October 3, 2007
By Chuck Abrams

Chuck Abrams

Man, for the second week in a row, the Chasers can’t seem to stay out of each other’s way. Hamlin, Stewart, Busch, Shrub, Harvick, Kenseth…the list goes on. It sure makes the argument against Jacques Villeneuve driving at Talladega this weekend seem a bit weak.

The commonly held belief is that it will be the “other” drivers that may cause trouble for the Chasers and sometimes that is true with the Chasers being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we also have the Chasers bumping into each other like never before.

Going into Kansas, almost all the top 12 drivers had a shot at the title and several were within 100 points of the leader. Now after another crash fest, there are only 2 drivers within 100 points of the leader and 10 of the 12 are within 200 points. So far, only Johnson, Gordon and Bowyer have avoided big trouble so far in the Chase. We all know that Johnson does not have the best record at Talladega so his mulligan may be fast approaching.

'Dega WILL provide one danged exciting race this weekend. The only question remaining is -- will it solidify someone as the front-runner for the Cup or will it mix things back up even more? We could easily see one or more drivers fall so far back that they are never going to crawl out of the hole.

For Burton, Kenseth and Hamlin this could be the defining race for their season. Missing a top 10 here could put the title out of reach for them. For Kurt and Kyle Busch, Truex and Edwards this could be the difference between staying within striking distance of the leaders and falling further behind. For Johnson, Gordon, Harvick, Stewart and Bowyer, this will be the chance to put the boot on the throat of the trailing teams if they happen to have any trouble during the race.

Johnson does not always run well at Talladega so coming out of here with a top 15 run will be key to him staying near the points lead.

And being another Car of Tomorrow (COT) race, the chances for disaster loom even more. The visibility through the COT car is less than the older car and the way the drivers have been banging into each other the last couple of weeks, it could make for a long caution-filled day. Word is that the cars will suck up on each other easily. But if you can’t see through the car onto the track ahead, if anyone checks up you will be into the rear of the car ahead in a heartbeat. That is one thing at Dover, but at Talladega it is downright dangerous.

Add to it the fact that the COT bumpers have proven very tough and durable makes a case for bump drafting causing a wreck very plausible.

My prediction is that someone will slam draft and cause a huge pile up. That someone could be a Chaser or someone trying to fight for the Top 35 position to ensure they are racing next year. In either case, it could be a defining moment in who wins the Nextel Cup this year.

Let me know your thoughts on this or any other racing topic.

Drive fast, turn left and keep the shiny side up.

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