Races atTalladega (Ala.) Superspeedway are always viewed as unpredictable.
Talladega is one of only two racetracks on the Sprint Cup circuit where restrictor plates are used. By definition, a restrictor plate is a device installed at the air intake of an engine to limit its power. The use of a restrictor plate both limits speed and increases safety, and provides an equal level of competition. Races at Talladega and its sister track, Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, are races where literally anyone can win. Horsepower-choked engines require drivers to draft together, side-by-side at speeds approaching 200 mph.
Some drivers elect to drop to the back of the pack and ride, waiting until the late stages of the race to make their move toward the front of the field. Other drivers will do whatever they can to stay at the front of the field throughout the race. Other drivers find themselves stuck in the middle, an area that can be somewhat of a disaster zone.
One driver will win the race. Some drivers will finish. Others will be involved in the almost inevitable “big one” – a multicar accident that typically eliminates multitudes of drivers prematurely.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is one driver who can breathe a little easier heading to the famed 2.66-mile track for Sunday’s Aaron’s 499. As one of only two drivers with multiple Sprint Cup wins in 2014, his ticket into the postseason’s 16-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship can be considered punched.
Harvick finds himself entering Talladega in a bit of a different situation than he has in past years. With the new “win-and-you’re-in” Chase format, he doesn’t have to worry about where he’s running in relation to drivers he is challenging in the point standings, or having to push the issue if he simply doesn’t feel that he’s in a position to do so.
What Harvick has at Talladega is an opportunity to take the race as it comes, and either go for the win if he feels he’s got a shot at it, or race conservatively – well, as conservatively as one can at Talladega – and bring his Jimmy John’s Chevrolet home in one piece. But, with one Talladega win in April 2010 and two wins at Daytona in February 2007 and July 2010, expect him near the front of the pack when it’s time to fight for the checkered flag.
TSC PR
