Aaron's 499 Race Preview

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Talladega Superspeedway -- 04/27/08
Published: Tuesday Apr 22 2008 11:20pm

Talladega Superspeedway - the name immediately evokes images of wicked fast restrictor plate racing, multi-car drafting packs, and spectacular wrecks.

Dega humbly bills itself as the biggest, fastest, and most competitive motorsports facility in the world. It's a 2.66-mile, high-banked tri-oval course. The north and south turns are banked at 33 degrees, with 16.5 degrees of banking in the tri-oval.

There have been a total of 77 Cup races at Talladega dating back to the first one in 1969, but in recent years this has arguably been the House of Chevy. Over the past 36 races going back to the spring of 1990, 28 of them (77%) have been one by GM, with the remaining won by six Fords, a Pontiac, and even an Oldsmobile.

Statistically, Talladega has never favored Dodges, at least in terms of wins. You'd have to go all the way back to Dave Marcis in 1976 to find a Dodge driver in Victory Lane.

Among active drivers, Jeff Gordon (+525) has the most wins here with six in 30 Cup starts, including four wins in the past eight races and the sweep in 2007.

Other multi-race winners include Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+485) with five wins in 16 starts, and Mark Martin with two in 42 starts.

Although Dale Jr. won four straight here between 2001 and 2003, his last win came in the fall of 2004, and he's had only one top-10 finish in his past six Talladega starts.

Single race winners at Talladega include Brian Vickers, Bobby Labonte, Jimmie Johnson (+785), and Michael Waltrip.

Three drivers who've yet to win here lead the average finish category: Kurt Busch (+1400) at 10.0, Tony Stewart (+625) at 12.6, and Kevin Harvick (+1825) at 13.6.

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