There is a single word that I dearly would like to begin this article with. One word. However, due to my raising and the fact there are some rules that prohibit me from using that one word, I shall have to come up with a compromise. Fudge!
The championship playoff known as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has had more turns that a West Virginia mountain, but Sunday’s campingworld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway took the cake.
Let’s be honest. Trying to predict which eight drivers will make it through the characteristic chaos of Talladega Superspeedway to advance to the Eliminator Round of the Chase is next to impossible. With only 25 points separating the top eight contenders and the looming likelihood of the almost inevitable “big one,” the only thing certain is that no one is safe - except Joey Logano.
Brad Keselowski topped the charts in the final practice session. The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford was the fastest in final practice with a time of 48.752 and a speed of 196.423 mph.
What France just did was ensure that Logano becomes a high-speed pinata come Talladega. He already has two wins, more than enough to guarantee himself a spot in the next round no matter what takes place on Sunday.
At this stage of the game, only a dozen drivers really matter in Cup racing. Twelve still have a shot at the championship, 18 more either have the results or the resources to at least theoretically be of interest, while 13 others are just there and rarely, if ever, matter.
Brad Keselowski's pole-winning run on Friday at Kansas Speedway was an early Christmas present to second-place qualifier, Carl Edwards. Keselowski saved his best lap for the third and final round of knockout qualifying at the 1.5-mile track, touring the distance in 27.621 seconds (195.503 mph) to edge Edwards (195.454 mph) for the top starting spot by .007 seconds.
Brad Keselowski was fastest in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series opening practice on Friday at Kansas Speedway. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Team Penske Ford set the fastest lap in first practice with a time of 27.785 and a speed of 194.349 mph.
