by Ron Thornton  |  About The Author   |  Discuss

Write it down. Talladega will mark the beginning of a two man Chase for the Championship between Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards.  While Edwards has a 60 point lead based on results over their last ten events, not including his pre-Chase wins bonus, when it comes down to running that big track down in Alabama, Johnson is the man.

Going back to the last five races run at Talladega, Johnson has won once, finished just behind Jeff Gordon twice, and could have won another if not for Brian Vickers punt and run a couple of years back. Johnson was 13th last spring, and recent history tells us to expect him to be among those racing for the win.

Edwards, on the other hand, has had a trio of Top Tens on the track, but half of his eight attempts there have resulted in him finishing 30th of worse. Two of the last three there has seen him finishing 40th and 42nd. Though I see Johnson widening his official lead from the current ten points, I see them both remaining pretty close based on their recent ten race average by the time we update the stats on the way to Charlotte.

It shouldn't be the case for Greg Biffle. In eleven previous starts at Talladega, Biffle has yet to claim a Top Ten. His 18th place finish in the spring was his best result since he was 13th there in the spring of 2005. Biffle has just not run well at Talladega, with an average finish of 25th. Unless he can solve the place, this Sunday could see him tumble from contention.

The guy to watch for could be Denny Hamlin. It is unfortunate he is so far back from the leaders, as he has claimed a pair of Top Fives in his last two on the Alabama track. While Ryan Newman and Brian Vickers should be among the contenders, Jeff Gordon did sweep Talladega last year. Still, even he will require some help.

Now, should the top dogs get caught up in the big one, there are some boys out there who sure would appreciate it.

Most Points (Indy to Kansas) - Indy Points - ‘Dega Forecast
  1. 1677 - Carl Edwards (2) - Indy (175) - ‘Dega (75)
  2. 1617 - Jimmie Johnson (1) - Indy (195) - ‘Dega (129)
  3. 1507 - Greg Biffle (3) - Indy (142) - ‘Dega (93)
  4. 1414 - Kevin Harvick (4) - Indy (52) - ‘Dega (116)
  5. 1300 - Tony Stewart (5) - Indy (94) - ‘Dega (95)
  6. 1274 - Denny Hamlin (13) - Indy (170) - ‘Dega (150)
  7. 1269 - Jeff Gordon (7) - Indy (160) - ‘Dega (146)
  8. 1261 - Clint Bowyer (9) - Indy (106) - ‘Dega (114)
  9. 1244 - Dale Earnhardt Jr (8) - Indy (132) - ‘Dega (106)
10. 1238 - Jeff Burton (10) - Indy (143) - ‘Dega (85)
11. 1198 - Matt Kenseth (11) - Indy (49) - ‘Dega (83)
12. 1184 - David Ragan (12) - Indy (121) - ‘Dega (118)
13. 1181 - Kyle Busch (6) - Indy (123) - ‘Dega (118)
14. 1067 - Kasey Kahne (15) - Indy (146) - ‘Dega (118)
15. 1056 - Martin Truex Jr (14) - Indy (96) - ‘Dega (76)
16. 1054 - Jamie McMurray (18) - Indy (150) - ‘Dega (98)
17. 1053 - Ryan Newman (16) - Indy (124) - ‘Dega (147)
18. 1051 - David Reutimann (17) - Indy (73) - ‘Dega (95)
19.   990 - Elliott Sadler (19) - Indy (165) - ‘Dega (94)
20.   977 - A.J. Allmendinger (20) - Indy (130) - ‘Dega (78)
 

You can contact Ron at thornton@speedwaymedia.com

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