by Jeff Hammond

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I feel bad for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson. Junior is 106 points behind leader Jeff Burton. If he could have pulled off that win, he could have chopped that deficit in half or more. Johnson could have used those extra points, too. It would have tightened up this Chase quite a bit. The racing at Talladega didn't let us down because it kept the Chase for the Nextel Cup tight.

For Brian Vickers, maybe it's a good thing he's not invited to the Hendrick Motorsports team meetings anymore. Johnson and Jeff Gordon have pretty much stated their opinion on Vickers. They have pretty much made it clear that they'll be glad when the season is over. Kyle Busch is the only driver who hasn't openly said anything about his teammate.

You've got to feel for Vickers. In the spring, he made Johnson very happy, helping him win the Aaron's 499. Vickers' intentions were no different this time. He was going to help Johnson win the race. Now, he's being blamed for winning while trying to help his teammate. That's the irony of restrictor plate racing, or as I like to call it, restrictor racing.

Talladega photos PHOTOS: Cup race PHOTOS: Truck race PHOTOS: Juan's first race

Stay the course with Vickers

Jerry from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: Do you think that Brian Vickers will continue with Hendrick Motorsports for the remaining races since he wrecked Jimmie Johnson in Sunday's Talladega 500?

Jeff Hammond: If he doesn't continue, I feel sorry for the young man because he doesn't deserve to be chastised for what happened. If we want to be critical, let's go back to what happened with Johnson in the middle of the race. How many guys got turned around, including his teammate Jeff Gordon? I don't hear anybody jumping up and down about Johnson getting into somebody. After "The Big One," everybody was resigned to the fact that it was close racing. Johnson was involved in it, and he came out of it OK. Other cars didn't.

Before the race, a lot of folks said that Earnhardt was the best restrictor plate driver out there. Yet, during the race, NASCAR and a lot of teams complained about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s aggressivness so you can't make everybody happy. It's another funny aspect of our sport. If people aren't complaining about Robby Gordon one week, they're complaining about Kurt Busch the next week, and Kyle Busch the week after that. As close as the competition is today, an aggressive move can make someone the worst driver in the world. As long as NASCAR stays very competitive, that part of the sport won't change.

Frozen out

Chris from Clarksburg, W.V.: If the field is frozen at the very moment the yellow flag comes out, why did Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson finish 23rd and 24th, the first two cars a lap down?

Jeff Hammond: The field is frozen so the drivers won't race back to the flag. If you're involved in an accident and cannot maintain the speed of the field, then you will be passed, lapped and lose positions. You've got to be able to maintain speed. You can be involved in the wreck, but as long as you're maintaining pace-lap speed, you can hold your place. Earnhardt and Johnson could not maintain that speed. Even if they had picked up their speed after getting spun out, the cars that passed them would have been scored ahead of them.

Plate change was right call

Gina from Wrightstown: NASCAR should not have changed the restrictor plate without giving the teams an opportunity to practice again. It's an impound track for heaven's sakes. If the teams can't make changes after qualifying, NASCAR shouldn't be able to change the rules before the race.

Jeff Hammond: I hear where you're coming from. If nothing else, a lot of crew chiefs would like to have had an opportunity to run with their teammates and see how their cars pulled up in the draft. Yes, it's frustrating. But do I want to run the risk of getting caught in a late practice accident while trying out this little change? You would find mixed emotions among owners, drivers or crew chiefs. NASCAR dropped horsepower such a small amount that they did not feel like it was going affect the teams enough to warrant an extra practice.

Speed Mail Jeff
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The move was made in the interest of safety plus it was as fair for the guy starting on the pole as it was for the guy starting dead last and everybody in between. Overall, the racing was just as intense as expected. A couple of times, the cars bumped up to 200 or 201 mph, and that's not what NASCAR wants. The roof flaps don't operate as well at that kind of speed, which also jeopardizes the fans in the stands.

In the grand scheme of things, it probably was the right call. Unless the Dodge teams found that the fuel mixture hurt them and cost Reed Sorenson his engine, I didn't see any engine problems that could have been attributed to the restrictor plate change.

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FOX race analyst Jeff Hammond led Darrell Waltrip to two of DW's three Winston Cup championships as his crew chief. They also teamed to win the 1989 Daytona 500.

For autographed copies of Jeff Hammond's book "Real Men Work in the Pits" plus magnets, hats and more, check out www.dwstore.com.

For photos and appearances, visit Jeff's web site www.jeffhammond.com.