1. Will This Race at Talladega Be the Wild Card Race We Have Been Expecting?
Like I mentioned in the introduction, Talladega is always a wreckfest and most of the high profile drivers don't finish the race with a clean race car. This has been a definite theme over the past two races at Talladega with the big wreck that happened there last fall and the wrecks in May. Most of the leaders were caught up in the wreck with Matt Kenseth being one of the only drivers to make it through the crash in the fall last year. Earlier this year in May, a big wreck happened with only a few laps to go and left a lot of current Chase drivers without good finishes. Plus, a lot of other wrecks happened during the middle part of the race that also took out some more Chase drivers. This leads into my question: will this race at Talladega be the same wild card we have been accustomed to seeing? I definitely believe this to be true. For one, you have to look at the truck race yesterday. Only two drivers made it clean across the finish as trucks flipped and crashed behind them. Those guys really had less to lose than the Sprint Cup drivers do today. Because of this, a lot of guys are going to be racing hard to move up in points and this will lead to a lot of wrecks in the race. A final reason is just the track at Talladega. It never ceases to fail that drivers end up wrecking during the race at Talladega. It doesn't matter if they have something to lose or if they don't have something to lose. This was especially evident at Talladega in May. In the final laps, Kurt Busch was running in a pack with J.J. Yeley and some other drivers who weren't and aren't typically at the front. The guys who aren't usually at the front were doing everything they could to make their way up to the lead while Kurt Busch was just hoping to stay out of a wreck. The racing around Busch led to a wreck and he was caught in a wreck that had nothing to do with him. Because of this, Busch had to fight for most of the year to make sure he was in the Chase. All this evidence leads me to believe that today's race at Talladega will be the same wild card we expect.
2. Michael Waltrip Racing Moving to Two Teams in 2014; Martin Truex Jr. Moving to Furniture Row Racing
A little bit of surprising news came out during the week. Michael Waltrip Racing announced during the week that the team would scale down to only the teams of Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers for 2014 and Martin Truex Jr. would be out of a ride. This is the stupidest thing I have heard in years. Listen, all of this is a fallout from the Richmond manipulation. Because of what Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers, and the rest of the MWR team did at Richmond. Truex lost a sponsor from this and now he has lost a ride. This is not right at all. Truex did absolutely nothing wrong at Richmond a month ago. He did not know about the plan to get in the Chase and he had no idea it was happening. Then, after he made the Chase, he was taken out of the Chase, he lost a ride, and he lost a sponsor. I just can't stand it. It makes no sense why a driver who deserves a lot of credit for making the MWR team what it is today is treated just like trash. Luckily, Furniture Row Racing realized the value of Truex as a driver and offered him Kurt Busch's previous ride for next season. I believe this is a tremendous move for Furniture Row Racing. Now, I like Kurt Busch as a driver and I like Truex as a driver, but I believe that Truex is the better of the two and can make a team very good. Like I said, take a look at MWR. Truex pretty much made MWR the respected team it is today and I think he can easily do that for Furniture Row. Plus, he is a respected driver and he is well liked in the garage unlike Kurt Busch sometimes. I think this move could go a long way for Truex and Furniture Row in the future as the years go by.
3. Brian Vickers Out For the Rest of 2013 Due to Injury: Elliott Sadler Filling In; Is Vickers Worth the Risk For MWR?
A good bit of shocking news came out during the week for Michael Waltrip Racing. It was announced that Brian Vickers had another blood clot in his leg and his doctors had ordered him to not race for the rest of the season. This is the second time Vickers has had a blood clot in his leg. He had one in the early part of the 2010 season while he was at Red Bull Racing and he missed the rest of the season. It was also announced that Elliott Sadler would replace Vickers for the final races of the season, but I want to focus on something else. Is Brian Vickers worth the risk for Michael Waltrip Racing? I say no. Granted, I like Vickers as a driver, but he has a lot of health problems. I mean, this is the second time in four years he has had a season ending blood clot. It has to be a major concern for the team and I know they are thinking about it. Another reason is the drivers who really could be in a better ride. Let us revisit Martin Truex Jr. Truex does not have a ride with MWR mostly because of Vickers himself. Again, there were other drivers involved in the incident at Richmond, but Vickers was a major driver in the incident. But this makes me think why Truex is not in a MWR car while Vickers, who has these health problems, would be locked into a ride. No offense to Brian Vickers at all. I enjoy his racing abilities, but is he really a better choice than Martin Truex Jr. or any other driver? Maybe and maybe not, but we will find out in the coming years.
4. Todd Parrott, Aric Almirola's Crew Chief, Indefinitely Suspended By NASCAR For Violating Substance Abuse Policy
Another bit of shocking news came out during the week. It was announced that Todd Parrott, the crew chief for the number 43 and Aric Almirola, had been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating the sport's substance abuse policy. This news was very surprising to me for a few reasons. For one, Parrott is a really respected crew chief in the sport. He was a championship crew chief for Dale Jarrett in 1999 and he has been one of the go to crew chiefs for making young drivers good in the sport. He is very respected and I just don't understand how he could violate the policy of NASCAR against drugs. A final reason I was surprised is because of the amount of drug policy violations recently in the sport. If we go back to last year, A.J. Allmendinger was suspended for violating the drug policy and it has taken up until about now for him to get back to greatness. I can't believe just how many there have been. I also can't believe Parrott would risk that. I mean, he is one of the most respected guys in the garage and now this. It is a terrible thing for him and one that could destroy his reputation in the future. Hopefully, he can come back to the highest place in the sport and he can keep his reputation as one of the best crew chiefs in a while.
5. My Pick to Win
Last week at Charlotte, Brad Keselowski took the win from Kasey Kahne in the final run of the race. Last time out at Talladega, David Ragan took a crazy upset victory over the big dogs in the sport. Last time at Talladega in the Chase, a massive crash erupted in the final corner and Matt Kenseth was one of the only drivers to make it through unscathed. I think the same will apply to today's race. I think the winner of the race will be unknown until the field makes it to the trioval. In fact, I predict the winner will be running in between third and fifth place on the final lap. This is a bold prediction, but one that I think will come true. Today, I am going to take a different route for my pick to win. Since it is so hard to predict who is going to win at Talladega, I will pick who is not going to win. I think Landon Cassill, Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines, Terry Labonte, and Michael McDowell will not be in the battle for the win. Yes, that means thirty eight drivers have a chance to win and yes, they will have a shot in the event. I thank you guys once again for reading through my thoughts. If you guys have any differing opinions on the issues at hand, let me know your thoughts down below. I hope today's race is a crazy one that keeps us on our feet the entire time and one that leads to a crazy finish. I will continue writing for you guys and until we meet again.
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