known simply as Talladega Superspeedway for the 32nd race of the season, the fifth of the Chase and the final race of the Contender Round.
Talladega Superspeedway is a 2.66-mile speedway located in Lincoln, Ala. At 33 degrees in banking in the turns, it’s the steepest banked track on the NASCAR schedule.
Normally, I’d save my race picks for the end of the piece. But because of everything I’ve included in this piece, I was told putting it towards the start on this one would make it flow better.
Race picks
There’s always been the old saying in this sport that any driver can win at Daytona and Talladega. To a large degree, that’s true. I’m sure every driver wakes up on the fourth Sunday of February every year and thinks to him/herself “I can win the Daytona 500!” However, statistics show that, while slightly lower than other tracks, restrictor plate races are typically won by drivers who win at other tracks. In other words, while Talladega gives drivers like Landon Cassill – who finished fourth in this race last year – a significantly greater chance to win, it’s more likely that someone like Joey Logano or Kevin Harvick will win this weekend.
As I mentioned in my piece about why the Contender Round favors Jeff Gordon, the driver of the No. 24 car has more points-paying restrictor plate race wins than any driver in the history of NASCAR. He has 12 plate wins, including six at Talladega and I also feel that, next to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Gordon has been the best plate racer this season. However, he hasn’t won a plate race since sweeping Talladega in 2007. His top-five average is 33.3 percent (15 in 45 starts) and his top-10 average is 42.2 percent (19 in 45 starts). He’s also not finished in the top-10 since finishing runner-up in the 2012 Chase race to Matt Kenseth. Regardless, I believe Jeff Gordon will be up front and competing for the victory in his 92nd and final restrictor plate race of his 23 year career. He’s at 12/1 odds of winning Sunday (Vegas Insider).
Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets the crowd pop everywhere he races, and nowhere is that crowd support bigger and more passionate than in Lincoln, Ala. The fanbase distribution at Talladega on race day is 70 percent June Bug fans and 30 percent everyone else (don’t quote me on that). He has 10 restrictor plate wins to his credit with four at Daytona and six at Talladega. He’s also on a two race plate win streak having won at Talladega in May and Daytona in July. His top-five average is 35.5 percent (11 in 31 starts) and his top-10 average is 48.4 percent (15 in 31 starts). While it had been 10 and a half years between his last win in 2004 and his most recent win in May, he’s the odds on favorite at 9/2 (Vegas Insider).
Other drivers to watch include Jimmie Johnson at 7/1, Matt Kenseth at 10/1, Kevin Harvick at 12/1, defending race winner Brad Keselowski at 15/1, Carl Edwards at 15/1, Denny Hamlin at 15/1, reigning Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano at 15/1, the Busch Brothers each at 15/1, Martin Truex Jr. at 15/1, Ryan Newman at 40/1 (the lowest of the Chase drivers) and 25/1 on any other driver winning.
Barney Hall once said that they don’t race anywhere in the world like they do at Talladega. Well, I think we’re going to see a race for the ages this Sunday with four drivers being “Done in Dega.” With drivers like Kenseth and Earnhardt needing a win to keep their title hopes alive and trouble looming around every turn, you don’t want to miss this.
A brief history
The story of Talladega really begins with the birth of Daytona. Opened in 1959, Daytona International Speedway was a track unlike any that had ever been built prior. Its 31-degree banking allowed for racing at 140 mph and provided fans with unparalleled sightlines. On February 22, 1959, 42,000 fans witnessed Lee Petty and Johnny Beauchamp drive to a photo finish in the Inaugural 500 Mile International Sweepstakes. It took three days to officially declare Petty the winner of the race that we all know now as the Daytona 500.
Despite all the success, Bill France Sr. wanted to build a track that was bigger and faster than Daytona. He eventually acquired the plot of land that was the location of the former Anniston Air Force Base in Lincoln, Ala. The end result was a 2.66-mile, 33-degree banked superspeedway known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway. In 1989, the name was changed to Talladega Superspeedway.
Not only was Talladega built to be an enlarged Daytona, it also accounted for some of the flaws that plagued Daytona in its infancy. Most notably the location of the start/finish line. France knew that seats in the tri-oval would be an easy sell. What he found out in the early years of Daytona was that the seats closer towards Turn 1 weren’t as easy a sell. He then hypothesized that people would want to buy seats towards Turn 1 if the start/finish line was closer to Turn 1.
Needless to say this over 1,000-foot distance from the center of the tri-oval to the start/finish line in Turn 1 has played a role in a number of the great finishes we’ve seen over the years.
A lap of Talladega
If you’ve ever wanted to know what a lap or 10 around Talladega looked and/or felt like, here’s a video of me doing that.
As you can see, I’m by no means a restrictor plate racer. I just wanted to hug the bottom the whole way around because I was afraid I would hit the wall if I got too close. My fastest lap was roughly 178 mph. That’s roughly a 54 second lap around the Alabama roulette wheel. I was also by myself and running 22 mph slower than these 43 drivers who’ll race at 200 mph just inches apart. I don’t know how on earth a driver learns to race like this, but it’s exciting as hell to watch.
Drafting and plates
To win at Talladega, you must master using another car’s slipstream to reduce the drag on your car and increase your speed. This is a technique known as drafting. When multiple cars are drafting, the greatest aerodynamic resistance is on the lead car. Between the first and last car, the aero resistance is at its weakest. While this makes the car more unstable, especially in the turns, it makes it drive much faster.
During the 1960 Daytona 500, Junior Johnson discovered that his Chevrolet, which couldn’t keep up with anyone else on horsepower, ran faster in the wake of another car and he used this advantage to win the race. Eventually, other drivers began to realize this technique and began applying it. They eventually learned that a line of cars ran faster and use less gas than a car running by itself.
Eventually, the increased speeds and ever growing horsepower led to cars running well over 200 mph. In 1987, Bobby Allison’s Buick LeSabre blew a tire going into the tri-oval, spun around, lifted off the ground and slammed into the catch fence. While the car didn’t enter the grandstands, flying debris did injure a few spectators. After running the other two races at Daytona and Talladega with smaller engines, NASCAR found that they were insufficient for slowing down the cars. Starting in 1988, a restrictor plate – which had been only required if the car was running with a large engine – became mandatory for all cars.
The use of the plates has led to some of the most competitive races in the last 28 years. In 16 of those races, the lead changed over 40 times. In 2010, the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega set a NASCAR record with 88 official lead changes.
The Big One
These cars are racing at 200 mph inches apart in three, four or five wide rows of cars stretching from the front to the rear of the field. One wrong move and that pack of cars can end up in The Big One.
As you saw, the combination of Paul Menard passing to the outside and Kurt Busch getting to the corner of Trevor Bayne got his car aero loose. He overcorrected and hit the wall. Joey Logano slowed to avoid hitting Bayne and got turned by Kasey Kahne. A total of 15-cars were collected in this wreck on the backstretch exiting Turn 2. This wreck also led to one of my favorite radio soundbites. MRN came out of break literally a second before the wreck started. Just as Jeff Striegle was about to start saying “Welcome back to Talladega,” Dave Moody and Mike Bagley cued up at the same time to scream “TROUBLE TURN 2!” If you ever find the radio broadcast for this race, listen to it. It’s pretty hilarious.
“Racing, competing, it’s in my blood. It’s part of me. It’s part of my life.”
So why do we as NASCAR fans love restrictor plate racing? Well, it’s not so simple to answer. But I’ve always believed because there’s nothing like it in the world of motorsports. Just as there’s nothing like racing on the streets on Monaco, driving 200 mph down the Mulsanne Straight of Le Mans, around the 14 mile “Green Hell” that is the Nürburgring, down the Ullman Straight and round Turn 17 of Sebring, thundering through the Eau Rouge of Spa-Francorchamps or the podium celebration at Monza, there’s nothing in the world of racing like running 200 mph side-by-side-by-side on the high banks of Daytona or Talladega. Restrictor plate racing is the hallmark style of racing in NASCAR because there’s no other style of racing like it.
But don’t take my word for it. Just watch the last nine laps of the 2000 Winston 500 with the call from Allen Bestwick, Barney Hall, Joe Moore, Dave Moody and Eli Gold of the Motor Racing Network.
In those final six laps, Dale Earnhardt went from 17th to first to win for the 76th and final time in his career. I am convinced that only The Intimidator could do something like that, especially in the closing laps. I couldn’t even imagine Jeff Gordon pulling this off.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the 2001 EA Sports 500.
I consider this to be among the wildest finishes at a Talladega race.
How to watch
Coverage of the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega kicks off at 2:00 p.m. with Countdown to Green on NBCSN. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte will work the booth. Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Marty Snyder and Kelli Stavast will work pit road.
The radio broadcast goes live at 1:30 p.m. on MRN and Sirius XM. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace will be in the booth. Dave Moody will be atop a platform next to the Sunoco Tower outside Turn 2 calling the action in Turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley will be on a platform on the inside of the backstretch calling the action when the field is racing down the backstretch. Kyle Rickey will be atop atop a platform next to the other Sunoco Tower outside Turn 4 calling the action in Turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post will be on pit road.
One last note before I wrap this up: If you’re going to the race this weekend like I am, get a scanner to listen to the MRN broadcast. During the commercial breaks, you can hear the guys talk (that could depend on the scanner you purchase or rent so I’d suggest renting a Fanvision set). It’s usually small talk and light-hearted jabs at each other or whomever’s NFL team is playing the worst at the moment. I got to listen to it while I was at Daytona in February and it’s pretty funny at times.
I hope you enjoyed reading this preview. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. Odontophobia is the fear of teeth.
