Driver Recommendations for 2010 Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Only four races left in the season and Jimmie holds a slim 6 point lead over Denny Hamlin and 62 point lead over Kevin Harvick.  Historically Talladega has been a bad track for Jimmie.  In 17 races he only has 7 top ten finishes and an average finish of 17.8, but does have one win.  If Hamlin or Harvick are going to catch Jimmie, they need to make their move this weekend, it may be their only chance.

This Week’s Recommendations

Chaser: Kurt Busch
Kurt Bush has the best average finish at Talladega among active drivers at 12.8.  In his 19 career races at the track he has 13 top ten and 6 top five finishes, but a win has eluded him so far.  He’s also been pretty hot over the last five races averaging a 13.6 place finish.    Jimmie is the best, but at Talladega Kurt has a real shot to do better than him and possibly get a win.

Alternate Chaser: Tony Stewart
Tony hasn’t done well at Talladega recently with only one top ten in the last five races here, but he’s due for a good run here and some luck.  Over his career has 12 top ten and 9 top five finishes with one win.  He’s obviously a great driver and knows how to win, so he’s as  good of a pick as any chaser to have on your team.

Brad Keselowski
Brad’s first and only win of his career came here in last year’s spring race, and he finished 8^th in the fall race.  If Brad can keep his nose clean he should finish in the top ten.  He seems to run well here and knows what it takes to win here.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale is averaging a 14^th place finish here and is second among active drivers with 5 wins at Talladega.  He’s been pretty bad this season, but throughout his career one thing has been constant, he does well at Talladega.  Let’s face it, Dale has been a disappointment this year and really needs to start focusing on positives to take into 2011.  Talladega can be one of them.  He’s awesome here and should do well again this weekend.

Dark Horse: David Ragan
This is a track that David has actually done really well at in his career.  He has three top ten and two top five finishes at Talladega.  In his last five at the track he’s averaged a 8.4 place finish.  I may be crazy, and I know he’s 24^th in points, but David should have a good run this weekend and challenge for a top ten finish.