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TURNING LEFT: Chase Drivers Avoid “The Big One”
By Charlie O. Mallonee November 2, 2009 |
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90-minutes before the green flag dropped NASCAR decided to change the rules for racing at Talladega! Talladega is a track where “bump drafting” is utilized to the max. Bump drafting is when the car behind you comes up and bumps your rear bumper to push you ahead of the other cars. By the way, this happens at 200 mph. Bump drafting is a way of life in all restrictor plate races such as Talladega. On Sunday NASCAR changed the rules for bump drafting. NASCAR declared there would be no bump drafting in the turns. It is not a bad rule, but changing how drivers race 90-minutes before a race is ludicrous. The drivers adjusted quickly and for the most part adhered to the new rules. If you ask Jamie McMurray about the new rules, he will tell you he likes them. What’s not to like? He won the race. McMurray won for the first time in 86 races. This was his third win in 255-career races. McMurray currently drives for Roush Racing. Roush was ordered to reduce his team from five cars to four. McMurray drew the “short-straw”. At the end of the season, he will move to Earnhardt – Ganassi Racing. McMurray was one of 25 drivers to lead the field on Sunday. Fortunately for McMurray, he was the leader at the end of the race. The race ended on the first lap of a green – white – checkered flag overtime period that was set up by a crash (the big one) near the end of the race. Points leader Jimmie Johnson finished sixth, but not until he proved that finish to NASCAR. Timing and scoring had him finishing eighth. The sixth-place finish kept Johnson 184-points ahead of Mark Martin. Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings Talladega Superspeedway AMP Energy 500 UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics- Sunday, 11/1/2009 @ 5:27 PM Central UNOFFICIAL Pos Driver BPts Points Ldr Nxt Starts Poles Wins T5s T10 DNFs Money Won PPos G/L 1 Jimmie Johnson 175 6248 0 0 33 3 6 14 22 1 $6,725,006 1 0 2 Mark Martin 130 6064 -184 -184 33 7 5 12 19 4 $4,861,153 2 0 3 Jeff Gordon 95 6056 -192 -8 33 0 1 16 23 1 $6,046,432 3 0 4 J.P. Montoya 65 6009 -239 -47 33 2 0 7 17 0 $4,919,026 5 1 5 Tony Stewart 100 5969 -279 -40 33 0 4 15 22 1 $6,470,627 4 -1 6 Kurt Busch 100 5936 -312 -33 33 0 1 8 18 3 $4,277,309 6 0 7 Greg Biffle 75 5908 -340 -28 33 0 0 10 15 2 $4,475,334 8 1 8 Ryan Newman 75 5846 -402 -62 33 2 0 5 15 1 $4,656,395 7 -1 9 Kasey Kahne 45 5834 -414 -12 33 0 2 7 14 2 $5,387,267 11 2 10 Carl Edwards 65 5811 -437 -23 33 0 0 7 13 2 $5,190,636 10 0 11 Denny Hamlin 115 5800 -448 -11 33 1 3 12 17 4 $4,608,439 9 -2 12 Brian Vickers 50 5692 -556 -108 33 6 1 4 13 4 $4,398,251 12 0 The “Chase” now moves on to the slot track known as the Texas Motor Speedway. This 1.5- mile tri-oval features 24º banking on the turns and a surface that really grips the tires for all out racing action. Jeff Gordon won the Spring race at Texas. The Dickies 500 is scheduled to start at 12:30 PM PST/3:30 PM EST on ABC Television. |
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