| Next stop on the Nextel Cup Schedule is | | | | Now, Gordon sits in 6th place at 120 points back |
| Talladega, Bam-da-Lam | | | | from the leader, Jeff Burton. Can he rebound? Is |
| It seems like every week, the driver's standings | | | | 120 points too much of a deficit to overcome |
| in the Chase for the Championship are completely | | | | with 7 races left in the Chase? I would not bet |
| over-hauled. Next week at Talladega | | | | against the 4 time Cup champion. |
| Superspeedway will be no different. With only | | | | Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway Recap |
| seconds often separating 1st from 40th at | | | | There is one thing that the new Chase for the |
| restrictor plate tracks, a driver can stand to gain | | | | Championship guarantees, and that is there are 33 |
| or lose many positions depending on where he is | | | | drivers who have nothing to lose! Any driver in |
| in the draft. And, of course, you can never forget | | | | the Chase will often times make conservative |
| the "Big One"; the wreck that takes out multiple | | | | safe decisions that may cost them a chance at |
| cars due to the close proximity of the cars in the | | | | winning the race. They cannot afford to gamble |
| draft traveling at speeds approaching 200mph! | | | | and come up with a poor finish that may cost |
| Of all current drivers with 2 or more career | | | | them the championship. That leaves the remaining |
| starts at Talladega, Tony Stewart has had the | | | | drivers to take chances in order to win a race. |
| most success. In 15 starts, Tony has an average | | | | Yesterday was a prime example of this as Tony |
| finish of 11th. | | | | Stewart and others took a chance on fuel mileage |
| Also expect the following drivers to do well next | | | | in order to win the race. Both Tony and 2nd place |
| week: | | | | finisher, Casey Mears, coasted across the finish |
| Kurt Busch - Average Finish 12th | | | | line on empty. |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr - Average Finish 13th | | | | For the Chase contenders, yesterday was fairly |
| Kevin Harvick - Average Finish 14th | | | | lop-sided. Only four Chase drivers finished in the |
| Jamie McMurray - Average Finish 15th | | | | top 10. Mark Martin finished the best of the bunch |
| Next Week's Schedule: | | | | by crossing the line in 3rd place. The other Chase |
| Nextel Cup: @ Talladega Superspeedway | | | | drivers faired as follows: |
| 10/06/06 - 03:15pm NASCAR Nextel Cup | | | | 1. (Leader) Jeff Burton had another strong day to |
| UAW-Ford 500 Practice | | | | add to his Championship lead. His 3rd place finish |
| 10/07/06 - 11:10am NASCAR Nextel Cup | | | | boosted him to a 69 point lead over 2nd place. |
| UAW-Ford 500 Qualifying | | | | 2. (-69 points) Denny Hamlin was not very happy |
| 10/08/06 - 01:30pm NASCAR Nextel Cup | | | | with his 18th place finish Sunday. However, given |
| UAW-Ford 500 | | | | the poor finishes by most of the Chase drivers, |
| Busch Series off until 10/13/06 @ Lowe's Motor | | | | Hamlin lucked up and is now in sole possession of |
| Speedway | | | | 2nd place. |
| Craftsman Truck Series: @ Talladega | | | | 3. (-70 points) Mark Martin battled a poor handling |
| Superspeedway | | | | car for most of the day. However, the sly |
| 10/05/06 - 02:20pm NASCAR Nextel Cup | | | | veteran played it smart when it came to fuel |
| Talladega 250 Practice | | | | strategy and finished in 3rd. |
| 10/06/06 - 11:15am NASCAR Nextel Cup | | | | 4. (-84 points) Matt Kenseth battled adversity |
| Talladega 250 Qualifying | | | | early in the race when he spun out on lap 145. |
| 10/07/06 - 02:15pm NASCAR Nextel Cup | | | | The spin came after the #17 DeWalt car tried to |
| Talladega 250 | | | | fix the handling on the car in earlier pit stops. Matt |
| Jeff Burton finishes 3rd to Increase his | | | | finished in 23rd and held on to 4th place in the |
| Championship Lead | | | | championship. |
| Jeff Burton's 5th place finish in Sunday's Banquet | | | | 5. (-96 points) Kevin Harvick hoped to follow up |
| 400 presented by ConAgra Foods was typical of | | | | his win on Saturday with a strong finish on |
| what Jeff has done all season. In 29 starts, | | | | Sunday. However, the gods thought different. |
| Burton's average finish is 12.5. A 12.5 average | | | | Harvick had a poor car and ran in 30th or below |
| finish with only 1 win all year is not flashy, but it | | | | for most of the day. However, Harvick was |
| gives you a chance to win the championship! | | | | determined and battled his way to a 15th place |
| To win the championship, Jeff must maintain his | | | | finish. |
| consistency next week at Talladega | | | | 6. (-120 points) Jeff Gordon appeared to be in |
| Superspeedway. Talladega has not been a track | | | | championship form for most of the day. After |
| where Jeff excels. Over 25 races at Talladega, | | | | spinning early in the race, Gordon fell to 32nd. The |
| Burton has average an 18th place finish. However, | | | | former champion battled his way back up to |
| what's come before is nothing but history. | | | | inside the top 10 only to suffer a fuel line problem |
| Over the course of this season, Jeff has defied | | | | late in the race. Gordon finished in 39th, and |
| the very history that he helped write. If I were a | | | | plummeted in the points from 2nd to 6th |
| betting man, I would not bet against the Burton | | | | 7. (-123 points) Dale Earnhardt Jr had a strong day |
| next week. The timing of the resurgence of both | | | | to help rebound from his pour showings in the |
| Jeff Burton and Richard Childress Racing tells me | | | | first two races of the Chase. He finished in 10th |
| the racing gods are riding shotgun in the #31 car. | | | | and led a few laps to gain the 5 bonus points. |
| Jeff Gordon Plumettes in the Points | | | | Now, Jar's chances of winning the championship |
| Do you like the alliteration in the story title? I | | | | are not quite as far fetched as they were last |
| doubt Jeff Gordon nor the world of Rainbow | | | | week. |
| Warriors out there does. | | | | 8. (-165 points) Jimmie Johnson had yet another |
| Heading into the Banquet 400 presented by | | | | heart-breaking day. Jimmie had the strongest car |
| ConAgra Foods at Kansas Speedway, Gordon | | | | the entire race, and led the most laps. However, a |
| was sitting pretty only 6 points behind | | | | costly mistake on pit road at the end of the race |
| championship leader. And given the way Gordon | | | | proved too costly to overcome. Johnson finished |
| rebounded from early race trouble to run up in | | | | in 14th. |
| the top ten on Sunday, I thought for sure we | | | | 9. (-233 points) Kyle Busch leap-frogged his |
| were seeing a NASCAR legend make his mark on | | | | partner, Kasey Kahne to take over the 9th spot. |
| a 5th championship. | | | | The #5 car looked strong for most of the race, |
| However, Jeff must have forgotten to say his | | | | and finished in 7th. |
| prayers Saturday night. The same racing gods | | | | 10. (-273 points) Kasey Kahne started on the pole |
| that have helped Jeff Burton this year were not | | | | and led the first lap. The only other time Kasey |
| on Gordon's side. Late in the race with laps | | | | saw 1st place is when the leader would pass him |
| winding down, Gordon suffered a fuel line problem | | | | to put him another lap down. Kasey finished the |
| that took him out of the race and left him with a | | | | day in 33rd, and has no chance of winning the |
| 39th place finish. | | | | championship. |