It’s a fact that letting a non-Chase qualifier win a race represents points left on the table for the 12 competitors battling for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.
At Talladega Superspeedway, not so much.
No driver will be holding anything back – especially on the final laps – but philosophically, a solid finish at the unpredictable Alabama track is the equivalent of a win at the other nine Chase tracks.
That’s why it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a “spoiler” go to Victory Lane following Sunday’s race. It’s happened before – three times since the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format was instituted in 2004.
• Jamie McMurray was the most recent non-Chase winner of Talladega’s fall race in 2009, edging Chase qualifier Kasey Kahne in a race that ended under caution.
• Brian Vickers won in 2006 with Kahne, again, the runner-up finisher.
• Dale Jarrett took the victory in 2005, the last of 32 wins scored by the 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.
Last year’s Sam’s Club 500, won by Clint Bowyer in a one-two finish with Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick, saw three non-Chase qualifiers – Juan Pablo Montoya, David Reutimann and Joey Logano – finish among the top five.
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