Gas and Go--Talladega (Chase Race 2009)

This week's Gas and Go comes from Big Bad Talladega. I will give you some insights and takes on this race and how it affects championship hopes.

1. This race is the wild card in the Chase. One slip-up by Jimmie Johnson (him getting involved in the Big One) could dramatically alter the landscape of the championship.
2. A driver could be leading the race with one to go, get freight-trained, and end up finishing in the 30's. Yes, it's possible to go from first to 30th in one lap.
3. Unlike most races, Talladega has qualifying on Saturday.
4. Last year's race involved the bonehead move of the year: Carl Edwards bump drafting Greg Biffle in the corner and causing the Big One that effectively ended half of the Chase field's hopes of winning the championship. Somehow, Jimmie Johnson escaped despite being in the middle of the melee. Kevin Harvick took exception to Edwards' move, calling him out for it on national TV. That led to a scuffle a few days later between Edwards and Harvick in Harvick's Nationwide Series garage.
5. Tony Stewart won last year's race when it was determined that Regan Smith improved his position when he went below the double yellow line just before taking the checkered flag. Just before the checkered flag, Stewart went to block Smith, who went below the double yellow. The lack of experience of Paul Menard and Aric Almirola prevented either one of them from taking the checkered flag. Had they worked together, Menard would have won the race.
6. Last year's race set a NASCAR record with 28 different leaders.
7. Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya made his NASCAR debut at Talladega in 2006, testing for Felix Sabates in an ARCA car one week before the ARCA race at Talladega.
8. Thinking of you: The Alabama Gang.
9. Look for the usual suspects to run well: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin. My dark horse: Casey Mears.

Predicted Race Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya. Three years after his first test in a NASCAR stock car, he drives the #42 Target Chevrolet into Victory Lane and wins over the old-school Alabama fans.