Is Talladega Really A Crap Shoot?

No, Talladega is not quite the crap shoot you might think it is.  The leading drivers in the stats at this track seem to be there for one reason or another...

They being the best average finish over the last 15 races at Talladega Superspeedway

• Brad Keselowski (7 races)         13.0                     
  
• Clint Bowyer                              15.6
• Jimmie Johnson                          15.9
• Joey Logano (7 races)                16.1
• Kurt Busch                                16.2
• Kevin Harvick                            16.3

There's something to be said about those top finishers who seem to outshine the rest of the pack.  Sure, part of their stats involve good and bad finishes, but they get more good than bad... mostly.

But there is that one wildcard worry at any restrictor plate race, and that's being at the wrong spot at the wrong time.  Poor Mark Martin can tell you about that one.  He's always getting caught up in stuff at plate races.

But bad timing can't be ignored, as these top finishers seem to have circumnavigated the bad luck a little better than than the others.  Don't be there when a tire goes down.  Not being there when some stubbornness kicks in gear, and causes a wreck.
Here are the last few winners from this track, and if you'll notice, there are a few repeat winners in this list.  If this track were that random with the "big one" factor, I don't think we'd see this many repeat winners in such a short span of time...

• 5/6/2012                      Brad Keselowski
  
• 10/23/2011                  Clint Bowyer
  
• 4/17/2011                    Jimmie Johnson
  
• 10/31/2010                  Clint Bowyer
• 4/25/2010                    Kevin Harvick
• 11/1/2009                    Jamie McMurray
• 4/26/2009                    Brad Keselowski
• 10/5/2008                    Tony Stewart

Considering there have been 41 different winners at this track, 13 of those winners were pole winners.  Jeff Gordon has the most wins at this track, of the active drivers in the pack. (6x).  Michael Waltrip is out there, but in a radio interview on Friday, he seemed nervous, making note of how not being in the car every weekend has an affect on a driver.  That's a first I've heard something like that from him, considering how well he used to do in plate races.
Well, the green flag just dropped.  I'm out of here and settling in to watch the race.
---