Driver Chassis Selections For Talladega Amp Energy Juice 500

MotorRacingNetwork.com

1. Jimmie Johnson: Coming off seventh DNF in 17 starts; 31st-place finish raised finishing average to 17.8; Won the 2006 spring race; Finished second in both races in 2007; 15.2 average finish in the six races with the COT; Led nine of his 201 career laps in the spring; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 618) in the AMP Energy Juice 500.

2. Denny Hamlin: Scored third top five in nine starts in April; Fourth-place finish came after leading 17 of his 192 career laps led; 18.3 average finish and 142 laps led (most among all drivers) in the six races with the COT; Will return in the same car that he posted a 25.8 average finish and 65 laps led with in the last four races at Talladega.

3. Kevin Harvick: Coming off first win in 19 starts; Victory was first top 10 in the last six races; 20.7 average finish in the six races with the COT; 14.9 average finish and three wins in 38 races on restrictor-plate tracks; Will be shooting for his third consecutive win in chassis No. 237 in the AMP Energy Juice 500; This is the same car he posted wins with in the Bud Shootout and Aaron's 499.

4. Kyle Busch: Coming off second top 10 in 11 starts in ninth; Other top 10 was a win in the 2008 spring race; 16.8 average finish and 101 laps led in the six races with the COT; 21.3 average finish in 23 starts on restrictor-plate tracks; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 260) that he finished 14th with in the Daytona 500 and ninth at Talladega in April.

5. Jeff Gordon: Leads all active drivers with six wins and laps led (821); 27.2 average finish since sweeping both events in 2007; Victory in this event 2007 was first with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 576) that he most recently finished third with at Daytona in July.

6. Carl Edwards: 22.0 average finish in the six races with the COT; Top-15 finishes in the last two events came after crashes in previous two events; Three top 10s in 12 starts came in the 2005 fall race through the 2006 fall race; 20.1 average finish in 24 starts on restrictor-plate tracks; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 693) that he finished sixth with at Daytona in July.

7. Tony Stewart: Won this event in 2008 in last track start with Joe Gibbs Racing; Posted six second-place finishes in previous 18 starts with JGR; Finished 23rd, 35th and 16th, respectively, in three starts with Stewart-Haas; Only two of his 125 laps led with the COT have come with SHR; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 532) that he finished first with in the 2009 July race at Daytona.

8. Jeff Burton: 32nd-place finish in April ended streak of three consecutive top 10s; Five top 10s in 12 starts with Richard Childress Racing; 17.7 average finish in the six races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 312) that he drove to a fifth-place finish in the July Daytona race.

9. Kurt Busch: 12.8 average finish leads all drivers; 13.8 average finish and six top 10s in nine starts with Penske Racing; Eighth-place finish in the spring was 13th top 10 in 19 overall starts; 14.9 average finish in 39 starts on restrictor-plate tracks; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 632) that he raced with in April at Talladega.

10. Matt Kenseth: 27.0 average finish in the six races with the COT; Last of six top 10s came in the 2006 Fall race; Will return in the same car that he finished 28th with at Talladega in the spring.

11. Greg Biffle: Fourth-place finish in this event last year is best in 15 starts; Only other top 10 came in the 2009 spring race; 15.5 average finish and six laps led in the six races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 689) that he finished 17th with in April at Talladega.

12. Clint Bowyer: Coming off third top 10 in nine starts; Has yet to lead a lap in last five events; Second-best average finish (13.8) among all drivers that have raced in the six events with the COT; 16.9 average finish in 19 starts on restrictor-plate tracks; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 294) that he finished fourth with in the Daytona 500.

13. Jamie McMurray: Defending race winner; Finished second in April in first track start with Earnhardt-Ganassi; Three time winner on restrictor-plate tracks, including a win in this year's Daytona 500; 21.8 average finish in the six races with the COT; 21.5 average finish in 32 starts on restrictor-plate tracks; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 1009) that he led 27 laps with in the spring at Talladega.

14. Mark Martin: Coming off 11th top five in 45 starts; 25.3 average finish in three starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Crashes took him out of both races in 2009; Posted two wins and 20 top 10s in previous 38 starts with Roush Racing; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 577) in the AMP Energy Juice 500.

15. Ryan Newman: Finished third in first track start with Stewart-Haas in the 2009 spring race; Finish was seventh top 10 in 17 starts; Posted fifth and sixth DNFs in the last two races after crashes took him out of contention; 21.7 average finish in six races with the COT.

16. Juan Pablo Montoya: Coming off second top five (third) in seven starts; Finish was first top 15 in a Chevrolet; 19.7 average finish in 15 restrictor-plate starts; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 902) that he won the pole with for the 2009 spring race and posted three top 10s in seven restrictor-plate starts.

17. Joey Logano: First two of three starts resulted in top-10 finishes; 36th-place finish in April raised his finishing average to 16.0; Has led at least one lap in every race; 22.7 average finish in seven starts on restrictor-plate tracks; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 212) that he finished 20th with in the Daytona 500.

18. David Reutimann: Has yet to post a top 10 in seven starts; Best finish came in the spring race in 14th; 24.2 average finish in the six races with the COT.

19. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Five-time winner; Second-place finish in the 2009 spring race is best finish in five starts with Hendrick Motorsports; 8.7 average finish in last three starts; 672 laps led in 21 starts; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 563) that he finished second with in the Daytona 500.

20. AJ Allmendinger: Has yet to finish inside the top 15 in four starts; Finished 19th in April in track debut in a Ford; 27.4 average finish in nine starts on restrictor-plate tracks.