The Essentials
Race: Dickies 500Time: Sunday 3:15 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ABC, PRN Radio
Twitter: @FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, Low 70s
Distance: 334 laps (501 miles)
Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards
The Storylines
Ladies and gentleman, there was nothing wrong with last week's race at Talladega -- if you ask Tony Stewart or NASCAR.
This week, each of them blamed the fan uproar solely on the media (mainly ESPN) for ultimately putting such ideas about the bad racing at Talladega into the heads of fans. Race fans, Stewart and NASCAR feel, were induced with propaganda by television to believe that they were getting shafted by NASCAR.
So, what to make of that?
I'll agree -- ESPN's Talladega broadcast was probably over the top with its insinuations that drivers were staging a boycott of some sort by running single file. That had more to dothough with drivers not wanting to wreck more than wanting to make a statement to the NASCAR brass in the control tower.
But the fact remains: problems are evident with Talladega and they need a solution -- and that's not just another media type trying to influence an dose of fans against NASCAR.
In this new era of the Budweiser Shootout field not being determined by pole winners, the fact that Jeff Gordon has yet to win a pole before this weekend at Texas in 2009 has gone a bit unnoticed.
To be fair, Gordon -- by virtue of the old rules related to past winners of the Shootout and what not -- would have been qualified for the exhibition season-opener already in the old format, but had he gone all of 2009 without starting on the pole it would have stopped a streak previously tallying 16-straight seasons of qualifying at least once on the pole.
Yes, Gordon started up front a few times early in the season when he was the point leader and rain washed out qualifying, but it only counts officially when NASCAR allows teams to take laps. So, thanks to Texas, Gordon makes it 17-straight seasons in winning a pole.
Carl Edwards won eight times in 2008, and two of those came during his season sweep of the '08 Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway.
You can bet that he'd like to get back in the winning column -- he's yet to find victory lane in 2009 after just missing out on the 2008 title -- and there's no better place to do it for Edwards than Texas.
Kyle Busch could make history on Sunday if he's the one to take the checkered flag.
He'd be the first driver in NASCAR history to win three races during the same race weekend. Busch took the 1st-place honors during Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race and in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at TMS.
Also, it would make a crew chief a winner during his first race on the pit box for the second time in 2009. Dave Rogers assumed duties as Busch's crew chief this week after Steve Addington was removed from the position.
Earlier this season, Drew Blickensderfer -- say that fast, like, twice -- was leading Matt Kenseth during his first race as crew chief when Kenseth won the season-opening Daytona 500. Kenseth then won the second race of the year at California, leaving Blickensderfer batting 2 for 2 in his career.
