This week: Kenseth has ranked among the top three drivers since his victory in the second race of the year, which he won at California. ... He has competed in 12 races at Talladega Superspeedway, scoring four top-10 finishes and three top-15s in the last three races there. Kenseth finished 11th in this race one year ago and third there last October, his best Talladega finish. His average finish at Talladega is 17.25. ... Kenseth has never won a restrictor-plate race and has scored only two top-five finishes in 25 restrictor-plate races. He has won at least one race each season for five consecutive years (2002-2006). One year ago he ranked 28th in the point standings after eight races.
Last week: Kenseth finished third at Phoenix, his fifth top-five in the first eight races, to move from second to first in the point standings. He has a nine-point lead over the previous leader, Jimmie Johnson, and a 41-point lead over Kasey Kahne. "It's better than being second, I guess," Kenseth said. "It's really early in the year, but I think when you're leading the points or when you're solidly in the top 10 it definitely gives you a good feeling and it gives the guys a good feeling."
Etc.: Kenseth credits his surge to his longtime relationship with crew chief Robbie Reiser. "It's probably the same reasons it's worked from the beginning," Kenseth said. "We work hard at it. We get along well. We trust each other. We both try to keep a fairly open mind and we work together on things. When things go bad we don't both stand in separate corners and point at each other and blame each other, we just work together on it and try to keep everybody involved and work hard at it and try to figure out what the problem is and address it." ... Kenseth is confident his fast start has set the tone for the rest of the season. "You always hope that," he said. "It's important to have a strong start -- although last year we had a real slow start and still came back from it and finished the year off pretty strong. But I think it's important to get a strong start. It has everybody fired up. It makes the year, in a way, shorter. It makes everybody stay enthused and kind of gives you a lot of incentive."
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This week: Johnson is one of just two drivers to score six top-10 finishes in eight races this season. But he has lost 68 points and the point lead, which he had held since Martinsville. "Oh, it's fine," he said. "It's still way early. Matt (Kenseth) has had a solid year. The goal is to make it to the top 10 and then transfer. So as long as we keep that going, we'll be fine." ... One year ago Johnson began the season with eight straight top-15 finishes and was in first place at this juncture, 173 points ahead of second-place Kurt Busch. This year he again has scored top-15s in the first eight races. Johnson has ranked among the top 10 for 77 straight races, since Atlanta in March 2004. ... He has competed in eight races at Talladega but has finished 20th or worse in his last three, including two DNFs (Did Not Finish). His average finish there is 23.125. His best Talladega finish (fourth) was in April 2004. Johnson finished 20th at Talladega in this race one year ago and 31st there last October. His only restrictor-plate victory came in the Daytona 500 this year. ... Johnson has won at least one race each season for five consecutive years (2002-06).
Last week: Johnson finished seventh at Phoenix and dropped from first to second in the standings. "We ran out of gas early but we made it to pit road," Johnson said. "But we lost some track position after that. But then we were just too tight. The car was really pushing and chattering the front tires, and I lost a bunch of spots, unfortunately. And then halfway through that long run at the end, the car just got tight. I think something just went wrong with the car because we were seven-tenths of a second off a lap from where we were the run before. So we'll get home and pull it apart and see that happened. But we had a great run. It was a big improvement for the Lowe's team on these flat miles (tracks), and I'm looking forward to Richmond and New Hampshire. I think we're really hitting on some things."
Etc.: Johnson and Kasey Kahne are the only drivers to score two victories this season.
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This week: Kahne has won two races in 2006, (Atlanta and Texas) both from the pole position. His first career victory came at Richmond last May, also from the pole. Kahne, who ranked 20th in the point standings one year ago, has scored seven top-15 finishes in the first eight races in 2006. He has competed in four races at Talladega and has never cracked the top 10. He finished 24th in this race one year ago and 13th there last October, his best Talladega finish. His average finish there is 23.5, and he has never led a lap at Talladega. He has never posted a restrictor-plate top-10 finish in nine races.
Last week: Kahne finished sixth at Phoenix, his sixth top-10 finish of the season. "We worked hard to get there and had great fuel mileage," Kahne said. "The engine ran great and the fuel mileage was there, too. It was definitely good we had all that so we could pass a couple of those guys that ran out at the end. It wasn't the best car we've had all year, but a sixth place with that was a great team effort. The guys did a great job."
Etc.: John Fernandez, director of Dodge Motorsports Operations, addressed a rumor that one of the three manufacturers was going to leave NASCAR. He said it wouldn't be Dodge. "I've heard the rumor, but obviously we're not involved in it," Fernandez said. "I haven't heard anything from General Motors or Ford that indicates they're in any jeopardy. Obviously, their total companies right now are having a tough time in the marketplace, but that's happened before and it'll happen again, I'm sure. As far as I know, GM and Ford are still committed to NASCAR and committed to racing in the Cup Series. As far as I know right now, it's only a rumor."
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This week: Martin has scored 12 straight top-15 finishes since Atlanta last October and has had only one DNF (at Talladega in October 2005 because of an accident) in the 32 races since Dover in June 2005. Martin has competed in 40 races at Talladega, scoring two victories -- most recently in May 1997. He has 21 top-10 finishes at Talladega, the most of all full-time driver. However, he finished 33rd in this race one year ago and 41st there last October -- his worst season effort at Talladega. Martin's last top-five at Talladega was a fourth-place finish in April 2001. His average finish at Talladega is 15.175. Martin is the only driver among the current top 10 to compete in all 73 restrictor-plate races. He has had 34 top-10 finishes in those races, second only to the late Dale Earnhardt, who scored 40 in 53 restrictor-plate races.
Last week: Martin finished 11th at Phoenix and remained fourth in the standings. At this point one year ago he ranked sixth.
Etc.: Martin still holds the distinction of winning the fastest race in NASCAR history, the May 1997 Winston 500, in which the average speed was 188.354 mph.
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This week: He has competed in 14 races at Talladega, scoring nine top-10 finishes. He finished second in both races at Talladega in 2005, the fourth and fifth times he has been runner-up there, but he has yet to visit Victory Lane at the Alabama superspeedway. His only victory in 29 restrictor-plate races came at Daytona in July 2005. ... Stewart has competed in 29 career restrictor-plate races, scoring 17 top-10 finishes (59 percent). He has an 11.928 finishing average at Talladega and has led at least one lap in his last four races there. ... Stewart has won at least one race each season for eight consecutive years (1999-2006). "I'm anticipating that the rest of the season is going to carry on, but this is the first time in my Cup career that we have this kind of start to the season," Stewart said. "We're obviously very excited about it. But it's still a week-to-week deal. There may be some trick set-up next week that comes down that somebody finds that makes everything that we're doing right now obsolete. This is a series, and in all racing in general, no matter what division or type of racing you're in, the technology is always taking it to the next level. So what's good this week may not be good next week. You have to keep that in the back of your mind. You can't get complacent and be over-confident that you're where you need to be all the time."
Last week: Stewart finished second at Phoenix and remained fifth in the standings. It was his sixth top-15 finish in the first eight races of the season. Stewart, who qualified third, had to start at the rear of the field when a crew member inadvertently turned his qualifying tires back into Goodyear officials. By NASCAR rules, a driver has to start on the same set of tires that he qualified with. Once the tires are turned into Goodyear, holes are drilled into them to take them out of circulation. "There were probably too many chefs in the kitchen now working on tires," said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. "One of the guys has a great heart and was just trying to help out and wound up messing up." ... Because the one-mile raceway is a flat oval, starting in the back was a definite handicap, more than at a track like Talladega. "I saw where someone asked Tony if it matters where he starts here and he said, 'No, not really,'" Gibbs said. "We'll see if he says that now." ... Stewart was able to drive from 43rd to finish second. "We just never got in a hurry," Stewart said. "We were having to work too hard and not punish the tires too much. With 312 laps, we utilized the first 200 wisely and were able to get the lead. The car kept getting better and better. We just had to be patient. That's something Zippy (crew chief Greg Zipadelli) and I talked about before the race."
Etc: Stewart has led at least one lap in all eight races this season, the only driver to do so. His 55 lap-leader bonus points are the most of all drivers, as is his total of 790 laps led.
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This week: Gordon has four victories and 14 top-10 finishes in 26 races at Talladega. His last Talladega victory came in this race one year ago, and he also won the spring race there two years ago. However, he finished 37th there last October, his sixth Talladega DNF. His average finish at Talladega is 15.153. He has led 640 laps at Talladega, the most among active drivers. ... Gordon has competed in 53 restrictor-plate races, scoring 10 victories and 29 top-10 finishes (55 percent). He ranks second behind Dale Earnhardt, who had 11 restrictor-plate victories. ... "Soft bumpers" will be used in this race as NASCAR tries to prevent bump drafting and other rough driving tactics on the drafting track. "I like it because it is going to take a lot of the bump drafting out of play," Gordon said. "I still think there is going to be some happening, especially late in the race. I think it will make guys have to think a little bit more about how they pass. That goes back to the type of drafting I learned early on when we used the air to push the cars around instead of the bumpers. I like that. I am curious to see how we are going to be able to manage that because a lot of guys really like to use their bumpers so we will see how that goes." ... Gordon has not won since Martinsville last October, 12 races ago.
Last week: Gordon finished 10th at Phoenix and climbed from eighth to sixth in the standings. He ranked 26th in the point standings after Daytona and was fourth at this point one year ago.
Etc.: Gordon believes sometimes the best race isn't on the track but on the way to the helipad after a race as drivers try to beat the crowd and fly home on their private aircraft. "It depends a lot on how your day goes," Gordon said. "If your day has gone bad, you can't wait to get out of there in a hurry. I have actually kind of slowed my pace down. Obviously, the helicopters are the fastest way to get out. But nowadays, there seems to be a line at the helicopter pad because even the fans are using the helicopters to get out of here. I usually have a golf cart or a mule or something to get me over to the helicopter pad, get on it and go. I haven't driven out of a race track in a long, long time."
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This week: Earnhardt has competed in 12 races at Talladega, scoring five victories and two second-place finishes between October 2001 and October 2004. ... His 42nd-place finish in his first race at Talladega (April 2000) and his 40th in his last race there (October 2005) are his worst Talladega finishes and only DNFs at the Alabama superspeedway. They also were the only Talladega races in which Earnhardt failed to lead. ... Earnhardt has won seven of the 25 restrictor-plate races in which he has competed, third among all drivers. He finished 15th in this race one year ago and has a 10.666 average finish at Talladega. "Talladega has definitely been good for the Earnhardts," he said. "We've won five races there, and Daddy won twice as many, and it's just been a really good race track for us. I have a deep respect and understanding for the history of our sport, and Talladega is very much a part of that history. A lot of great drivers have raced there and won there, and the fans are deeply passionate about the sport." One year ago he ranked 12th. He has scored six top-15 finishes in the eight races in 2006.
Last week: Earnhardt finished 23rd at Phoenix and dropped from sixth to seventh in the standings. "I made a big mistake and made a bad car worse -- lost a chance for another top-10 -- and it hurt a few other cars as well," Earnhardt said of a late race incident that he was involved in. "I hate it for Kyle (Petty), man, and the other guys that were caught up in it. I have a lot of respect for Kyle, and I want him and all the other drivers to have respect for me as well, and that ain't the way to get it. It makes me sick to have something like that happen. It bent up the car enough that it was just wicked after the crash. I was just hangin' on, trying not to crash in every turn and trying to stay out of the way of the lead-lap cars and not put her into the wall. That's not a fun way to end the night."
Etc.: Earnhardt offered his opinion on NASCAR's use of soft bumpers this Sunday at Talladega. "I don't think it'll make that much difference," he said. "A lot of guys are going to go out there in practice and see how soft (the bumpers) really are -- what they can take and what they can't take. We'll have an opportunity to find that out and know exactly what we got for the race. When the race comes, we will know exactly how hard we can use them, what we can use them for, stuff like that. I hate that it had to come to that, but it's probably better than the situation we had."
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This week: Harvick has scored four top-10 finishes in 2006. He has five top-10 finishes in 10 races at Talladega and finished 12th in this race one year ago and 10th there last October. However, he holds the longest current streak of top-15 finishes at Talladega (six), has led in each of the last seven Talladega races and has been running at the finish in all 10 of his races there. His average Talladega finish is 13.5. Harvick has eight top-10 finishes in 20 restrictor-plate races but has never won one. His best restrictor-plate finish (second twice) came at Talladega, most recently in October 2004.
Last week: Harvick won both the Nextel Cup and Busch Series races at Phoenix last weekend. His win Saturday night in the Subway Fresh 500 allowed him to advance from ninth to eighth in the standings. He has climbed from 23rd in the last four races. One year ago he ranked 11th. "We didn't have the best car all day today, but we had the best car when it counted," he said. "Before those cautions, we were about one lap short (on fuel) of making it to the finish." Harvick's Chevrolet Monte Carlo finished 2.774 seconds ahead of Tony Stewart's Chevrolet. "I was sweating the gas situation," said Harvick, who ran out of fuel last year while running fourth. "I kept letting off the throttle at the start/finish line and again at the dogleg off the second turn. If we were going to run out of gas, it wasn't going to be close before that."
Etc.: Harvick is in a position to cash in. The driver who replaced the late Dale Earnhardt in 2001 is in high demand by Toyota, which is set to join the Nextel Cup series in 2007. According to a team source at Richard Childress Racing, team owner Richard Childress will decide by mid-May whether to match Toyota's offer, which would place Harvick at Red Bull Racing, a new team for next year. "We are still in April and he is in Africa," Harvick said of Childress. "We talked before he went to spend a couple of weeks over there. I know the ball is pretty much on that side." Harvick has told Childress what Toyota has to offer, but the driver who won the 2003 Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is taking a bit of a risk going to a startup team. "It is going to be tough to start a team from scratch or to change teams to do that," Harvick said. "But you can't ever rule anything out. I want to do what is best for my career; if that is what it takes, then that is what we will do. But the number one priority is to salvage the seven-year relationship and build on it." Harvick admitted that, given a choice, he would rather stay with Childress. "Yes, I would like to," he said. "There is a seven-year relationship here that is first and foremost and the main priority to keep. I have a lot of friends here. I have a seven year relationship here, and I think it is something that will be the first thing we try to work out."
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This week: Busch has scored six top-15 finishes in the eight races in 2006. He has competed in just two races at Talladega, finishing 41st in this race one year ago and 33rd there last October; he did not finish either time. He has competed in five restrictor-plate races and has never scored a top-10 finish.
Last week: Busch was 36th at Phoenix, his worst finish of the season, and dropped from seventh to ninth in the standings. He won the pole for Saturday night's race and was one of the favorites to win. He led for just seven laps before he was involved in a massive crash with Casey Mears that also included Joe Nemechek, Elliott Sadler, Kyle Petty and Michael Waltrip. When the red flag stopped the race, it didn't stop Busch, who drove up and ran into Mears' car. "I'm devastated," Busch said. "We had a pole-winning car and were three times faster than everyone else in the field. We were penalized earlier for speeding on pit road. But last year we came from two laps down to win the race, so we were confident we were going to get back up there. It was just a devastating day."
Etc.: When Busch started his 50th Nextel Cup race Saturday night, he became the youngest driver to hit the 50-race mark, surpassing Brian Vickers. Busch turns 21 in two weeks.
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This week: Mears, who has two top-10 finishes in six races at Talladega, has a 24.16 average finish there. He finished eighth in both Talladega races in 2004 and has led a total of five laps in three separate races there. Mears has competed in 13 restrictor-plate races; his best finish was second at Daytona in February. He'll be driving the car he used at Daytona.
Last week: Mears finished 20th at Phoenix and remained 10th in the standings for the third straight race. "I think our car was better than a 20th-place car, but that's where we ended up," Mears said. "We managed to hang on to 10th place, but we've got to get things turned around if we're planning to stay there."
Etc.: Mears scored top-10 finishes in the first three races in 2006 but has cracked the top-20 only once (14th at Texas) since that three-race streak. One year ago he ranked 26th in the point standings.
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This week: Jarrett earned his second career Talladega victory in the race there last fall. He has 11 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes at the Alabama facility. Of the top-fives, he has been second five times and third three times. Jarrett has been running on the lead lap at the end of the last eight races at Talladega. So it is no surprise when Jarrett says, "We're obviously looking forward to going back to Talladega this weekend. It is certainly a good feeling going back to a track where you are the most recent winner."
Last week: After finishing 19th at Phoenix, Jarrett said, "It's pretty much the same thing we've fought all year. We just can't quite put our finger on what it is that will keep the nose from sliding. It's frustrating, but it's still early in the season. We just really need to get things together soon."
Etc.: Jarrett says restrictor-plate racing is "constant mayhem. You don't have enough mirrors, you don't have enough eyes and you don't have enough ears to keep up with everything going on around you. A lot of times you're sitting there and never move the steering wheel and change lanes. That's a strange feeling."
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This week: Bowyer, who leads the rookie of the year standings by an 85-77 margin over Denny Hamlin, will be making his Nextel Cup debut at Talladega, using the same car that he drove to a sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500. Bowyer believes the big difference between Daytona and Talladega is "at Talladega you just have to know how to work the draft that much better. The guys that do that always seem to shine a lot brighter than some of the others."
Last week: Bowyer led three times for 21 laps at Phoenix and admitted visions of winning the race entered his thinking. "We got too loose there, got too greedy," said Bowyer after his fifth-place finish, his best career finish in the Nextel Cup Series. "When you are that close to it you can taste it, that first victory. I tried to free it, thinking it would go faster, and I just couldn't get to the gas up off (the corner). I knew I wasn't going to beat (Tony) Stewart the way it was, and we tried to free it up."
Etc.: Crew chief Gil Martin was even more elated than Bowyer after the top-five finish at Phoenix, coupled with the fact that three RCR cars were in the top 10 headed by race winner Kevin Harvick. "That was a great day for our company," said Martin. "That's been a long time coming for all three teams to run like that, and nobody backed into it. Clint did a great job. He overcame a lot of things that he struggled with: pitting, getting on and off pit road, and when it counted under the green flag he got on and off pit road better than anybody."
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This week: Burton has nine top-10 finishes in 24 starts at Talladega. He will be running the same car this weekend that won the pole position for the Daytona 500. Burton doesn't believe the new "soft front bumper" is really that soft. "If you really look at the new front bumper that will be on the cars, they are really strong," says Burton. "I don't think we've done anything but cause a lot of work without accomplishing anything. I don't think it's going to keep anybody from running into the back of the guy in front of him at all."
Last week: After finishing ninth at Phoenix, Burton said "the pit stops were the high point of the race tonight for us. When you qualify as bad as we did (Burton started 37th), that is just unacceptable in itself. It is great that all three RCR cars finished in the top-10. We are heading in the right direction. We will keep digging and try to get even better." The top-10 finish enabled Burton to leap three spots in the standings to 13th.
Etc.: Burton thinks bump drafting "is out of hand because drivers are doing it in the wrong places and at the wrong times. You can make the case that if you don't make us (the drivers) do the right thing, then we'll always do the wrong thing. I think what we need to do is make you wish you would've done the right thing. They (NASCAR) are going to have to put him (the offending driver) down two laps or something to get their point across. Putting a guy at the tail end of the longest line is not a penalty at Talladega."
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14) Elliott Sadler, No. 38 Ford, Robert Yates Racing
This week: Sadler, who will turn 31 on Sunday, finished sixth in the spring race a year ago at Talladega, only his second top-10 finish in 13 starts there. He has won two pole positions at the 2.66-mile track. "This team needs a boost right now," says Sadler, "some good luck to come our way for a change. We just want to qualify well and see the checkered flag. If we can do that, it should be a pretty good day."
Last week: Sadler was one of a handful of cars that became involved in a multi-car accident on lap 101 when Kyle Petty got into the back of Michael Waltrip. "I just looked up and the race track was blocked, the 55 (Waltrip) was sideways and then we just all kind of piled on top of each other," said a dejected Sadler. "It's just a rough day at Phoenix. Nothing good to talk about. Just a rough day." Sadler finished 37th to drop from 12th to 14th in the point standings.
Etc.: Sadler's only top-five finish of the season came in the first restrictor-plate race -- the Daytona 500, where he finished fourth. He knows he needs another top-five run to move back into the top 10. "We had amazing cars here (at Talladega) last year, great horsepower from Doug Yates and cars that could pass and run up front," Sadler said.
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This week: It will be a busy weekend for Truex -- he makes his first Busch Series start of the season on Saturday. Truex hopes to become the first driver to win three Busch races at Talladega. "It would be great to do that on Dale Earnhardt Day and keep the DEI streak going at the same time," says Truex. DEI has won the last three Busch Series events at Talladega. Truex also believes he has a shot at a win on Sunday. "We had a good car in Daytona, and this new one was built even better," says Truex. "Talladega would be the perfect place to get that first Cup win."
Last week: A late race speeding penalty cost Truex 10 positions, and he ended up 22nd at Phoenix. After running in the top 10 for most of the event, Truex ran out of gas with two laps to go. With the engine off, Truex said he "thought I had the car down to pit road speed" as he coasted to his pits. "They're (NASCAR) the ones who said we were speeding, and there isn't much you can do about it except go on to the next race," added Truex. "It's disappointing to run around the top 10 all day and not get that finish."
Etc.: The film crew from the "7 Days" show on the SPEED (Mondays at 8 p.m. ET) will be following Truex around on a daily basis this week. Filming will include an early morning fishing excursion with crew chief Kevin Manion and Truex signing the paperwork on his first self-owned house.
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This week: Edwards finished fifth in the second Talladega race last year. In his previous two starts at the high-speed track, his best finish was 32nd. "I know we will have a great car for this weekend," says Edwards. "If we can just go out there and do our job and have a little bit of good luck, it could be a place we can gain some points."
Last week: Edwards needed a top-five run and got it at Phoenix as he finished fourth to jump six spots to 16th in the point standings. "My fan club gave us a horseshoe, and we mounted it on the tool box. I think that really helped a lot," said Edwards, adding, "Wally (Brown, his new crew chief) did a great job. He had to do a lot of decision-making tonight."
Etc.: Brown agreed "that was a great way to get started. Had a lot of problems tonight, ran into a guy on pit road" and that forced Edwards to come from the back of the pack.
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This week: Busch is one of three drivers who have posted three straight top-10 finishes at Talladega, the longest current streaks. The other two are Tony Stewart and Dale Jarrett. Overall, Busch has seven top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the 2.66-mile speedway, including four top-fives. "Keeping that top-10 streak alive and getting us a great finish at Talladega could be just the thing to do the trick and get our luck turned around," Busch said.
Last week: It was another frustrating weekend for the 2004 Nextel Cup champion. "Guess I've seen it all this time," said Busch after his 24th-place finish at Phoenix. "The window net fell down with 25 laps to go, and I was driving and trying to get it latched back up at the same time. They finally black-flagged us, and we had to come in with four laps to go to get it back up to their approval. We just missed the handle on it tonight. It got real tight as the race went on."
Etc.: A year ago, Busch stood second in the Nextel Cup point standings after eight races, but things haven't gone well for him this season. His victory at Bristol is his only top 10-finish. As a result, Busch occupies the 17th spot in the point race. "With all the problems we've had over the last several weeks, it's really a surprise that we're not even further behind in the points than we are," he said.
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This week: This will be Hamlin's first Nextel Cup race at Talladega. His only previous experience there was one Busch Series start in 2005, when he qualified third but was caught up in a lap 82 accident and finished 28th. Hamlin will be running the car that he drove to a win in the Budweiser Shootout. "I am obviously really excited to get there and see how our superspeedway car runs after Daytona," says Hamlin. "We were competitive at Daytona, both in the Shootout and in the 500, before we were caught up at the end (in an accident) and had to settle for a finish (30th) that didn't really reflect how well the car ran."
Last week: Hamlin limped home in 34th place at Phoenix. "We never had a chance," he said. "The motor blew on lap one. Our lap times were really fast on seven cylinders. If we had eight we would have been a contender. It's tough because I know we had a really good car here."
Etc.: Hamlin admits that his rookie season has been frustrating. "It seems like we are taking one step forward, then one step back these days," he said. "We post a top-five in Texas and then come to a track (Phoenix) where we feel we should be really good and we have engine trouble and settle for 34th. A lot of it is just bad luck and that is something you can't control in this sport, but we all feel like with some good luck, we can keep moving up in the standings."
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This week: Vickers is one of just four drivers to earn top-10 finishes in the last two restrictor-plate races -- he finished sixth in the fall event at Talladega and seventh in the 2006 season opener at Daytona. The other three are Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman. Vickers will be running a new car in Sunday's Aaron's 499.
Last week: Vickers finished 13th at Phoenix despite brake problems and getting involved in an accident with only 89 laps to go. Vickers suffered damage to both the right-front and right-rear fenders in the wreck, which was triggered when Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran into Kyle Petty. "Who knows where we would have ended up if we didn't have brake issues and if we weren't caught up in that accident?" said Vickers, who moved up one spot in the point standings to 19th.
Etc.: Vickers is not a fan of the new, less rigid front bumper that NASCAR has mandated for this weekend. "Ninety-plus percent of our wrecks (in the restrictor-plate races) didn't have to do with bump drafting," he said. "For the most part, I think a large portion of the accidents have been caused by door-slamming, cutting people off and trying to block, not bump drafting. Bump drafting is really what helped us to make passes."
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This week: McMurray has one top-five and two top-10 finishes in seven starts at Talladega. He'll be driving the same car he used at Daytona, which he says "was just awesome during the 500 weekend. We qualified sixth and were able to run in the top-five and top-ten for most of the race. We were running eighth with just four laps to go when we were caught up in a crash that ended our day, but the car was really good until then."
Last week: In his first race with new crew chief Bob Osborne, McMurray rallied to finish 14th at Phoenix. "It was a pretty good night for us," said McMurray. "The car was definitely better toward the end of the race, so I think we made good adjustments along the way. It wasn't turning like I needed it to but, again, it got better at the end, so I feel confident that we were hitting on something with our adjustments and we will build from there."
Etc.: Osborne says he does not plan to make "a lot of changes from what this team did in Daytona earlier this year. Based on their performance in Daytona, I am optimistic about our upcoming weekend in Talladega." McMurray has yet to score a top-five finish in 2006.
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This week: Biffle's best finish at Talladega in six starts is 13th, which came in the spring race a year ago. "Well, we obviously really need to finish this race," says Biffle, who stands 21st in the Nextel Cup point standings, 163 points out of the top 10. "If we can stay out of trouble and get out of there with a top-10 finish, I'll be happy. This race takes a lot of concentration by the driver and a lot of give and take on the race track."
Last week: For the third time this season, Biffle led the most laps -- he was out front for 151 at Phoenix. But he was forced to pit for fuel with two laps to go while running second and ended up 15th. "It's an incredibly disappointing day for the National Guard/Subway team," a dejected Biffle said after the race. "The guys gave me awesome pit stops all night and we should have easily had a top-five finish tonight." Despite leading more miles than anyone this season, Biffle is still looking for his first top-five finish in 2006.
Etc.: Crew chief Doug Richert says the team will be running a new car this weekend. "We had it built based on some stuff we learned at the Daytona test," Richert said, "and we hope it is at least as good if not better than the car we took there last year."
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This week: Newman finished fourth last fall at Talladega after leading 12 laps. It was his third top-10 finish in eight starts at the track. Newman's best finish in 2006 was third in the season-opening Daytona 500. "I'm looking forward to working with Kurt (Busch, his teammate) again like we did at Daytona," Newman said. "That's been the highlight of our season, still, and that's a pretty good highlight."
Last week: "They bunched up and got crossed up in front of me, and I had nowhere to go," Newman said after crashing hard with 89 laps to go at Phoenix. He ended up 39th. "There was no way to miss the crash. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our Alltel Dodge was really good at that point. ... We kind of held our ground all night and were waiting to make a run." Newman fell four spots in the standings to 22nd.
Etc.: Newman leads all drivers that have run all eight races in 2006 with three DNF's, which resulted in finishes of 43rd, 40th and 39th. He's 191 points out of 10th place with 18 races remaining to qualify for the "Chase for the Championship." When asked how you make up all those points, Newman said, "Just performance. Even though we crashed out there at Phoenix, I had a smile on my face because that's one of the first times all year we've been competitive enough to pass cars and move up on runs. We had a car that was easily a top-10 car, and I think in the right situation it could have been a top-five car."
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This week: In nine Cup starts at Talladega, Green's best finish has been fifth. It is his only top-10 finish at the track. Green believes the new "soft front bumper" that every team will run this weekend is a plus. "It'll keep a guy from getting a run from 20 feet back and knocking your (rear end) off," says Green. "You can't afford to tear up the front end of your car, so, yeah, I think it's going to put an end to a lot of it (bump drafting)."
Last week: Green finished 18th at Phoenix to move into the top 25 for the first time this season -- he stands 23rd in the point standings. Green was 42nd after the Daytona 500.
Etc.: Green says "racing at Talladega and Daytona is more of a defensive kind of racing. You do find yourself looking out your rear-view mirror rather than your windshield. It's not my favorite type of racing, but the fans love it."
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This week: Sorenson will be making his first Nextel Cup start at Talladega on Sunday. The rookie driver has raced at Talladega only once and says "it wasn't the greatest experience for me. It rained a lot. Then we got caught up in an early race wreck that handed us a major lap deficit and pretty much set the pace for us the rest of the day. Hopefully we'll have better luck this weekend."
Last week: It was a short evening for Sorenson as he got caught up in an accident on lap 101 at Phoenix. As a result, he ended up 40th to fall five places in the point standings. The rookie driver is 24th. "I really don't know what happened," said Sorenson. "I know we hit the right side pretty hard. We weren't good before that. We got it a little bit better just before that and then we wrecked, so we didn't really get a chance to see what we could do."
Etc.: Sorenson believes he's "starting to get the hang of drafting, but at the same time I have a lot to learn. Much of what happens in a restrictor-plate race is out of your control, but you have to drive smart and try to put yourself in the right place at the right time. It's hard to make friends out there, especially as a rookie, but hopefully if I help someone the favor will be returned."
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This week: Talladega used to be one of Labonte's better tracks. During one seven-race stretch, Labonte finished in the top eight all seven times, including winning the 1998 spring race. But he has only one top-10 finish in the last nine events there and hopes to return to the good old days this weekend. "We've got a brand new car for Talladega, so bring it on," Labonte said. "I'm ready."
Last week: Labonte finished eighth at Phoenix for his second straight top-10 finish and third in the last four races to move into the top 25 in the point race for the first time this season. "We've still got some work to do," said Labonte. "We've just got to keep clawing at it. We're finding all the little things that make big things."
Etc.: Labonte had one of the strongest cars in the Daytona 500 but got caught up in one of the many accidents that day. He and everyone at Petty Enterprises believe that with a little luck Labonte can return the famed No. 43 to Victory Lane this weekend.
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