Beccas Pace Lap

Talladega Superspeedway -- 04/26/2009

Author: Becca Gladden

Published: Saturday Apr 25 2009 2:04pm

Becca's Pace Lap: Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway

• Front Row: Juan Pablo Montoya (P1), Greg Biffle (P2)

• Pole Qualifying Speed: 188.171 miles per hour

• Highest Starting Rookie: Scott Speed - starts 8th

• To the Rear: Reed Sorenson and Robby Gordon failed post-qualifying tech and will be moving to the rear before the green flag.

• Fastest Qualifier by Manufacturer:
Chevy: Juan Pablo Montoya (1st)
Dodge: Sam Hornish Jr. (4th)
Ford: Greg Biffle (2nd)
Toyota: Scott Speed (8th)

• Outside the Top 35 Who Made the Field:
David Gilliland
Brad Keselowski
Jeremy Mayfield
Joe Nemechek
Max Papis
Scott Riggs
Regan Smith
Scott Speed

• Outside the Top 35 Who Missed the Cut:
Eric McClure
Michael McDowell

• Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy, 77°F, SE winds at 10-15 mph

• Race Notes:

Last year's race winner: Kyle Busch (April race)

Most recent winner here: Tony Stewart (October race)

A few years ago, impound races were all the rage in NASCAR, but the number of impound races has decreased each year, now down to just three in 2009 - both Talladega races and the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona in July – making this the first impound race of the season.

As a result of the impound schedule, Cup teams had two practices on Friday and qualifying on Saturday. After qualifying, cars are ‘impounded’ by NASCAR and cannot be adjusted until after the start of the race on Sunday.

The impound schedule at Talladega puts teams inside and outside the top 35 in owner points on two different agendas: teams that need to qualify for the race on time practice mainly in qualifying trim, while those locked into the field are focus on practicing in race trim.

The impound schedule also puts a number of drivers in the top-10 on the starting grid due to their focus on qualifying, including Sam Hornish Jr. (4), Regan Smith (6), Scott Speed (8), and Brad Keselowski (9).

Keep an eye on the Dodge engines this weekend. Kasey Kahne and AJ Allmendinger, both in Dodges, lost engines in Friday’s first practice session.

Chevrolets were dominant here from 1999 through 2007, winning all but one race (a Dale Jarrett Ford in 2005). Last year, however, the momentum switched to Toyota, with Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart both posting wins for Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart is back in a Chevy this year at Stewart-Haas.

Restrictor plate racing at Talladega is known for multi-car crashes euphemistically termed “The Big One.” Since 1990, there have been six crashes at ‘Dega which involved 20 or more cars, including the biggest wreck during that time period – a crash in the 2003 spring race involving 27 cars.

Hendrick Motorsports set a record last week, winning three straight races with three different drivers. They would set a new record this weekend if Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins at Talladega - four straight Cup victories with four different drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. holds the record for most consecutive Cup wins at Talladega with four from 2001-2003; he was with DEI at the time.

Jeff Gordon holds several current records at Talladega, including most Cup wins (6), most top-5 finishes (13), and most laps led (805). Gordon has 32 Cup starts here.

• Quotes of the Week:

“This place is always about being in the right place at the right time. You can run your guts out all day and still end up 25th. It doesn’t matter …You just have to play defense three-quarters of the day and play a really good offense the last quarter.” – Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14, regarding restrictor place racing at Talladega.

“I think this is a cool three weeks. I think when you look at Phoenix, Talladega and Richmond, that is a cool three weeks. You are going to see good racing. You are going to see excitement. You are going to see stuff going on. I think it is a better three weeks than the first three weeks of our year just because of the race tracks.” – Jeff Burton, Richard Childress Racing No. 31, on the current portion of the Sprint Cup schedule.

• Current oddsmakers' favorite:
Kyle Busch +450 (starts 10th)
Jeff Gordon +600 (starts 4th)

• Long shots to watch:
David Ragan +2000 (starts 15th)
Clint Bowyer +3000 (starts 16th)

* All information current at press time

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