October 1, 2008
By Chuck Abrams
After another disappointing finish at Kansas, Kyle Busch has got to be wondering what happened to his meteoric season that had him written in as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion before the Chase even began.
With Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards up front and Greg Biffle now playing the role as Kyle Busch, we have seen three dramatic finishes that have no Busch to be seen anywhere. That is so NOT the way it was scripted.
Kyle is now over 300 points behind the leaders, a seemingly impossible mountain to overcome. But this is NASCAR and this week is Talladega so should the aforementioned group all crash out early and Kyle wins – he could shave that deficit in half. Now that may seem like a lot of horse hooey to you, but it could happen.
Unlikely, but it could happen. Busch won here in the spring with the other three guys bringing up the rear.
This weekend may also be the last gasp for Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. as well.
Talladega was once Earnhardt’s playground and he and Gordon each have five wins here in the last ten years. If neither of these guys wins they might as well write off the season. Sure, a top five would look nice in the stats, but it won’t do much for the Chase -- if the guys they are chasing all run well. They have to put their foot on the accelerator and the opponent’s throat in order to have a chance at this thing.
Even though he is 243 points out, Denny Hamlin has to be licking his chops as well. He finished third here in the spring and has had a very un-Denny-like season. For whatever reason, the Gibbs cars are not running well. But Talladega is a crapshoot track where you can get well in a hurry -- or see your season go up in smoke just as quickly
This weekend should provide plenty of drama on the track as nearly 2/3 of the Chasers need to get better here. No one wants to let The Triumvirate get any further ahead than they already are. We have seen that the new car runs very well on the superspeedways and I expect a lot of bumpdrafting and possibly some slamdrafting. There are a lot of guys that want to win and who will do their utmost to get out front and win. There is also a lot of jockeying going on for Silly Season so on top of the guys thirsting for a win, we will have guys trying to stay alive in the game of musical driver seats. Can’t think of a better place than Talladega for that kind of freewheeling action, can you?
So make your fantasy picks now folks and get ready to plop down in front of the TV. Or if you are lucky enough to be able to afford tickets and gas in this freaking dung heap of an economy, plop in your seat or on top of the RV for what should be a great race.
Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
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