Talladega Time
This weekend's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway presents both risk and opportunity. The risk relates to being caught up in the "big one" crash which could possibly eliminate some of the top drivers from being able to contend for the championship title. The opportunity might be for some of the drivers who find themselves further back in the point standings going into the race being able to make up some significant ground and get back into title contention if any of the points leaders suffer poor finishes. In qualifying for Sunday's race, Kasey Kahne set fast time to start on the pole with a speed of 191.455 mph and points leader Brad Keselowski qualified in the 22nd position.
Here are the starting positions for the other ten title contenders: Clint Bowyer-3rd, Tony Stewart-4th, Greg Biffle-5th, Jeff Gordon-6th, Martin Truex Jr.-9th, Dale Earnhardt Jr.-12th, Matt Kenseth-15th, Jimmie Johnson-17th, Kevin Harvick-21st, and Denny Hamlin-23rd.
What strategy will be used by individual drivers on Sunday may prove interesting. Some like to ride around at the back of the pack for much of the race waiting to make a late run to the front. Sometimes that works and sometimes not. Not being able to predict what will happen is a good reason to watch and see what happens on Sunday.
Here is the complete starting lineup.