I will be the first to admit, the Talladega Superspeedway is the one track that scares me beyond words. When I was young, I didn’t exactly understand why this style of racing was so fierce, and dangerous. The words “the big one” didn’t click with me until maybe 1996.
That was when I saw my first huge wreck at Talladega on television. Seeing the car of Ricky Craven flying into the outside wall and being torn apart as if it went through a wood chipper stands out so vividly. Since then, I understood exactly what “the big one” meant because so many cars would be destroyed beyond repair, and drivers would continue to talk about it.
I’ve seen wrecks like that happen because of driver error, or because of mechanical failure. In any case, the big wreck at this track always is on my mind.
Last year, I was at this track hoping that fear would be alleviated and I could begin to like the massive 2.66-mile track. I gained more respect for the track, but the fear didn’t change at all.
Sunday’s race at Talladega was the same as any one before, but this one was a very pleasant relief. The new style of drafting at the restrictor-plate tracks that I saw at Daytona, the two-car tandems, made the race more interesting. Sure, the fear of the big wreck was there, but with the new form of racing the big pack that usually caused such big wrecks wasn’t there. The biggest wreck on the day took out five cars. I’ve seen wrecks here that have taken out 14 cars, 17 cars, and even 26 at once.
One wreck a few years ago took out nine cars…and it was only the seventh lap of the race.
Instead, the story was not about how this track had a history of big wrecks, but in how it continued to give everyone an amazing finish. Last year, both races were decided by a pass on the last lap, either coming to the checkered flag or right when the race was called because of a wreck.
The finish to this race was way more than anyone could have asked for.
It wasn’t a two-car battle for the win. It wasn’t even a four-car battle for the win thanks to this new style of restrictor-plate racing. Coming out of the last corner, eight cars had a legitimate chance at taking the win.
When that checkered flag waved, the battle was four-wide across the front straightaway and not one soul was sitting down to see the finish. The No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson was the one that got to the line first, followed by Clint Bowyer. Both Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards were in the mix as well. It was the first time I had seen four cars side-by-side at the line.
The only other racing that was four-wide this weekend was at the Z-Max Dragway in Charlotte, NC, where the NHRA was doing their Four-Wide Nationals.
Johnson won by two one-thousandths of a second, tying the closest finish in NASCAR since electronic timing and scoring was introduced.
Talladega has been the site of many fantastic finishes in years past, and without question this finish was the most spectacular of any last-lap pass the track had seen in the years past. That is what the fans wanted to see, and the 100,000-plus people in the grandstands got their money’s worth.
Do I still fear Talladega – absolutely. Do I have more respect for the track – a bit. Will I never forget this race – without a doubt.
RESULTS: 1-Johnson 2-Bowyer 3-Gordon 4-Earnhardt Jr. 5-Harvick 6-Edwards 7-Biffle 8-Martin 9-Gilliland 10-Logano
NOTABLE FINISHES: 17-Stewart 18-Kurt Busch 23-Hamlin 35-Kyle Busch 36-Kenseth
CAUTIONS: 6 for 24 laps. Lap 29-31 (#09, 22, 83 accident-BS), 91-96 (#2, 4, 6, 9, 21, 22 accident-T3), 129-132 (Debris-T3), 141-144 (#11, 17, 18, 20, 43 accident-BS), 164-167 (Debris-BS), 175-177 (#39 spin-BS).
LEAD CHANGES: 88 among 26 drivers. Gordon 1-4, Bowyer 5, Gordon 6-9, Newman 10, Keselowski 11, Bowyer 12-13, Johnson 14, Bowyer 15-18, Kahne 19, Bowyer 20-21, Ragan 22, Kurt Busch 23, Kyle Busch 24-25, Ragan 26, Kyle Busch 27, Bowyer 28, Edwards 29, Bowyer 30-34, Logano 35, Bowyer 36, Ambrose 37, Kenseth 38-42, Logano 43, Smith 44-45, Burton 46-47, Biffle 29, Burton 49, Kenseth 50-51, Keselowski 52, Earnhardt Jr. 53, Kenseth 54, Earnhardt Jr. 55-56, Biffle 57-58, Bayne 59, Earnhardt Jr. 60-63, Bayne 64-66, Earnhardt Jr. 67-70, Bayne 71, Bowyer 72-75, Johnson 76-82, Newman 83, Johnson 84-88, Newman 89-92, Edwards 93, Martin 94, Menard 95-96, Bowyer 97, Kurt Busch 98-99, Blaney 100, Edwards 101-103, Kurt Busch 104-108, Bowyer 109-110, Kurt Busch 111-114, Smith 115, Bowyer 116, Smith 117, Bowyer 118, Blaney 119-121, Harvick 122, Kurt Busch 123-128, Edwards 129, Mears 130, Menard 131-132, Smith 133, Burton 134, Blaney 135-140, Labonte 141, Truex Jr. 142, Harvick 143-146, Truex Jr. 147, Kurt Busch 148, Harvick 149, True Jr. 150, Harvick 151, Burton 152-153, McMurray 154, Blaney 155-157, Bowyer 158-168, Smith 169, Bowyer 170, Truex Jr. 171-173, Blaney 174-177, Harvick 178-179, Blaney 180-183, Edwards 184, Bowyer 185, Edwards 186, Gordon 187, Johnson 188.
TIME OF RACE: 3 Hrs, 12 Mins, 1 Sec.
AVERAGE SPEED: 156.261 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.002 Seconds
POINT STANDINGS (Top-12): 1. Edwards, 295 points; 2. Johnson, -5; 3. Earnhardt Jr, -19; 4. Harvick, -27; 5. Kurt Busch, -28; 6. Kyle Busch, -38; 7. Newman, -42; 8. Kenseth, -43; 9. Montoya, -49; 10. Bowyer, -50; 11. Bowyer, -53; 12. Stewart, -55.