Congratulations to Kurt Busch who is the seventh driver to win a race this season after he went to victory lane at Richmond this past weekend. We are now over a third of the way to the start of the Chase and we have seven drivers who are virtually locked in. So, we have seventeen more races to find nine more drivers to complete the Chase field. If your favorite driver isn’t in yet, don’t worry, there is still plenty of time left to qualify and we have two more restrictor plate races and two road-course races in that stretch.
GEICO 500
This week is going to be one of those restrictor plate races as the teams head to Talladega Superspeedway for the running of the Geico 500. Talladega is the longest track on the circuit at 2.66-miles. This is also one of those races where any of the 43 drivers starting have a shot to win. These restrictor plate races are great for those teams that don’t have the same funding as the big boys.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale dominated this track for seven straight races from 2001-2004 when he won five of those races and finished second in the other two. He knows how to use the draft to his advantage and he had one of the fastest cars at Daytona earlier this year. I think Dale gets back to his winning ways at Talladega and grabs a spot in the Chase this weekend.
Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won six races at Talladega during his career and would love to get number seven this weekend and get himself qualified for the Chase in his last full-time season. He has also finished in the top five here in a third of the races he has run. That tells me he always has a car capable of making its way to the front of the field and all he needs to do is stay out of trouble early in the race.
Kurt Busch: Although Kurt has never won a race at Talladega, he has finished in the top ten in half of his twenty-eight starts. As well as he has been running this season, this might be the time that he breaks into the win column here. Momentum is on his side with the win last week and this team will arrive at Talladega with high expectations.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin has one win at Talladega and he has come looking for a win every week this year. I still think that Kevin is definitely the favorite to win his second championship because of how consistent he has been all year. If he can pick up a win at Talladega this weekend that will just be a bonus on his season.
Clint Bowyer: Clint has been getting better and better every week and has already won two races at Talladega in his career. He finished third in both races here last year and has also finished in the top ten in over half of the races he has run at this track. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he wins once again this weekend and qualifies himself for the Chase.
Brad Keselowski: Brad already has three wins in twelve starts at this track. I think he is going to have a car capable of winning this week’s race if they don’t have any mechanical problems that seem to be creeping up on them the last couple of races. 500-miles of racing at almost 200 mph could take a toll on engines, so they better hope they have all of their issues figured out.
Denny Hamlin: Denny won this race last season to qualify for the Chase. He also had one of the fastest cars at Daytona this year, so he should have a lot of confidence this weekend that he will have a car that is capable of winning this race. I think he will be in contention for the win late in the race this week.
Joey Logano: Joey won the Daytona 500 this year and that means that the car he won with is on display at Daytona U.S.A. I don’t think that will matter too much for Joey. I think he will have another fast car once again this weekend and his biggest concern should be mechanical problems much the same as his teammate, Brad Keselowski.
Michael Waltrip: Michael will be piloting the #55 Aaron’s Dream Machine once again this weekend. Michael is always good at restrictor plate tracks and he is subbing for Brian Vickers this week. That means he has a crew that has been practicing all season and a crew-chief that know what he is doing. Look for Michael to run at the back of the pack for a major portion of the race to try and stay out of trouble and then take a shot at winning because he isn’t racing for the points.
Jamie McMurray: Jamie has won twice at Talladega and this team has been contenders in quite a few races this season. They would love to get a win and qualify themselves for the Chase and a shot at winning a championship. I think Jamie will do well once again this weekend and could very well win this race.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeff Gordon
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Aric Almirola
- Paul Menard
- AJ Allmendinger
- Casey Mears
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Michael Waltrip
- Danica Patrick
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeff Gordon
- Brad Keselowski
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
Dark Horse: Michael Waltrip
Stay Away From: Tony Stewart