I just can’t believe it? Jeff Gordon does it again at Talladega! Man, does he know what he is doing there! I’m not a Gordon fan, But I’m not a “Gordon hater” either. I’m Just tired of seeing him win at Talladega. I thought that Sunday was the day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win again at Dega. With all the engine failures at D.E.I. this year I should have expected another one at Talladega. Three Childress/D.E.I. engines blew up, breaking in the lower motor area, Jeff Burton, Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Jr.,and a fourth, Kevin Harvick’s motor, dropped a cylinder by breaking something in the valve train. Not a Good day for D.E.I. and R.C.R.

All in all it was a great race at Talladega Sunday. There were moments when I was getting bored, like when all the cars were running like a freight train up in the top groove. I don’t think that the “Car Of Tomorrow” was a total failure at the super speedway but I don’t think it was a total success either. The problem with not being able to see the driver in front of you wave his hand to let you know he is checking up, showed its ugly head Sunday just like I thought it would.


There were a couple of occasions where it was a problem. On lap 136, When Dale JR.’s engine let go, Dale Jarrett got tagged in the rear by, I think Kyle Petty, Sending Jarrett’s Toyota spinning. After the race Kyle Said he was sorry but he just didn’t see Jarrett’s hand waving. Some drivers wore white gloves trying to alleviate the problem but you just cant see in through the other guys rear window because the rear wing is in the way. I have a solution though. Why not put a little red light on the wing or in the window that the driver can light if he checks up? Instead of waving his hand he just pushes a button. There, problem solved!

THE BIG ONE!

As usual at Talladega, there is always the potential for the big wreck and Sunday was no different. Lap number 145 saw lots of three and four wide racing as drivers were starting to see the end coming. Bobby LaBonte lost control of his car as the rear end just stepped out on him. He was on the outside and in the middle of a huge pack of cars running in excess of 190 M.P.H. when he started spinning. LaBonte and a whole bunch more were involved including Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, David Reutiman, Paul Menard, Dave Blaney, Brian Vickers, David Ragan and Robby Gordon.

HOW DID JEFF GORDON DO IT AGAIN?

Patience! He held back in true Talladega style of late and waited for the right time to make his move. It was well known before the race that being out in front with only a couple of laps to go was a recipe for losing. And that is exactly what Jeff Gordon knew as the race reached the last few laps. There was a time to stay back and a time to go, and he timed it just right. A great big shove in the seat of his pants from Tony Stewart helped too. I’m not all too sure that it was designed to help Gordon on Tony’s part but it did the Job. That was his 12′th plate win in his career and his sixth win this season. That is also his 6th win at Talladega in his career. That makes Jeff Gordon the all time restricter plate track record holder at twelve. There is one thing to remember if you are like me and a Junior fan, Dale Jr. will be driving a car like that next year!

HOW THEY FINISHED.

1 34 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Pepsi / DuPont 190/5 188 Running 246,036
2 19 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 175/5 188 Running 216,461
3 2 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 170/5 188 Running 180,783
4 18 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Ground 170/10 188 Running 140,975
5 16 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 160/5 188 Running 149,025
6 29 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 150/0 188 Running 114,325
7 41 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 146/0 188 Running 127,933
8 11 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 147/5 188 Running 134,736
9 14 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 143/5 188 Running 96,425
10 28 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 134/0 188 Running 114,358
11 23 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 135/5 188 Running 92,625
12 39 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Radioactive Energy Drink 132/5 188 Running 98,750
13 32 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Garmin / Best Buy 129/5 188 Running 103,383
14 31 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 121/0 188 Running 89,325
15 22 42 Juan Montoya * Dodge Texaco / Havoline 118/0 188 Running 115,925
16 9 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 115/0 188 Running 121,891
17 33 40 David Stremme Dodge Coors Light 117/5 188 Running 78,050
18 17 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 109/0 188 Running 105,658
19 15 88 Mike Wallace Ford M&M’s Halloween 106/0 188 Running 108,408
20 37 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 108/5 188 Running 125,236
21 6 127 Jacques Villeneuve Toyota UNICEF 100/0 188 Running 73,325
22 5 00 David Reutimann * Toyota Burger King 102/5 179 Accident 88,233
23 20 16 Greg Biffle Ford Starz / Dish Network 94/0 176 Accident 92,150
24 10 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 96/5 175 Accident 94,120
25 1 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 93/5 175 Accident 88,722
26 25 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 85/0 171 Running 120,066
27 27 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M’s Halloween 82/0 167 Running 102,239
28 12 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 84/5 161 Accident 74,775
29 24 7 Robby Gordon Ford Camping World
/ RVs.com 81/5 161 Running 74,625
30 38 01 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 73/0 156 Engine 82,450
31 40 21 Ken Schrader Ford Motorcraft 70/0 152 Accident 90,514
32 4 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 67/0 149 Running 71,375
33 7 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 64/0 149 Running 71,925
34 42 6 David Ragan * Ford AAA Travel 61/0 146 Accident 106,625
35 8 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Pillsbury Food Service / Cheerios 63/5 144 Accident 107,561
36 36 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 60/5 144 Accident 88,475
37 35 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Vise-Grip GrooveLocks 52/0 144 Accident 78,350
38 30 15 Paul Menard * Chevrolet PEAK / Menards 49/0 144 Accident 70,225
39 3 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 51/5 144 Accident 70,500
40 26 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 48/5 136 Engine 120,768
41 43 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 40/0 136 Accident 69,810
42 13 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 42/5 113 Engine 96,025
43 21 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 34/0 91 Engine 109,840


AND YOUR CHASE STANDINGS

1 +1 Jeff Gordon 5690 Leader 30 6 5 18 24 6,079,660
2 -1 Jimmie Johnson 5681 -9 30 3 6 16 19 6,043,550
3 — Clint Bowyer 5627 -63 30 2 1 4 14 3,543,490
4 — Tony Stewart 5536 -154 30 0 3 10 21 5,583,560
5 — Kevin Harvick 5488 -202 30 0 1 4 12 6,690,380
6 +1 Carl Edwards 5485 -205 30 0 3 8 12 3,853,310
7 +2 Kurt Busch 5475 -215 30 1 2 5 11 4,397,520
8 -2 Kyle Busch 5430 -260 30 0 1 8 16 3,904,640
9 +3 Denny Hamlin 5428 -262 30 1 1 11 16 4,248,590
10 -2 Martin Truex Jr. 5390 -300 30 0 1 6 11 4,157,590
11 — Matt Kenseth 5372 -318 30 0 1 8 17 5,145,980
12 -2 Jeff Burton 5354 -336 30 0 1 7 13 5,163,670

NEXT WEEK

The next race in the “Chase” is at “The Lowes Motor Speedway” in Concord North Carolina Sunday October 13′Th. It’s the Bank of America 500, with Qualifying starting Friday afternoon and The cup race on Saturday night. Television coverage is on ABC starting at 7 P.M. eastern time. Look for the Pre race post after Qualifying is in the books.

Until then, stay safe out there.