I’m not sure which of the following is more impressive. Kyle Busch winning the Talladega race, or Juan Pablo Montoya finishing second. Perhaps it depends upon how much you love/hate Kyle, or how much you welcome/despise open wheel drivers now racing in NASCAR. Me, I fall into the former groups on both of those viewpoints. I’m really starting to love appreciate Kyle more than I dislike him, and I’ve always welcomed new blood in the series no matter what sex, race, nationality, or even what racing series they come from. :D

The longer I’m a fan of NASCAR the more I notice and enjoy the storybook finishes as well as the records that are made, or in Jeff Gordon’s case, the ones he breaks. I also love it when something happens that just seems too good to be true. Yet I know it’s just that, a coincidence.

The Aaron’s 499 at Talladega provided just such a situation as Kyle Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya drove their #18 Mars M&M’s and #42 Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit sponsored stock cars to a 1-2 finish. Not taking away from their performances, but at first glance it doesn’t appear like anything special or odd. Both drivers likely exceeded most fans expectations as Kyle performed much better than he normally does at Talladega, and Juan posted such a good finish in the restrictor plate race in only his sophomore year in the series. However, come Monday morning a Reuters report announced that Mars was buying Wrigley for $23 billion.

“M&M’s candy maker Mars Inc has teamed up with billionaire Warren Buffett to buy the No. 1 chewing gum manufacturer Wm Wrigley Jr Co (WWY.N) for $23 billion, creating the world’s largest confectionery company.

So, did Busch and Montoya orchestrate a $23 billion photo opp for their sponsor’s parent companies? We all know sponsors make the sport go-round, but is a new phrase in order?

“Win on Sunday. Merge on Monday. :D
 

Crown Royal “Your Name Here” 400

Silly Season Is Underway

1/4 of the way through the year and Silly Season has erupted with Tony Stewart announcing that he isn’t sure if he will resign with Joe Gibbs Racing when his contract is up after next season. Talk is of Tony wanting part ownership in the team that he drives for but I believe that this is only a small portion of what Tony wants. What he really wants is to drive a Chevrolet because driving a Toyota conflicts with Tony Stewart Racing, which is all Chevrolet. I am 99% sure Tony will be driving for a team with Chevrolet’s and, if he can get out of his contract, which will be very tough, it could be as soon as season. Home Depot will follow him to his new team also.

My Pick To Win

This week we head to Richmond for another Saturday night race and another victory for Kyle Busch. Kyle has never won at Richmond but has 5 top 5 finishes in 6 starts here including 2 runner-up finishes.

Richmond Frontrunners

Tony Stewart will give his teammate, Kyle Busch, a run for his money though as he has 3 wins at Richmond and finished 2nd here last fall. Let’s not forget the last Gibbs Racing driver, Denny Hamlin, who excels on these short flat tracks. Denny has 3 top 6 finishes in 4 starts at Richmond and a Gibbs driver has come in 2nd in the last 4 Richmond races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has 3 wins here also and was either good or mediocre while he was at DEI. Now that he is with Hendrick this season he has regained his form on the short, flat tracks and will be a factor once again this weekend. Junior loves to race at night too.

Jimmie Johnson swept the races here last season but has only 3 top 10 finishes in 12 starts at this track. Jimmie is getting better every week and should come home with a top 10 if not a top 5 once again this weekend.

Jeff Gordon has finished 4th in the last 2 races at Richmond but didn’t finish better than 31st in the 4 races before that here. Both Jeff and Jimmie struggle at this track unless their car comes off the truck and is fast right away. Watch how these 2 cars do during the first practice this week and make your decision based on that.

Jeff Burton still leads the point standings but has really struggled at Richmond lately with only 1 top 10 finish in his last 8 starts. This is the weekend that Kyle Busch takes over the points lead from Burton.

Kevin Harvick on the other hand is in the midst of 6 straight top 10 finishes including a win at Richmond. This is another guy that could come out at the head of the pack if everything goes right in the pits and the cautions fall at the right time this weekend.

Clint Bowyer is quietly sitting in 7th in the standings and has done rather well during his short career at Richmond. In 4 races here his worst finish is 12th while his best finish is 9th. That is what I call consistency.

Yahoo! Fantasy Picks

Group A

• Tony Stewart (starter)
• Denny Hamlin

Group B

• Kyle Busch (starter)
• David Ragan (starter)
• Ryan Newman
• Kasey Kahne

Group C

• Johnny Sauter (starter)
• David Reutimann

Stay Away From

• Jeff Burton

Dark Horse

• David Ragan

“

Crown Royal Presents the ‘Dan Lowry 400′

More than 100,000 race fans will visit Richmond International Raceway this weekend to live vicariously through one of the luckiest fans in sports history: Dan Lowry. As the second annual grand-prize winner of a contest created by Crown Royal, Mr. Lowry was awarded naming rights to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, May 3. The race is officially titled “Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400.” Dan Lowry, 29, of New Waterford, Ohio will be treated to an experience millions of sports fans only dream about. In addition to his name appearing on tickets, race merchandise and more, he will serve as Grand Marshal, partake in pace-car laps, watch the race from the #26 pit box and deliver the trophy – emblazoned with his name – to the race winner in victory lane.

A naval engineer, Lowry was selected from a pool of nearly 10,000 entrants as the winner of the Crown Royal “Your Name Here 400″ contest. The Crown Royal Company, which is a subsidiary of Diageo plc (NYSE: DEO), selected the winners from written submissions chronicling each consumer’s fondest Crown Royal memories that were enjoyed in a responsible manner. In his winning entry, Lowry recalled a moment when he wandered into a local restaurant while working thousands of miles away in Venezuela and caught sight of the iconic purple and gold Crown Royal bag. Immediately, he was reminded of fond memories of home.

“This whole experience has been surreal,” said Lowry. “One minute I’m a regular guy from Ohio, and the next thing you know, Crown Royal made me the winner of their contest and part of NASCAR history. It still hasn’t sunk in that this is really my race.” Along with his wife Amy, Lowry will be accompanied in Richmond by his parents and 25 close friends.

Lowry learned he had won the contest during an elaborate unveiling ceremony in February. He met Crown Royal driver Jamie McMurray, loaded into a helicopter and flew high above the Las Vegas Strip to a 10,000-square-foot desert mosaic featuring his name as part of the official race logo to be used at Richmond International Raceway.

“At Crown Royal we believe everyone deserves to be royalty for a day. We strive to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences and the Dan Lowry 400 fits the bill,” said Ami-Lynn Bakshi, vice president, North American Whiskies at Diageo. “We think sports fans will appreciate what we’ve done for Dan, and we look forward to celebrating with everyone this weekend.

In addition to making Dan Lowry a household name, Crown Royal will use its sponsorship of the Richmond race to remind people to, “Be A Champion. Drink Responsibly.” The national campaign under the same tagline encourages consumers to always make responsible decisions when drinking, such as assigning a designated driver.

Fans wishing they could be like Dan Lowry are invited to participate in the third installment of the promotion that will award naming rights to the May event in Richmond to another race fan in 2009. For more information visit www.crownroyal.com.

Crown Royal is the primary sponsor of the No. 26 Roush Racing Ford Fusion driven by Jamie McMurray, and in its fifth year of being a sponsor of Richmond International Raceway.

About Crown Royal

Crown Royal, the number one selling Canadian Whisky in the US by value, has a tradition as long and distinctive as its taste. Specially blended to commemorate a grand tour of Canada made by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain in 1939, Crown Royal’s smooth, elegant style reflects its aristocratic origins and is considered the epitome of Canadian whisky. In addition to its motorsports sponsorships, the brand also sponsors the Crown Royal American Turf stakes race at Churchill Downs and a number of other major regional and national events. For more information on Crown Royal, visit www.crownroyal.com.

About Diageo

Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines.

Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands and performance, visit us at http://www.diageo.com.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere, responsibly.

About Richmond International Raceway

Richmond International Raceway is perhaps the most universally loved racetrack anywhere, as it is a favorite among drivers, fans, NASCAR officials and the media. The Crown Royal presents the Dan Lowry 400 will be the track’s 31st consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series sellout, dating back to 1992.

Year after year, Richmond International Raceway puts on the best short track show, and arguably the best racing in the world. Its unique, 3/4-mile layout produces tremendous side-by-side racing, yet drivers obtain high enough speeds to give it a superspeedway feel. That rare combination still allows for the beating and banging that fans love, with the drivers’ skill playing a major role in winning. In the words of NASCAR Sprint Cup icon Rusty Wallace, those characteristics help make racing at the track and the experience fans have while visiting, simply “perfect.

In 2007, Richmond International Raceway added nearly 5,000 seats, bringing its total capacity to 112,029. Additionally, Richmond International Raceway is the only track to hold all of its major events “under the lights.”

About Roush Fenway Racing

Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating 13 motorsports teams. Five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; four in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Erik Darnell and Colin Braun; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Darnell, Braun and Joey Clanton; and one in the ARCA RE/MAX Series with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.

Kyle (I refuse to call him “Wild Thing”) Busch collects his second win of the season in the Sprint Cup series and now trails series point leader (Jeff Burton) by only 22 points. As I pointed out in my Ranking the Chumps article for the Aarons 499 at Talladega, Kyle Busch wasn’t supposed to win this race based on his past statistics at Talladega Superspeedway. Over the previous six races at the track he had an average finish of 31.7 and an average points gain of 69 points per race. However, it’s a whole new career for Kyle and he’s re-writing his own record book after joining Joe Gibbs Racing. Despite those final two historical stats, Kyle’s season-to-date stats have been nothing short of phenomenal. After crunching the numbers Kyle had the 2nd highest Chump rating while teammate Tony Stewart had the highest rating.

If I were playing a fantasy racing game in my household based on our favorite drivers, then my nine year old son would be kicking my butt in the game. Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch are his two favorite drivers and so far the two of them have combined for 5 wins out of the 9 point races ran so far this year. Thankfully, these wins usually put him in a good mood come Monday morning when it’s time to go to school. Speaking of school, let’s examine the post-race Loop Data Statistics to see if Kyle took the field to school in Talladega, or if it was a Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole.

• Starting Position = 5th
• Mid Race Position = 31st
• 19 Laps to Go = 1st
• Lowest Position = 35th
• Average Position = 18th
  Teammate Denny Hamlin had best marks in this category with a 5th place average position.
• # of Fastest Laps = 5
• Laps in Top 15 = 79
  Teammate Denny Hamlin had best marks in the category with 180 out of 188 laps in the top 15.
• % of Laps in Top 15 = 42%
  Teammate Denny Hamlin had best marks in the category with 95.7%.
• Laps Led = 12 laps.
  Teammate Tony Stewart had best marks in the category with 61 laps led.
• % of Laps Led = 6.4%
  Teammate Tony Stewart had best marks in the category with 32.4% of laps led.
• Final Driver Rating = 90.8
  Teammate Denny Hamlin had best marks in the category with a rating of 125.0

As you can see, it was a Joe Gibbs Racing day! Here are the final laps of the Aarons 499 which includes the wreck on the final lap. Does anyone else wonder if it took NASCAR too long to throw the yellow flag? At :49 seconds you can hear DW call out the accident happening on the track. At :54 seconds there are wrecking cars blocking the entire speedway, and still no caution. At :58 Larry McReynolds calls out that the caution has been waved. Another view is shown at 3:00 in the clip. From there you can see how long cars were wrecking before the yellow was waving. At 3:03 there were four cars up along the outside wall and at 3:22 pole sitter Joe Nemecheck was completely sideways. That would be about the equivalent of the :52 second mark earlier in the clip. Watch it, and you decide.
 

Mid-January I was thick in the middle of a series of posts counting down the final 50 days to the Daytona 500.

Matching the day with the car number, I spotlighted drivers, owners, or other subjects with historical ties to the car number. With 33 days until the Great American Race my post that day would feature Harry Gant and his ride in the #33 Skoal car. A portion of that day’s post also included information about a new racing series that was set to have it’s inaugural season in the Spring of 2008. Harry Gant was scheduled to participate in the the Old School Racing Series which would have retired and semi-retired champion drivers competing in a 10 race regular season schedule followed by a “Last Chance Raceâ€? and a “Championship Raceâ€?. Drivers such as David Pearson, James Hylton, Ernie Irvan, Charlie Glotzbach, Dick Trickle, Dave Marcis, Geoff Bodine, and many more, would join Harry Gant in the series.

Here recently I read about a special exhibition event at Darlington Raceway where Carl Edwards and David Pearson took hot laps on the recently repaved surface of the “Lady in Black.” Carl piloted his #99 Claritin Ford Fusion while David Pearson drove a 1971 Wood Brothers Mercury which was restored by legendary car owner Leonard Wood (who was also present to witness the event) with the maroon and white #21 Purolator sponsored paint scheme. [Click image for larger view. Note, this image is not from the exhibition day.]

This exhibition event reminded me to check on the status of the Old School Racing series as I was planning to attend one of the races in Charlotte in hopes of seeing Pearson and James Hylton race. Well, I was disappointed to learn that the inaugural season has been postponed until 2009. It seems the series was, at least in part, bitten by a bad marketing agent.

From the OSR website, OSR went to the PRI show in Orlando to introduce OSR and the show car to the racing world and the OSR marketing agent guaranteed us that OSR will have 2 “major” sponsorship contracts to sign at PRI.” However, OSR was in for a surprise when they got there. Instead of working out of the OSR booth, the marketing agent was in another booth representing another racing series. We came to find out that he had recently purchased that tour. From August thru December, he was promoting his new series instead of OSR. All of the sponsorship figures he had been presenting to OSR was a lie, for his own series, or just blatantly fabricated. One of the potential title sponsors he was touting had never even received a call from the marketing agent. A big “lesson learned” here, for sure.”

I’m sure there are several other issues that have also played a role in the postponement of the series debut, such as not having enough cars built, the lack of major sponsorship, limited personal operating budget, and more. But it’s truly disappointing that this series won’t be kicked off now until next year at the earliest. They’re in a catch-22 though. They don’t have the funds without sponsorship to build the cars. And sponsors aren’t jumping on board without cars and a guarantee the series will go. Of the sponsors who are very interested in participating, their budgets for 2008 have already been set, or likely spent.

The good news is that while nothing specific has been announced yet, it does look like they’ve got something lined up for a “new plan” or layout of the series. Under the newly planned format, The series will be about much more than just the competitive nature of these drivers. The series will become much more of an event to celebrate the pioneers that molded modern racing, rather than just a race with drivers from the past. The new partnership between OSR and the soon to be named partner has not been completed, but plans have already begun to move forward for the 2009 debut of the redesigned OSR program.”

I certainly wish them luck and hope the series does actually make it to a successful launch. I would love to see some of those legends race just so I could say “I saw _____ race at the _____ track.” :)

Sprint Offers Fans the Ability to Text their Pledge to 81714

Phones will be ringing off the hook on May 16-17 when The NASCAR Foundation partners with SIRIUS Satellite Radio, NASCAR.com and SPEED Channel once again to host the NASCAR Day Telethon.

Starting today not only will fans have the chance to call 1-888-MAY16TH (1-888-629-1684) to make a donation, but Sprint is also enabling fans to pledge their support to the Telethon this year by texting their email addresses to 81714.

As part of that texting campaign, Sprint has issued the Sprint Texting Challenge. The driver, team or track charity that receives the most donations during the NASCAR Day Telethon will receive an additional $24,000 donation, in honor of the 24th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (SPEED, 7 p.m. ET), courtesy of Sprint.

“The NASCAR Day Telethon impacts charitable causes throughout the NASCAR community and brings a wonderful charitable addition to the exciting lineup of events that week,” said Tom Murphy, vice president of corporate brand marketing at Sprint. “The $24,000 Sprint Texting Challenge is just one way we can help The NASCAR Foundation make a difference.

Thanks to The NASCAR Foundation and a group of NASCAR’s media partners, including SIRIUS Satellite Radio, SPEED, NASCAR.COM and MRN, fans will have a chance on May 16-17 to speak with their favorite drivers, celebrate NASCAR Day and make a donation to a charitable cause of their choice. The Foundation has brought together an impressive list of NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers to help answer phones as part of the Telethon event at the Sam Bass Gallery in Concord, N.C., on Friday, and the Sprint Experience at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Saturday.

In 2007, the NASCAR Day Telethon debuted with fans and over 25 of NASCAR’s biggest celebrities, including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and many more, helping to raise much needed funds for The NASCAR Foundation and its Family of Charities. Highlights from last year’s event include a touching behind the scenes meet and greet between Jeff Gordon and Make-A-Wish child Tristan; an unidentified caller who shared his personal story about his child who attended Victory Junction Gang Camp; and SIRIUS personality Dave Moody shaving his famous beard on-air to close out the day’s activities as part of his promise to the fans for helping raise over $1 million for charity.

NASCAR Day is an annual, charitable celebration of the spirit of NASCAR. This year The NASCAR Foundation is celebrating “Five Years of Caring” for the fifth annual NASCAR Day. Since it began in 2004, NASCAR Day has raised more than $4.5 million for charity. As a result of last year’s success, The NASCAR Foundation donated $500,000 to the Victory Junction Gang camp to help send over 200 kids to camp.

By calling 1-888-May16TH (1-888-629-1684) or texting your email address to 81714 on NASCAR Day, fans will be helping the more than 30 driver, team and track charities that the Foundation supports year round. Fans also have the ability to designate their entire donation to one of the charities under The NASCAR Foundation Family of Charity umbrella. Drivers will be stopping by the Telethon throughout the day on Friday and Saturday to talk about their charitable initiatives and answer a few phone calls at the Telethon phone bank. Phone lines will be open through May 19.

The NASCAR Foundation will also launch an online auction featuring several larger than life items like a Dale Earnhardt Jr. custom Sunoco Chopper and the NASCAR Performance Network show car, both of which will be on display for fans to see the day of the Telethon in front of the Sam Bass Gallery. The auction begins Apr. 24 and will run through May 19. Details about the auction can be found at NASCAR Day.

Fans can still get their NASCAR Day pins online at NASCAR.com or at their local participating The Home Depot store, while supplies last!

About The NASCAR Foundation

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc., (NASCAR) launched The NASCAR Foundation in January 2006. The Foundation is a 501(c) (3) non-profit entity that embodies the compassion of the NASCAR Family and its commitment to serving communities. The Foundation supports a wide range of charitable initiatives that reflect the core values of the entire NASCAR Family. The NASCAR Foundation will use strength of the sport and its people to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. For more information on The NASCAR Foundation, please visit the website: www.nascar.com/foundation.

So what section of the paper has Tony Stewart been reading anyway? Perhaps comparing Home Depot stock to that of Lowe’s and Menard’s? Or maybe the grocery store sale flyers for specials on Schlitz? Well, it seems the Classifieds or Employment section would be your best guess.

Earlier this evening SI.com’s Tom Bowles broke news on what is sure to be the hottest silly season topic of the year when he reported that Stewart is in talks to leave Gibbs.

Read the story for full details, but the short of it is that Tony isn’t just considering other teams, but apparently is taking a fancy to the thought of owning a team as well. One scenario floated is a 50/50 ownership in HAAS CNC Racing. This scenario would put Tony back into GM’s Chevrolet cars, the manufacturer he has driven for throughout most of his career. He was in Pontiacs when he first came to Cup racing with Joe Gibbs Racing and then the team switched to the Chevrolet models. Also, GM sponsors Stewart’s open wheel sprint car program.

While I’m not surprised that the rumor mill has Tony going back to Chevrolets, I am surprised this sort of news is breaking this early in the season. The success Toyota, Gibbs Racing, Stewart and his teammates have seen so far this year also makes the news more surprising. Both Kyle Bush and Denny Hamlin have wins, and Stewart has been right there close to winning himself. So it’s not like Tony is having a terrible year now that the Gibbs team went to Toyota.

I never was really fully convinced that Tony was happy with JGR moving over to Toyotas though. (Not that this breaking news proves one way or the other.) However, I’d be willing to bet that while Tony may prefer to be in Chevys, he’s a fiercely competitive racer and so long as he’s competitive on the track then he will “shut up and drive” for the most part.

Here is what I predict for the very short term (too early to make any sort of guess on what will actually happen, or how much of this story is true). The media will surely be all over this story for the upcoming weeks months. No doubt Tony will be constantly barraged with the same questions over and over again. It will be interesting to see how he handles it. I’m sure we’ll get to see some of his smart-ass replies to those truly dumb questions that will undoubtedly get asked. The end result will be a ticked-off Stewart. When Stewart is hot under the collar, there are 42 other drivers who have something to be worried about. This news (even if it’s completely untrue) very well may kick-start Tony’s season a little earlier than when we’re used to seeing him go on a winning tear.

For the record, earlier this week I submitted my selection of Tony Stewart for the Expert’s Picks page. This news makes me all the more confident in my pick for Stewart to win the Aarons 499 at Talladega this Sunday.

So, what do you think of this news? Should Stewart stay with Gibbs for the rest of his contract (through 2009)? Should he stick with Gibbs for his career? Does the CNC HAAS Racing theory sound like a promising option?

Aaron’s 499

Dodge & Toyota to Shine?

After a week off we return to the track for the second restrictor plate race of the year at Talladega for the running of the Aaron’s 499. The Dodge’s and Toyota’s dominated at Daytona earlier this season and I think you should stick with them this week until the other makes can show improvement. Dodge claimed 6 of the top 8 spots at Daytona with Toyota taking the other 2.

My Pick To Win

My pick to win this week is Kurt Busch. Kurt pushed teammate, Ryan Newman to victory at Daytona earlier this season and has 7 straight top 10 finishes at Talladega. He definitely isn’t having his best season, with ill handling cars and mechanical failures but he knows how to get around Talladega in the draft.

Talladega Frontrunners

Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. each have 5 wins at Talladega but I’m not sure if the Chevy’s have what it takes at the restrictor plate tracks right now. Junior was the top Chevy finisher at Daytona in 9th place and there has been a lot of work put into the engines and testing in the wind tunnel after Daytona.

Tony Stewart has come so close at Talladega finishing second 6 times during his career. Tony should be there at the end once again this weekend and it is going to depend on who is behind him at the end of the race to see if he can visit victory lane.

That’s what it comes down to at the end of a restrictor plate race. Who is behind you and are they going to push you or are they going to pull out and try to win the race. The drivers have to hope that when they look in the rearview mirror at the end of the race they see one of their best friends and not one of their enemies.

There really isn’t much more to say for a restrictor plate race and you will see by my roster that I am sticking with the Dodge’s and Toyota’s this weekend. There will be more to talk about next week when we head to Richmond.

Yahoo! Fantasy Picks

Group A

• Kurt Busch (starter)
• Tony Stewart

Group B

• Ryan Newman (starter)
• Kasey Kahne (starter)
• Kyle Busch
• Reed Sorenson

Group C

• David Reutimann (starter)
• Brian Vickers

Stay Away From

• Clint Bowyer

Dark Horse

• Reed Sorenson

“

Aaron’s 499

Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.

Talladega History

• Construction began on Talladega Superspeedway on May 23, 1968.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969.
• The second race was moved from July to October in 1997.

Track Numbers

• NASCAR Cup Series Races: 77
• Pole Winners: 33
• Race Winners: 13
• Races Won from Pole (or 1st Starting Position): 1 (Kasey Kahne, 2006)
• Bobby Isaac won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole at Talladega in September 1969. Isaac went on to win the first three poles there.
• Bill Elliott leads all drivers with eight poles at Talladega.
• Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek and Elliott Sadler lead all active drivers with three poles each at Talladega.
• Richard Brickhouse won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega.
• 35 different drivers have posted victories at Talladega led by Dale Earnhardt (10); 18 drivers have won more than once.
• Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six victories at Talladega.
• Rick Hendrick has won 10 races at Talladega, more than any other car owner.
• 31 of 77 races at Talladega have been won from a top-two starting position, including 13 from the pole; 21 have been won from a starting position outside the top 10.
• The furthest back in the field that a Talladega race winner started was 36th by Jeff Gordon in 2000.
• All of the NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been scheduled for 188 laps, 500 miles.
• Bobby Hamilton won the caution-free 2001 spring Talladega race with an average speed of 184.008 mph. His average speed for 188 laps was just 0.853 mph slower than the Coors Light Pole speed for that race set by Stacy Compton.
• Mark Martin’s pace in the 1997 spring race set an all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup record for the fastest race ever run. He won the caution-free race with an average speed of 188.354 mph and covered the 500-mile distance in two hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished 42nd and 14th in his first two races at Talladega. In his 14 races there since, he finished eighth or better nine times, including five victories and two second-place finishes. His four consecutive victories (October 2001 through April 2003) are the most ever by a driver at Talladega. Buddy Baker (three, May 1975 through May 1976) is the only other driver to win more than two consecutive races there.

Track Records

• Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (212.809 mph, 44.998 seconds, 4-30-87)
• Track race record: Mark Martin (188.354 mph, 5-10-97)

Talladega Superspeedway Race Day Data

• Estimated Pit Window: Every 34-36 laps, based on fuel mileage.
• Race # 9 of 36 (4-27-08)
• Track Size: 2.66 miles
• Race Length: 188 laps/500 miles
• Banking/Corners: 33 degrees
• Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees
• Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
• Frontstretch: 4,300 feet
• Backstretch: 4,000 feet

Sprint Fan Vote Opens April 17

Sprint announced the return of the Sprint Fan Vote, a voting competition powered by fans to award one team a starting spot in the May 17 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Voting begins April 17 and closes at 7 p.m. EDT May 17. Race fans may vote multiple times. New this year, as a bonus to Sprint customers, votes placed on Sprint phones will count twice.

Voting is available through the following channels:

• On Sprint phones text “NASCAR” to 7777 and follow the received directions (standard text messaging and data rates apply)
• At participating Sprint stores
• Trackside at the Sprint Experience

Past Fan Vote winners include Ken Schrader (2004), Martin Truex Jr. (2005), Kyle Petty (2006) and Kenny Wallace (2007).

“I wish that all the drivers could feel what I felt last year when I was voted into the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race,” said Wallace. “It solidifies what I’ve been doing the last 22 years. I look forward to rooting on the winner of the Fan Vote this year.

To be eligible for the Sprint Fan Vote, drivers must have been in the top 50 in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings in 2007 or have attempted to qualify for a 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race prior to March 10. The driver with the most votes who finishes the Sprint Showdown on the lead lap will transfer to the prestigious field. The Sprint Fan Vote winner will be announced following the completion of the Sprint Showdown.

Tune in to SPEED May 17 at 7 p.m. EDT to see who will win the 2008 Sprint Fan Vote.

Eligible Drivers: AJ Allmendinger, John Andretti, Stanton Barrett, Johnny Benson, Dave Blaney, Wart Burton, Patrick Carpentier, Bill Elliott, Dario Franchitti, David Gilliland, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green, Sam Hornish Jr., Kasey Kahne, Travis Kvapil, Burney Lamar, Carl Long, Sterling Marlin, Jeremy Mayfield, Eric McClure, Paul Menard, Joe Nemechek, Kyle Petty, David Ragan, Tony Raines, David Reutimann, Scott Riggs, Ricky Rudd, Elliott Sadler, Boris Said, Johnny Sauter, Ken Schrader, Mike Skinner, Regan Smith, Reed Sorenson, David Stremme, Brian Vickers, Jacques Villeneuve, Kenny Wallace, Michael Waltrip, J.J. Yeley.