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 The No. 88 Chevrolet driver set the record for most consecutive wins
at the 2.66-mile track with four from Oct. 21, 2001 to April 6,
2003. He took a two-race sojourn from Victory Lane with runner-ups
in both events until he won his fifth and latest Talladega race on
Oct. 3, 2004.
That period of time was more than a decade ago -- 10 years and seven
months from Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (1 p.m. ET
on FOX) to be exact.
Over his 20-race winless drought at the behemoth track, Earnhardt
owns a 19.7 average finish and has placed second twice (spring 2009
and fall 2013). In comparison, his average finish when he won five
of seven races at Talladega was 1.3. Still, he ranks third in
all-time Talladega wins, behind only his father Dale Earnhardt (10)
and Jeff Gordon (6). Earnhardt also claims the series-best average
running position (14.5), the second-best driver rating (90.7) and
the third-most quality passes (4,478) among active drivers there.
And, he has led laps in 27 of his 30 Talladega starts.
Earnhardt recently discussed the key to running well at Talladega.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver prefers navigating the track up
front throughout the race rather than sitting in the back of the
field to avoid "The Big One" -- Talladega's trademark wreck
involving numerous cars.
"The guy that's leading the race really is the guy controlling
everything," he said. "He can block and he can do whatever he needs
to do as far as getting in front of the line that's coming to be
able to get the push to maintain his speed. He can do so much more
than everyone else in the field. And that's just the best place to
be."
Since Earnhardt's last win at Talladega, Brad Keselowski and Gordon
boast the most victories there with three. Keselowski took the
checkered flag there in a win-or-go-home situation in the Chase for
the NASCAR Sprint Cup Contender 12 Round cutoff race last fall and
is one of the favorites, if not the favorite, to win on Sunday.
Other candidates to reach Victory Lane include defending spring
winner Denny Hamlin, Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano,
restrictor-plate ace Jamie McMurray and 2013 spring victor David
Ragan.
"The Team Penske superspeedway program has historically been strong
and Joey (Logano) won Daytona earlier this year so we are definitely
well positioned going into this race," Keselowski said. "I certainly
appreciate the challenges that Talladega brings. It is nice having a
win already but we'd like to get another one this weekend."
Elliott climbs XFINITY Series standings, readies to register first
top-10 restrictor-plate finish.
[to top of second column] |
Much of the attention given to Chase Elliott lately has centered
around his five scheduled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts as he
readies to replace Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet next season. Elliott performed well at Richmond Sunday,
finishing 16th in just his second NSCS start.
Quietly, the 19-year-old Georgia native has climbed to second in the
NASCAR XFINITY Series standings, eight points behind leader Ty
Dillon. Elliott posted a fifth-place showing in last Friday's
ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond, jumping Chris Buescher in the standings
as he tries to defend his XFINITY Series championship.
Since his 28th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona, Elliott
has produced seven consecutive top-10 finishes, including four top
fives. The NASCAR Next alum will put his streak on the line in
Saturday's Winn Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET on
FOX).
Restrictor-plate tracks have proven to be Elliot's kryptonite in his
young career. He has only finished outside of the top 10 in eight of
his XFINITY Series races (19.5%), including all four of his
restrictor-plate contests. His best restrictor-plate finish was 15th
at Daytona in his XFINITY Series debut last year. Elliott placed
19th at Talladega last spring.
Elliott feels his experience at the Alabama track from last season
has prepared him for Saturday's showdown.
"It's really tough to plan for a race like this, since there's so
much uncertainty that can happen," he said. "We were in contention
last year late in the race, but got caught up in a wreck, which
eventually killed our day. Going into this Saturday's race, I have
more confidence knowing I've been in a late-race situation there."
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