So much for that whole "Talladega will serve as Jimmie's downfall" plotline. There's no stopping him from a record fourth straight championship now.

His average running position Sunday proves he's still one of the best restrictor-plate racers in NASCAR (10.597, third-best among the drivers in Sunday's race). His finish (20th) proves he's not as lucky as others in the race.

Strong until the very last lap, when a crash resulted in a 19th-place finish. Seems like JPM has mastered the skill of restrictor-plate racing as well as anybody else in the series.

You know that last-lap crash that ruined Gordon and Montoya's day at 'Dega? Yeah, it got Martin too.

14th may not sound like an impressive result, but the fact that Edwards kept his car in one piece and picked up momentum for Texas, where he has a record three wins, is mighty impressive.

Biffle's 2009 postseason record: Seven starts, two top fives (including one at Talladega), an additional top 10, and three finishes of 15th or worse. Will the real Greg Biffle please stand up?

Smoke couldn't have picked a worse time to have his worst finish of the season (36th). At least he won't be bothered by those pesky "You would be the leader under the old point system" questions anymore.

The wild ride he went on Sunday at 'Dega is no laughing matter. The fact that he all but predicted something like this would happen in the weeks leading up to the race has got to have some people in NASCAR's offices chuckling in denial, however. ...

The wild ride he went on Sunday at 'Dega is no laughing matter. The fact that he all but predicted something like this would happen in the weeks leading up to the race has got to have some people in NASCAR's offices chuckling in denial, however.

As if one crash at Talladega wasnt enough, Busch the elder had to endure two on Sunday.

Kahne's hit-or-miss Chase continues as he started at the rear and still managed to score his fourth top-10 finish in the postseason. If he didn't have three finishes of 30th or worse, he'd be a lot higher in these rankings and the championship as well....

Kahne's hit-or-miss Chase continues as he started at the rear and still managed to score his fourth top-10 finish in the postseason. If he didn't have three finishes of 30th or worse, he'd be a lot higher in these rankings and the championship as well.

Well, at least his second engine failure in three weeks kept him out of a wreck.

On the plus side, Vickers finished the race without issues Sunday. Unfortunately, his 13th-place finish isn't much to brag about.

It's fitting that in their last race together, Busch and crew chief Steve Addington finished 15th at Talladega. They showed flashes of brilliance and led a few laps, but in the end it wasn't nearly enough.

Remember when being the second-best driver for Richard Childress Racing meant getting a result a lot worse than 12th? Yep, they are finally getting things together.

OK, so in his first race with his new crew chief Burton gets a top-five finish. Wonder what he'll do for an encore at Texas, where he has two wins (the first driver to have multiple wins at the speedway) and eight top 10s in 17 starts.

Well, if you are going to wait this late in the year to score your first top-five finish, you might as well make it a big one that gets everybody's attention. Hopefully his win Sunday helped land him a job for 2010 too.

Seriously, the guy had another car (Newman) land on his front bumper and he still managed to finish the race in 21st place. Not too shabby.

I see a pattern forming: Top-five finish at Dover is followed by two less-than-stellar results. Top-five finish at Charlotte is followed by another two less-than-stellar results (including Sunday at Talladega). If this holds true, watch out for Kenseth on Sunday and forget...

I see a pattern forming: Top-five finish at Dover is followed by two less-than-stellar results. Top-five finish at Charlotte is followed by another two less-than-stellar results (including Sunday at Talladega). If this holds true, watch out for Kenseth on Sunday and forget about him the rest of the season.

His eighth-place finish at Talladega proves his earlier win there was no fluke. Now he gets an early chance to prove hes a top-level Cup driver on all tracks starting at Texas.

Remember how everybody said Logano would improve each time he got to a new track? Talladega spring finish: Ninth. Talladega fall finish: Third. Mission accomplished. His goal this weekend? To beat a 30th-place finish in April at Texas, and I'm betting he'll do it too....

Remember how everybody said Logano would improve each time he got to a new track? Talladega spring finish: Ninth. Talladega fall finish: Third. Mission accomplished. His goal this weekend? To beat a 30th-place finish in April at Texas, and I'm betting he'll do it too.