2015 Chase Grid Outlook
| ||||
Pos.
|
Drivers
|
Wins
|
Points
|
Chase Bonus Pts
|
1
|
Kevin Harvick
|
2
|
394
|
6
|
2
|
Jimmie Johnson
|
2
|
342
|
6
|
3
|
Joey Logano
|
1
|
335
|
3
|
4
|
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
|
1
|
319
|
3
|
5
|
Brad Keselowski
|
1
|
305
|
3
|
6
|
Matt Kenseth
|
1
|
292
|
3
|
7
|
Denny Hamlin
|
1
|
281
|
3
|
8
|
Kurt Busch
|
1
|
255
|
3
|
9
|
Martin Truex Jr.
|
0
|
354
|
0
|
10
|
Jamie McMurray
|
0
|
297
|
0
|
11
|
Kasey Kahne
|
0
|
286
|
0
|
12
|
Paul Menard
|
0
|
280
|
0
|
13
|
Aric Almirola
|
0
|
279
|
0
|
14
|
Jeff Gordon
|
0
|
277
|
0
|
15
|
Ryan Newman
|
0
|
271
|
0
|
16
|
Danica Patrick
|
0
|
253
|
0
|
Outside Looking In
| ||||
17
|
Clint Bowyer
|
0
|
249
|
0
|
18
|
Carl Edwards
|
0
|
240
|
0
|
19
|
AJ Allmendinger
|
0
|
229
|
0
|
20
|
David Ragan
|
0
|
224
|
0
|
21
|
Casey Mears
|
0
|
217
|
0
|
22
|
Greg Biffle
|
0
|
210
|
0
|
23
|
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
|
0
|
207
|
0
|
24
|
Kyle Larson
|
0
|
207
|
0
|
25
|
Austin Dillon
|
0
|
203
|
0
|
26
|
David Gilliland
|
0
|
200
|
0
|
27
|
Justin Allgaier
|
0
|
193
|
0
|
28
|
Sam Hornish Jr.
|
0
|
182
|
0
|
29
|
Trevor Bayne
|
0
|
177
|
0
|
30
|
Tony Stewart
|
0
|
174
|
0
|
Green = Locked into the Chase, provided they attempt to qualify for the remaining regular season races
| ||||
Orange = No wins, Inside the current Chase Grid's top 16 - Currently in the Chase, not locked in
| ||||
Red = Inside the current top 30 in points, outside of the Chase cutoff
| ||||
Monday, May 4, 2015
2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Outlook following Talladega
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Talladega Practice Notes: Don't put too much into practices in plate races
 |
| Denny Hamlin won his first career plate race last season at Talladega |
Seven drivers, including Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer, didn’t even participate in the second session Friday, believing nothing else could be gained by driving around the 2.66-mile course they didn’t already discover from the first one, or from the package they ran during Daytona Speedweeks in February.
When compiling the components that go into a driver rating, practices and start position are usually big factors. But at Talladega, the practice speeds aren’t indicative of how the cars will run on race day, but more about who they were hooked up with in the draft. So when you see Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael Waltrip and Chris Buescher go 1-2-3 in the first session, it should not be weighed as heavily as it would be at Richmond or Charlotte.
An effective handicapping approach to Sunday’s race is to look at some recent history at Talladega and a little bit of Daytona as well. While the new rules package has affected every team immensely on 1.5-mile tracks, little has changed in the restrictor-plate package from the previous two seasons.
There have been a wide variety of winners between the past nine plate races, ranging from longshots like David Ragan and Jamie McMurray at Talladega in 2013 to Penske Racing at the two most recent plate races with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. But here’s a strong trend to consider: Hamlin has averaged a sixth-place finish in his past five plate races, including winning this race last year at Talladega.
History is very relevant here, and with up to 38 drivers having a legitimate shot at winning, it’s really the only concrete piece of pre-race data on which to base your wagers. So when you look at the drivers ranked below in order of their rating, understand these practice and qualifying speeds from Friday and Saturday mean very little to the equation.
Read More Here.....Final Driver Ratings
Jeff Gordon grabs Talladega pole, his third of season and 80th of career
Gordon, in his final full season driving the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet, notched a fast lap of 194.793 mph on the 2.66-mile track. The Coors Light Pole Award was also Gordon's third of the season and fourth at Talladega.
Kasey Kahne pushed the Hendrick No. 5 Chevy to a lap of 193.685 mph, snaring the second starting spot for Sunday's GEICO 500 (1 p.m. ET, FOX). Gordon, the last driver to make a qualifying attempt, was .281 seconds better than teammate Kahne.
Ryan Blaney qualified third at 193.611 mph in theWood Brothers Racing No. 21 Ford. TeammatesDale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson were next, placing all four Hendrick Motorsports cars in the top five starting spots.
The session was the series' first since NASCAR mandated rules changes for qualifying on tracks where restrictor plates are used to limit engine horsepower. The group qualifying format introduced before the 2014 season often created large aerodynamic packs, gamesmanship and the threat of multi-car crashes.
Talladega Facts
 |
| Earnhardt Jr. trying to win his first Talladega race since 2004 |
· Dave Marcis and Terry Labonte lead the series in starts at Talladega with 61 each. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 44 starts; followed by Tony Stewart with 31.
· 44 different drivers have won at Talladega Superspeedway, led by Dale Earnhardt with 10. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.
· Buddy Baker and Tony Stewart are tied for the series' most runner-up finishes at Talladega with six each.
· NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-five finishes at Talladega with 23. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 15.
· Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-10 finishes at Talladega with 27. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 19.
· Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Talladega with a 10.192.
· Clint Bowyer leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Talladega with a 14.444.
· Jamie McMurray (10/06/2002) made his series debut at Talladega Superspeedway.
· Brian Scott (05/04/2014), David Gilliland (10/08/2006) and Travis Kvapil (10/05/2008) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Talladega.
· 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski (04/26/2009) and Brian Vickers (10/08/2006) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Talladega.
· Nine drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Talladega; Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the series in consecutive wins at Talladega after posting four straight from the fall of 2001 - 2003.
· Brad Keselowski is the only active series driver to win at Talladega in his first appearance.
· Matt Kenseth competed at Talladega Superspeedway 25 times before winning the fall of 2012; the longest span of any the 12 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.
· Matt Kenseth (25), Tony Stewart (19), Kevin Harvick (18), and David Ragan (12) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Talladega.
· Kurt Busch leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Talladega without visiting Victory Lane at 28; followed by Ryan Newman with 26.
· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Talladega with 847 laps led in 44 starts.
· Three female drivers have competed at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie, Patty Moise and Danica Patrick.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Greg Biffle fastest in final Talladega practice session
 |
| Cool Michael Waltrip helmet, and he was 2nd fastest in practice 1 |
The restrictor-plate races are a crap shoot, and for the most part, the practices mean little. Biffle was a quality candidate to win before practices just because of Roush Fenway Racing having some semblance of an edge they don't have on other type of tracks.
Tony Stewart showed that he might be finally ready for 2015 action after a sluggish start by having the second fastest lap at 197.859 mph. He's been quite adept at plate racing over his career, but his 2008 Talladega win remains his only win on the track.
Aric Almirola (197.696) was next with the third fastest speed, followed by Jimmie Johnson (197.175) and Austin Dillon (197.122). Almirola won at Daytona last July to get himself a ticket into the Chase and Johnson is a two-time Talladega winner, the last coming in 2011.
Rounding out the top-10 fastest drivers during the final session were Matt Kenseth (196.839), David Ragan (196.669), Sam Hornish Jr. (194.603), Casey Mears (194.456) and Brian Scott (193.881) posting the 10th fastest lap speed. Ragan won this race in 2013 at 100-to-1 odds.
Just some friendly betting advice: don't go all in with any of the two practice speeds witnessed on Friday. Most drivers and teams don't care about the session in plate races, so why should you.
Practice 2 Speeds - Biffle fastest
Practice 1 Speeds - Stenhouse fastest
Just some friendly betting advice: don't go all in with any of the two practice speeds witnessed on Friday. Most drivers and teams don't care about the session in plate races, so why should you.
Practice 2 Speeds - Biffle fastest
Practice 1 Speeds - Stenhouse fastest
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