All bets are off as Chase makes annual stop at Talladega

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In days gone by, Talladega Superspeedway's second race each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season was held in late July, with impressive competition meeting oppressive heat. Seeking to enhance the first but lose the second, NASCAR moved the event to October.

Then, starting in 2004, things got hotter than ever.

Credit the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR's playoff-style championship-deciding format that encompasses the last 10 races of the season. When the format was instituted in '04 it placed tempestuous Talladega in the middle of the mix.

Sunday's AMP Energy 500 is Race 4 in the 2008 "Chase." As always, the only thing predictable about Talladega is the track's unpredictability.

Credit the banking of 33 degrees in the turns.

Or maybe the overall track length of 2.66 miles, conducive to serious speed.

And don't forget the close-quarters racing resulting from carburetor restrictor plates that reduce horsepower and put a premium on handling, drafting — and teamwork. Or in lieu of teamwork, cooperation between non-teammates.

Talladega's tough — particularly on drivers who roll into town leading the Chase standings. In the four years of the Chase thus far, only once has the leader coming into Talladega been the leader leaving town — Jeff Burton (No. 31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet) in 2006. And that was a close call; Burton's lead was sliced to six points after a 27th-place race finish. He ended up a disappointing seventh in the final point standings.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet) has five Talladega wins to his credit. Earnhardt, eighth in points and in need of a late-season rally, isn't convinced a big points shake-up is inevitable this week.

But that's not to say he would be surprised.

"[This race] has the potential to do that," Earnhardt said.

"It's going to be tough to gain on everyone in this race. It will be tough for it to really jumble up the points. I think you just have to try to win the race.

'the only way to really gain points on anybody right now, for anybody who's outside of the top five in points, is to be first when the checkered flag falls."

Earnhardt's five Talladega wins happened between 2001-04, part of an overwhelming Chevrolet dominance at the track this decade. Since the start of the 2000 season Chevrolet drivers have won 15 of 17 races there. The two exceptions: Dale Jarrett's victory in a Ford, in the 2005 fall race and Kyle Busch's win in the No. 18 Pedigree Toyota this past April.

Current series points leader Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's/KOBALT Chevrolet) has one of those Chevrolet victories since 2000 — in the spring 2006 race.

The two drivers immediately behind him in the points — second-place Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) and Greg Biffle (No. 16 DISH Network Ford) — have average Talladega finishes of 24th and 25th, respectively.

— Source: NASCAR