Week 10 Preview: Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway

Aaron's 499

By Richard Tix

Richmond International Speedway gave NASCAR fans some fireworks! Literally we got to see some fire a few times with right front tires going down all night. Fans also got to see a little smoke when Brad Keselowski got upset after the race and may have let his emotions get the best of him (I will still argue that driver should let it out, right or wrong).

Also on Saturday fans got a UFC bout (no not the Jon "Bones" Jones fight) but the one between Ambrose and Mears.

Now NASCAR heads to Talladega for the first time in 2014. Dega is not the kind of track drivers look to get back at others at, so we should see some cool down in that aspect, but plate racing still brings out the best (or worst) in people. New tempers may fire and guys may find tough luck. Dega also brings a sense of excitment because this is a track where the little guy always seems to have a shot.

So, will a small team steal a win and create a story line for the remaining regular season? This Sunday we will find out. Want to go back in time? Check out last years Preview and Review, also check out the old Tweets of the Week from Dega week.

The Good, Middle, and Bad

(This is just a review of each drivers recent past performance, generally about 5-10 past races)

The Good:

• Clint Bowyer- His last three have been a little up and down, but before that he Bowyer had 5 straight top 10's, with two wins and a runner up finish. To go with that, he has the best average finish of any driver who has run the last 10 races here (11.9).
• Brad Keselowski- Its only fitting that BK makes this list, after all his first career Cup win was at Dega. I will note, last year BK did not have good finishes here, but none of 2013 went BK's way. He and Clint Bowyer are the only two drivers to have 6 top 10's in the last 10 races here, two of which are wins.
• David Ragan- Yes, Ragan had the improbable win last year at Talladega during the Spring, but no that is not the only reason he is on this list. He also has a run of 4 straight top 10's, two of which are top 5's. In his last 10 starts he has 5 top 10's, not bad for a little guy.
• Extra Credit- Ricky Stenhouse Jr

The Middle:

• Aric Almirola- Really, this spot belongs to just about every Cup driver. Dega is so unpredictable it is tough just looking at finishing position. But NBTW will go with Aric this week with career finishes of 20th, 12th, 19th, 10th, and 22nd. Last time here, during the Chase, Aric ended up starting the race 1st. 
• Extra Credit: Almost everyone fits in this category

The Bad (or this week, the bad luck category)

• Paul Menard- One way or another, Paul Menard just cant seem to finish in the top ten by the end of a Talladega race. In his last ten starts he has one top 10. I will say this for every driver, this is just the nature of the beast so finding yourself on the bad list this week isn't near as bad as most.
• Denny Hamlin- His last two finishes at Dega have not been pretty. The first time around he finished 34th and the second time he had engine issues and finished 38th. DH will look to bounce back from his bad luck this week. Only 3 top 10's in his last 10 starts here.
• Marcus Ambrose- One top 10 in his last 10, and that was 10 races ago (4th). Since then he has only two finishes inside the top 15 and only 3 inside the top 20 (last 9 races). Bad luck or whatever, its hard to say he will be near the top 10 when the checkered flag falls.

Talladega Weekend Information:

• TV/Race Schedule
• Driver Entry List
• Juan Pablo Montoya Returns to NASCAR
• Social Media Review: Richmond
• This Week in NASCAR: 4/28
• Talladega Fantasy Info- Head over to ThisSportz, they have you covered in fantasy plus much more!