Talladega could scramble title picture

By Mike Mulhern.
Media General News Service
Published: October 3, 2008

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart, who were so strong during the regular season, have fallen to the bottom of the heap in the Sprint Cup title chase. And at 10th (Hamlin), 11th (Stewart) and 12th (Busch), they have virtually no chance to get back into contention.

However, all three should be tough here in Sunday’s AMP Energy 500 ... and if “the big one” happens, what looks like a pretty solid championship picture - Jimmie Johnson vs. Carl Edwards vs. Greg Biffle - could look different come Monday morning.

But bet on a Chevrolet driver winning the pole Saturday (this is an impound race). Chevy teams have dominated plate racing for years. Chevy men swept the top five spots in July qualifying at Daytona, Chevy’s Joe Nemechek was on the pole here in April, and Johnson was on the pole for the Daytona 500.

However, Busch won the spring race at Talladega for Toyota, he won at Daytona in July, and he probably should have won the Daytona 500, too.

The man who did win the Daytona season opener, Ryan Newman, hasn’t had that great of a season since. He’s 15th in points, out of the Chase, and has decided to leave owner Roger Penske at the end of the season and move to Tony Stewart’s new Chevy team. He has had only one top-10 finish since Indianapolis, a sixth at Bristol.

And Dodge engines are still iffy, and Dodge teams haven’t had great luck either.

So what does Newman look for here?

“I definitely like Talladega ... especially when you have a fast racecar,“ he said. “We’ve had a good restrictor-plate car all year. I got caught up in a wreck in the second Daytona race (in July), and we won the 500.“

At least here, the Sprint Cup car shouldn’t be a negative, as it has been at most fast, high-banked tracks. Actually the new car not only seems to work well at this 2.66-mile track but also seems to help keep drivers out of trouble - that rear wing might keep the car from spinning.

Still, the new car has been a handful nearly everywhere for nearly everyone. Newman is known for his touch on the tour’s midsized tracks, but a 16th-place finish at Kansas, a 10th at Chicago, a 21st at Concord. He has had his problems, too, except for that fourth-place finish at Texas in the spring.

“It’s been difficult to find that fine line and then stay on top of it,“ Newman said. “We’ve done it at a couple of tracks. We had a good car at Bristol, we had a good car at Phoenix.

“But our 11/2-mile track efforts have been below average, as far as what we expect.

“We had a good Charlotte test last week, so I look forward to coming back next weekend. But that razor’s edge is extremely sharp.“

Although Stewart has clearly been overtaxed mentally with his two jobs - finishing his career with Joe Gibbs while cranking up a new team - Newman says he’s keeping things under control.

“We’re working on those things for next year, we’re working on the people part of it, and I’m definitely excited about next year,“ Newman said. “But I’m totally focused on this team this year. We have seven races to go, we have some good tracks to go to.

“I’m just trying to balance both situations ... so I can be successful at both.“

Newman says he was amazed at Carl Edwards’ last-lap banzai charge on Jimmie Johnson at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

“I give him an A-plus on that deal. He drove it in three city blocks past Jimmie,“ Newman said. “There was no way I could do that.

“The way he bounced it off the wall and tried to bring it back, it was amazing he got his car to the finish line, let alone get past Jimmie and have a shot at the win. He was wide-open until he saw God, and then he hit the brakes. He bounced it off the wall and tried to keep going. It was an impressive move. He did a great job.“

Another big question is, what’s wrong with Dodge?

Teams? Engines? Leadership?

“I think it’s all the above,“ Newman said. “There’s an equation for speed: The manufacturer, driver, team, people, horsepower, balance, grip, there’s a huge equation for that. It’s not just one thing responsible for lack of performance.

“For me, we had some engine failures. But even with the engine failures we should have been able to make the chase.“

Mike Mulhern can be reached at .