The ninth Sprint Cup race of the 2010 NASCAR season takes us to Talladega Superspeedway for the Aaron’s 499 this Sunday, April 25th starting at 1:00 P.M. (ET). This is the first of two races scheduled for Talladega with the next one being the last weekend in October. Denny Hamlin won last week in Texas to notch his second victory of the year, but Jimmie Johnson is still dominating this season with three wins and six top 10 finishes. He currently holds the top spot in the Sprint Cup standings with 1248 points. Johnson is the odds-on-favorite to win again this week, but there are a few drivers that might have something to say about that. The following is a preview of the top seven drivers in the Sprint Cup point standings along with their current odds to win this week.
Johnson finished second last week increasing his lead in the points’ standings over the rest of the field. Last year in this race was not one of his better efforts as he started from the 36th spot and finished 30th completing only 179 of the 188 total race laps. He won this race in 2006 after starting 16th as was second in 2007 after starting eighth. Overall he has seven top 10 finishes at Talladega and four in this race.
After last week’s race Kenseth has a total of 1140 points, 108 out of first. Last year in this race he started 13th and finished 17th. His best career effort was in 2006 when he started 12th and finished sixth. He does have six top 10 finishes at this track and two in this race, but has not cracked the top 10 in three years.
Biffle maintained the third spot in the standings with 1120 points, 128 out of the lead. His best career finish in this race was last year when he started second and finished seventh. He also finished in the top 10 later that season when he started eighth and finished fourth. In the previous three years he only managed one top 10 finish in six races at this track which explains the long odds on him this week.
Kevin Harvick 12-1
With 1107 points, Harvick is still in fourth place; 141 back. Last year in this race he started 21st and finished 21st. His best performance was in 2003 when he started and finished second. Overall he has seven top 10 finishes at this track and three in this race with the last one coming in 2007.
Despite wrecking last week in Texas, Gordon is still fifth in the standings with 1028 points, 220 behind Johnson. Last year in this race he started third and finished 20th. He is always a threat to win at Talladega as he has taken the checkered flag four times in this race; 2007, 2005, 2004, and 2000 and has six career victories at this track. Overall he has 16 top 10 finishes and nine in this race.
After a slow start, Busch has climbed up to sixth place in the Chase with 1020 points, 228 out of first. Last year in this race he started 23rd and finished 25th. He did win this race in 2008 after starting from the fifth position. In his 10 career starts at Talladega this was his only top 10 finish.
Dale Jr. has been steadily climbing up the standings all season long and he currently has 1013 points, 235 out of the lead. Last year in this race he started 11th and finished second to finally return to the five after a four year absence. He has won this race twice; in 2003 after starting 13th and in 2002 after starting fourth. Junior dominated this track in the early 2000’s by winning five out of seven races from 2001-2004, finishing second in the two he did not win.
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