The UAW-Ford 500, set for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Talladega Superspeedway, is, in the most popular phrase in the garage area, the “wild card” in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup. Talladega’s propensity for a big wreck always worries the contenders, who might be innocent bystanders in somebody else’s mistake.
To think that NASCAR got through all its craziness at Kansas and there’ll be nothing outrageous at Talladega is just a pipe dream.
“Obviously going in this time we have a lot more variables than what we’ve had before (with the debut of the Car of Tomorrow),” Harvick said. “So I think Talladega is just Talladega. We could have the same mess like in Kansas and tearing up cars and everybody is being aggressive trying to get everything they can. And unfortunately everybody’s kind of had some trouble the first three races.
“Heck, we could come out and be turned upside down again for sure.”
At troublesome Talladega, “upside down” could be literal or figurative. MARK McCARTER, The Huntsville Times
Don’t expect the Car of Tomorrow to bring a new day of racing to Talladega Superspeedway, say Nextel Cup drivers. Instead, look for NASCAR’s new vehicle to intensify the unique aspects of Talladega-style racing when it makes its restrictor-plate debut on Sunday.
That means the UAW-Ford 500 could be a nose-to-tail, four-wide, bump-drafting, position-swapping speed extravaganza. Or maybe one big, smoking pile of colorful metal.
“At Talladega, we’re going to put on a spectacular race,” five-time track champion Jeff Gordon said. MARK INABINETT, Al.com
Two differences in the COT could make the racing more challenging at Talladega: The wing on the back of the car obscures a driver’s view through the window of the car in front of him. And the car’s bigger body creates a larger vacuum behind it. Within that vacuum, a trailing car has a faster closing rate in the draft.
‘I think it’s going to be a crazy race,’ said Matt Kenseth, one of Roush’s two drivers in the Chase. ‘I think you’re going to be three-wide most of the time, and I would be surprised if nobody runs into anybody else because it’s a little more difficult to see out of the COT cars, and they suck up faster in the draft.
Drivers use a combination of vision, radio communication with their spotters and sixth sense to know where the other cars are around them.
When other cars make sudden moves, a driver has to react without imputing information, and if he can’t see, he’s guessing. TBO.com
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