From the Marbles - NASCAR

From the Marbles

Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:01 am EDT

The Pace Lap: The Amp Energy 500 @ Talladega

By Jay Busbee

Welcome to The Pace Lap, your catchall preview post! Let's get you started on race weekend with a metric truckload of stats, facts, opinion and innuendo.

The race: The Amp Energy 500

The specs: 188 laps around a 2.66-mile track, for 500 miles.

The broadcasts: ABC, plus the live chat right here on Yahoo! Sports. Also, I'll be on the ground all raceday morning, so follow me on Twitter to see what I'm seeing. 

Defending champ: Tony Stewart. You recall, this is the famous yellow-line race, where Smoke was "forced" below the yellow line by Regan Smith on the final lap but still claimed the title.

The standings leaders: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin (-118), Jeff Gordon (-165)

The history: The largest and most steeply banked track in NASCAR, Talladega is also the home of some of the most spectacular speeds -- and wrecks -- in the sport. Rusty Wallace holds the speed record at 216.309 mph, set in June 2004. Talladega got a track only because local religious leaders in Hillsborough, North Carolina opposed the development of the track. So sorry, Hillsborough.

Back in the springtime: A couple of Big Ones seemed like they'd give us all the carnage we needed ... and then came the Keselowski/Edwards wall-scrub. One of the most horrific wrecks in NASCAR history was thankfully almost completely injury-free, but it set off a whole new round of discussion of whether Talladega was too dangerous to continue at its current style.

The appropriate video: From 2006 -- Brian Vickers gets into Jimmie Johnson, who gets into Dale Earnhardt Jr. Just imagine what would happen if this same scene played itself out this weekend:

Guy with the most to gain: Dale Earnhardt Jr. This is his chance to rehab his image for 2009, to close out the season with a strong performance and give Junior Nation reason to hope for 2010. This is his best track, so if he runs well here, all is (almost) forgiven. If not ...

Guys with the most to lose: Jimmie Johnson. One Big One at the wrong time, and Johnson's lead dwindles -- or, potentially, vanishes -- and that fourth championship becomes that much tougher to grab.

Our pick to win: Stewart. He's due for a strong Chase race, and he's on familiar territory here. And Regan Smith isn't likely to cause trouble two years in a row. 

All right, you're up. Who's your pick for this weekend? Go!

Related: Regan Smith, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, Jimmie Johnson

digg delicious
more

12 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. Tony
    1. Posted by Tony Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:33 am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Your memory is a little backwards, Jay. It was Smoke who "forced" Regan below the yellow line, not the other way around.
  2. miss priss
    2. Posted by miss priss Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:06 am EDT

    Report Abuse

    awwwwww 'Dega..... To me, this is the track. I'm ready to hear "Gentlemen START YOUR ENGINES" Hear the roar of them and watch them draft. Come on Sunday.
  3. brinirmess
    3. Posted by brinirmess Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:12 am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Aw Tony, you're memory is a little David biased. Smoke held his line, and won.
  4. Kim
    4. Posted by Kim Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:27 am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Smoke held his line--Regan chose to go below the yellow line despite it having been spelled out in the driver's meeting.
  5. brinirmess
    5. Posted by brinirmess Fri Oct 30, 2009 10:30 am EDT

    Report Abuse

    yeh, yep, dat's right, DESPITE having it spelled out
  6. Dani
    6. Posted by Dani Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:32 am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Go TONY go !!!!!
  7. Jean Pierre
    7. Posted by Jean Pierre Fri Oct 30, 2009 11:42 am EDT

    Report Abuse

    YAHOO sports hangs on the jock strap of NASCAR. They will never tell it like it is. CRAPCAR is dead noone watches since france screwed this thing up. Its just like watching the iroc series but with different stickers.
    tell NASCAR WHAT YA THINK
    fanfeedback@nascar.com
  8. NostraChronus
    8. Posted by NostraChronus Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:28 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    here's to hoping Jimmie forms a bump-drafting alliance with Carl; I'm going with Kurt Busch to take the checkered this weeked at 'Dega.
  9. sportsnut888
    9. Posted by sportsnut888 Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:34 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    If Jr has a car that can run up front this weekend, he's due for a win and has always had a strong plate history. Smoke looks good as well. Have to like JPM's chances as well, he's come a long way and is also due for a win on an oval.
    Figure Jimmie and Jeff will drop to the back, and then work their way up from there after 350 miles. Also have to figure given Jimmie's history, he'll be content to get a solid finish (top 10 or 15), making sure to not get involved in the big one (or any little one), and keep a solid points lead.
  10. art_tidesco
    10. Posted by art_tidesco Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:03 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Smoke did not go below the yellow Regan Smith did.
    First time i have seen the 2006 finish (I did not have jtv to accompany yahoo chat back then) looks like Brian definitely took a cheap shot at Jimmie and Dale for the win they should have called the result on lap 187, like they do in Europe, standing for all yellow flag laps get called the lap before the yellow came out to stop precisely this kind of cheating.
    Looking forward to 'dega #42 is gonna win by miles even a whole lap maybe :-) Go John "Taco" Montana :-)
  11. Rudy88
    11. Posted by Rudy88 Fri Oct 30, 2009 5:31 pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    art - Agree with you all the way - - - - - - - except the "go "Taco" Montana!~
  12. Oliver Klosov
    12. Posted by Oliver Klosov Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:09 am EST

    Report Abuse

    "Our pick to win..." who the heck is "our" - wouldn't that be "your"???
    I can only wonder what the 'necks of Alabama would do, if they knew that they had Jay-bird in their hands... hmmm...

From the Marbles

Add to My Yahoo! RSS

Jay Busbee

From the Marbles is a NASCAR blog edited by Jay Busbee. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

Contributors:
James G., Jay Hart, Carol Fitzgerald, Dennis Tarwood,

Related Photo Gallery

More NASCAR Photos »

Y! Sports Blogs

From the Marbles Recent Readers

(provided by MyBlogLog)