8 drivers who can win at Talladega Superspeedway
It’s hard to believe, perhaps, but just eight drivers entered in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway have won more than twice on restrictor-plate tracks.
Some believe racing at the two plate tracks -- Talladega and Daytona International Speedway -- is a crapshoot, but clearly some drivers have figured it out better than others.
Here are the eight drivers entered in the GEICO 500 who have won at least three races at the restrictor-plate tracks and therefore will be among the favorites on Sunday.
BRAD KESELOWSKI, 3 wins -- The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ won his first series race here in 2009, famously making contact with Carl Edwards on the last lap, with Edwards’s car going into the catchfence.
MATT KENSETH, 3 -- A two-time Daytona 500 winner, Kenseth nearly won a third this year, but got hung out by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin on the last lap. Still, Kenseth will be one of the drivers to beat on Sunday.
KEVIN HARVICK, 3 -- One of the most dramatic Daytona 500 finishes ever came in 2007, when Harvick made a huge charge on the backstretch on the last lap to beat Mark Martin by half a fender as the field crashed behind them.
JAMIE McMURRAY, 4 -- In his entire career, McMurray has won just seven Sprint Cup races, but four of those have been at plate tracks. In 2010, he won the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and the fall Charlotte race.
MICHAEL WALTRIP, 4 -- A two-time Daytona 500 winner, Waltrip hasn’t run a full schedule since 2009. This week, he’ll be driving the No. 55 Premium Motorsports Toyota. That team has made just four starts this year.
TONY STEWART, 5 -- The three-time Sprint Cup champ is still nursing his injured back, so he’ll start Sunday’s race but will turn the car over to Ty Dillon, who will also qualify the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.
Talladega Superspeedway will host the Geico 500 this Sunday.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, 5 -- Early in his career, Johnson struggled at plate tracks, but clearly not anymore. Then again, the six-time champion doesn’t have many weak spots anywhere on the NASCAR schedule.
DALE EARNHARDT JR., 10 -- The numbers Earnhardt has posted at restrictor-plate tracks are fairly remarkable. Only two drivers have even half as many plate-track wins as he does. So, yeah, he’s the favorite again on Sunday after winning this race a year ago and finishing second here in the fall.
