iNSIDE SCOOP: Living Up to the Hype

Talladega Superspeedway is a beast. It’s also really fun to watch, not for the wrecks but for how the drivers go four-wide, wide-open and don’t wreck the majority of the time.

Sunday’s race at the 2.66-mile behemoth was all that and more.

We got down to brass tacks on lap 136, when lap-down Brad Keselowski roiled the pond by wrecking in front of the full field off Turn 4. It got Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, among others, and when you get a piece of a crash at Talladega, it’s a big one.

That led to the usual finger-pointing (and flipping, I’m sure) from Gordon and others. 

“For several laps, he (Keselowski) was driving over his head,” Gordon said later. “He makes some great moves, and he makes some moves that just leave you shaking your head.”

Matt Kenseth, also swept up in the first Big One, was more blunt. “If it was the other way around, we’d definitely be getting lectured.”

For his part, Keselowski said he was trying to stay up front and get his lap back, and the “car just got away from me.” Fair enough. It happens. But, it’s an important lesson for Kes: what goes around comes around.

Carl Edwards caught another bunch on a restart when the left rear tire went down in traffic. He was waving out the window into Turn 1 and the wrecking commenced in Turn 2. Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide was the way it went.

In other news, Danica Patrick led twice for six laps. That was big news for a while, as it was the third race she’s led, but she ended up 22nd at the finish. Of course, among the drivers who finished behind her were Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Edwards, Joey Logano, Kenseth, Gordon and her team owner, Tony Stewart.

Denny Hamlin’s victory wasn’t a surprise. He was wicked quick at Daytona and nearly won the darn thing. It was, however, his first victory in a plate race that paid points instead of money. That’s big, especially since he came a cropper at Richmond, where he’s been awesome.

Greg Biffle ran second, which is the first time we have called his name in the top five in a while. That’s a good run for Biff, who is eighth in points despite not challenging for victories all that much.

Earnhardt Jr. was Jack the Bear in the middle stages, but faded back and lost the draft not once but twice. It was uncharacteristic, to say the least. He was not happy after the race, either.

It looked like the stands were full at the old place, too, and that’s a major victory. The last couple of times I’ve been down there, it hasn’t been. Kudos to Grant Lynch and the gang, including old pal Russell Branham, for getting butts in seats in ‘Bama!