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Does Talladega Superspeedway belong in the Chase For The Sprint Cup?

By SceneDaily Staff

Saturday, October 04, 2008

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Jerry Markland / Getty Images for NASCAR

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars make practice laps at Talladega Superspeedway.

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TALLADEGA, Ala. – NASCAR’s annual fall bash at Talladega Superspeedway is a great unknown for drivers in the Chase For The Sprint Cup.

More than the other nine Chase tracks, the 2.66-mile Alabama oval puts drivers’ fates at the mercy of the draft, which keeps cars bunched in one or two tight packs because of the horsepower-choking restrictor plates used to keep cars from traveling at speeds in excess of 200 mph.

Unlike the other Chase venues where the field often gets spread out and a good-handling car and fast pit stops are the biggest keys to a good finish, Talladega can take a driver and team’s destiny out of their hands. Be in the wrong place when the familiar big wreck happens, and a good day can go south in an instant. The situation can render a driver little more than a bystander to his own fate.

That reality, along with the potential impact of a poor Talladega finish on the points standings, raises the question whether Talladega - site of Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 and the only restrictor-plate event in NASCAR’s 10-race playoff - belongs in the Chase.

Talladega and Daytona, which doesn’t host a Chase event, are the only tracks where NASCAR mandates restrictor plates and the risk of crashing not by one’s own doing is more of a threat.

 “I would prefer it not to be a Chase race,” said defending two-time series champion Jimmie Johnson. “I would like to have races where we can control the outcome. I love Talladega. I think the spring race is a blast. I like Daytona as well. When you get in the Chase like this, it’s tough to not have that control. And this is coming from a competitor’s standpoint, obviously. If you talk to the fans or maybe even ask what corporate America wants to see and think, it’s probably more appealing for that aspect than from the competitor’s live.

“If it was up to a driver and his point of view on it, I’d get rid of it. But I’m not sure many other people feel that way if they’re not in this garage area.”

In fact, some even in the Cup garage disagree with Johnson. While they recognize the hazards that Talladega imposes on those in contention for the title, they view the track’s annual fall date as just one in a series of tests that drivers face in the final championship-determining races. And some drivers actually have an appreciation for Talladega’s level of uncertainty, which can be a source of excitement as much as anxiety.

“Oh, I think this is a great race for the Chase because you just really don’t know what’s going to happen,” Richard Childress Racing’s Kevin Harvick said. “At any given moment it could turn upside down and you can trigger a pileup. There are just a lot of things that can happen at this particular race and Talladega is just kind of its own beast. So it’s a good race for the Chase.”

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, who claimed his first Talladega win in the spring, agrees that the high-speed, high-banked facility deserves its spot in the Chase because of the heart-pounding racing it breeds.

The current slate of Chase tracks, in Busch’s opinion, should be left alone, with the possible exception of doing away with one or two of the 1.5-mile facilities that make up half of the Chase schedule.

“I think it’s fine,” Busch said. “I’ve heard some fans actually want to see the season end with Daytona - that would be kind of wild. People want to see a road course race in the Chase and a restrictor-plate race in the Chase and all that. I think the schedule is fine where it’s at and has sort of the right mixture in the final 10.”

RCR’s Jeff Burton is also a proponent of keeping Talladega in the Chase but for a different reason.

“My theory on races that ought to be in the Chase, I think it ought to be representative of the regular season,” he said. “The example of that that I give is road-course racing. A lot of people say, ‘Hey, we ought to have a road course in the Chase.’ I disagree with that because if we had two road-course races and one of them was in the Chase, 50 percent of the races of the races would be represented in the Chase.

“We run three regular-season superspeedway points-paying races so I believe it is fair to have one of these to be in the Chase.”

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Comments

13 responses to "Does Talladega Superspeedway belong in the Chase For The Sprint Cup?"
  1. 1
    kahnefan said:
    Oct 4, 2008 at 10:32 AM

    Talladega obviously belongs in the chase. To win a championship, you need to excel on all tracks and have luck. Plus, restrictor plate racing is much more interesting then the cookie-cutter races

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  2. 2
    ace racer said:
    Oct 4, 2008 at 10:43 AM

    Why would it not? and khane's over rated.

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  3. 3
    kahnefan said:
    Oct 4, 2008 at 11:38 AM

    no jr is

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  4. 4
    Vincent Farino said:
    Oct 4, 2008 at 3:32 PM

    Of course it does. It can get messy, but fun to watch

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  5. 5
    Ronald Schwalbe said:
    Oct 4, 2008 at 4:30 PM

    A driver's success is often determined by his talent in knowing when and how hard to accelerate or to brake - - when to "hit it" - when to slow down - - how hard to hit the brakes - - how hard to gas it - when to shift or downshift (road course) - - and then - -there's Talledega and Daytona where NONE of those attributes EVER come into play. Just floor it and steer - and wait till a "partner" helps you to the front. Like a "three-legged" race. Just sit there with a brick on the gas pedal and be at the mercy of what someone beHIND you does - - - - if he shifts to the other lane - you lose - - ohh-exciting! For the poor fans - - watch the cars come by ONCE every minute or so - - - At Bristol - it's FOUR times a minute. Want to see absolute SPEED ??? Go to a drag race - - 330mph PLUS -and NO-one "PUSHES" the winner across the finish line there !!! You have to EARN it yourSELF ! Since the "Chase" is a farce - -I guess the 'Dega and Daytona farces DO belong in there as well. ME? I'll take actual RACING anyday - not sychronized "partner" driving exhibitions. I can watch that on the interstate anytime. For those who enjoy restrictor plate exhibitions - - have fun - and, maybe you'll take in an actual RACE someday. It's amazing what the drivers can do when they're ALLOWED to besides just - "stab and steer" !

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  6. 6
    Robert Wingert said:
    Oct 4, 2008 at 5:10 PM

    Of course it belongs in the Chase.

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  7. 7
    Pat Draper said:
    Oct 5, 2008 at 7:12 AM

    Well there are a couple of things Ronald said that i agree with not many but a couple. And a big yes Dega should be in the chase which is a farce and so should a road course. Poor Jimmy Johnson he crying cause his car might get bent out of shape and he don't think Dega should be in the chase. Has Jimmy ever won a road course race??????. I my humble opinion a champion should have had to win at least 1 road course. seems like we would have a very short list of champions then Jeff and Tony and Kyle are the only ones i can remember. Sorry Jimmy you'll have to run today and maybe if Nascar ever gets on the ball they will have a road course in the chase then you will have something else to cry about.

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  8. 8
    Ronald Schwalbe said:
    Oct 5, 2008 at 9:10 AM

    Hey Pat - You gave me an idea when you mentioned the road courses. Everyone's always trying to figure out a way to get rid of the plates at 'Dega and Daytona. Simple - -just run the road courses that are already THERE !!! I have filmed footage of Bobby Alison running a sportsman race at Daytona on the road course from years back, and it was a real fun event. They used the banked turns AND the infield course. They could eliminate the plates and run thru turn two and dive into the road course, thru the infield course and back out onto the main track in turn three, and then all the way down the front tri-oval thru one & two and back in again - the fans could actually SEE something and the road course would automatically slow the field. NASCAR and a lot of fans want more road courses so -this would solve TWO problems and yet - everyone could still see the three and four wide racing they enjoy as the field spreads out on the main course. Of course -this wouldn't cost a CENT as the road courses are already there - and - - it's a simple solution. That's probably why NASCAR wouldn't even consider it. Wouldn't wreck enough cars and the teams could actually save money.

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  9. 9
    Anonymous said:
    Oct 5, 2008 at 9:53 AM

    It absolutely belongs in the Chase....

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  10. 10
    Tim the Fan said:
    Oct 5, 2008 at 9:59 AM

    Personally I like drivers skills, pit crew skills, and the decisions a crew chief has to make. That's racin. As for Dega and Daytona, I love watching them, but it throws out the skill levels as to much of it depends on luck and where your running in the pack at a given time. You can be running third one lap and a lap later twentieth, and caught up in bad luck. That's luck, good or bad and that's what restrictor plate racing does. So no, I don't think Dega should be in the Chase and ending the season in Daytona is absurd too. I do like the idea of another road course race though as that requires skills not normally used.....

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  11. 11
    Daniel P. Schulz said:
    Oct 5, 2008 at 10:14 AM

    Of course it belongs in the Chase. So does another short track race & a road course. What the Chase does not need is 4 1&1/2 mile tri oval races, that is too many.

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  12. 12
    Ronald Schwalbe said:
    Oct 5, 2008 at 3:57 PM

    Well - for those who think the outcome of todays idiotic demolition derby added to the credibility of a true NASCAR Championship, and belongs in the (ahem) "Chase" - I hope you enjoyed it. By the way - Stewart is one of my favorite drivers but, today's farce was no great thrill for me Maybe to "ADD even MORE phony excitement" - Next time they should run at night -with NO lights - on a track that's been sprayed with WD40 - and the drivers have to wear blindfolds - THAT surely would document a true Champion, wouldn't it? Bad enough they give HUNDREDS of welfare points to the drivers who have NOT run well during the season to pretend they are actually a contender, and then also punish those who HAVE succeeded all season, but - to run a Championship determining race here ???? What a waste of time and money these "Plate" races are. Save the bucks - just go to the local demolition derby and enjoy and enjoy the wrecks. With any luck -they'll happen right in FRONT of you so you can see them REAL Guuud !!! Bet there are more than a handful of cars running there, and for about a hundred bucks - YOU can run, too !! Next week -back to actual racing.

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  13. 13
    Scooter said:
    Oct 5, 2008 at 9:42 PM

    This race belongs in the chase? No! I love Talladega. I think that it should swap dates with Daytona's July race. A superspeedway belongs in the chase, just not Talladega. Talladega is too much of a wild card race Daytona is the flagship track and should swap dates with Talladega.

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