Exciting Talladega Finish

   I will be the first to admit I my comment on the possibility of Trevor Bayne and Jeff Gordon being draft partners turned out to not happen. Jeff had only one draft partner all day Mark Martin. The two Hendrick Motorsports teammates carried a lot of horse power as they drove around in the back for the majority of the race to avoid getting involved in a wreck. Darrell Waltrip throughout the race felt that these two had the most speed and potential to get to the front when it counted. However many NASCAR fans can also say the combinations of Bowyer/Burton and Johnson/Earnhardt Jr. had the horses under the hood to get the job done on Sunday.

   I hopefully am not the first to realize that I was correct with my prediction. I selected six drivers with the best chance to win the race at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson happened to be one of them. My loved ones and I witnessed an unbelievable, exciting finish this past Sunday. Just when you thought Jeff Gordon had the victory wrapped up, 3 pairs of cars came from no where to create a 4-wide action packed dash to the finish line. Absolutely has to be the most exciting finish I have seen in a few years. Fantastic showing of team work and skill throughout the race by these NASCAR warriors.

Talladega Results:

1. #48 Jimmie Johnson

2. #33 Clint Bowyer

3. #24 Jeff Gordon

4. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

5. #29 Kevin Harvick

6. #99 Carl Edwards

7. #16 Greg Biffle

8. #5 Mark Martin

9. #34 David Gilliland

10. #20 Joey Logano

*Written by: Tyler McMurter

*Images from: http://galleries.nascar.com/gallery/Aaron%27s_499

Lets Go Racing Boys

*The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is rolling into Talledega on Sunday April 17th, expect the exact same kind of racing we saw at this year's Daytona 500. The drivers will be searching for draft partners before the race to make sure they dont get too far behind the leaders and fall a lap down. It is a 2 mile track, but a lot of the time we see long periods of time without a caution for a wreck or debree which can cause slower cars to find the leader at their back bumper eventually. It will be interesting to see how the drivers do in qualifying on Friday. I dont care who says what, the best strategy is to get a hold of your draft partner and drive your way to the front. It's best to stay at the front to see who your contenders for the victory will be for when it comes down to 30 laps to go. Don't ever forget to watch out for THE BIG ONE, a huge multi-car crash that always takes place at the restrictor plate tracks Daytona and Talladega. Going 190 mph bumper to bumper and 3 wide at some points can be a recipe for disaster.

Gordon and Bayne?

Trevor Bayne shocked the world by winning this year's Daytona 500, it was his first Daytona 500 race and second Sprint Cup Series race. It came down to a close finish between competitors like Carl Edwards and the shocking performance from Bobby Labonte. Trevor had a lot of help from drafting with 4 time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon, they were able to stay among the leaders all day. However Gordon was involved in a wreck and salvaged a 28th place finish. Will these two have the cars to lead at Talladega this Sunday? Will they team up once again? I can't wait to find out.

6 Drivers I think have the best chance to win at Talladega:

-Kevin Harvick

-Carl Edwards
-Jeff Gordon
-Dale Earnhardt Jr.
-Jimmie Johnson
-Kyle Busch

*The race at Talladega is this Sunday at 1 pm on FOX network. If you have any predictions I encourage you to share them.
*Written by: Tyler McMurter
Photos from http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/cedwards00/cup/, http://www.gacksports.com/, and http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/jgordon00/cup/index.html.