Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

This week: Johnson continues to increase his lead on the Chase field and is up by 118 points heading into Talladega. This could be the last realistic chance for any driver in the Chase to make up ground on Johnson because of the wild nature of restrictor-plate racing — a top driver can get knocked out of a race because of a huge, multi-car crash. Johnson has just one win, four top-five finishes and six top-10s in 15 Talladega starts, so it is not one of his better tracks. In fact, Johnson started 36th and finished 30th at the 2.66-mile superspeedway in April. He was ninth in this race last year. Johnson's only win at Talladega came in the spring race in 2006. "Talladega is the track where you don't have any control," Johnson said. "So much can happen. We've got good tracks ahead for us, so from a team standpoint we're excited and optimistic, but at the same time there's a lot of danger out there and we've just got to be smart. Again, one flat tire, one mechanical, Talladega — we all seem to know the risks at Talladega — (the huge point advantage is) just gone. ... I'm not trying to downplay where we're at. I'm very, very, very happy where we're at. But there are still four races left. There's a lot of racing left."

Last week: Johnson finished second at Martinsville after he was involved in a fierce fight to the finish with eventual winner Denny Hamlin. "I was kind of hopeful to have a chance to win this race today," Johnson said. "It's too early to really worry about points and worry about where the other guys are at. We still have four races left and Talladega next week. You can't hide at that race track. You're in harm's way at all times. It's a very good day for the Lowe's team and we'll go to Talladega next week and see what happens. I just lacked a little bit of forward bite. We had it turning, which is hard to make it do here. It was just a little too much. Denny (Hamlin) had the best car there on that last run, and maybe the two runs before that he had the best. I knew at the end of the race that No. 11 car was going to be there and was going to be strong. Congratulations to him. It was a great day for us. I wish we could have won, but second, there's nothing wrong with that."

Etc.: Johnson said he will "put the blinders on" during the final four races of the Chase so he can focus on clinching his fourth straight Cup title. "It's done in a lot of different ways," he said. "At the end of the day it really just means focusing on what we need to do. We've all been there before, if it's been in sports — mainly sports, I guess, would be the best example where you're doing well, you're in a rhythm, things are great, you get a little confident and you lose — whatever it is, if you're shooting hoops, if you're swinging a golf club, it's just gone. I've learned over time in a race car that that same thing can happen. I need to just worry about doing my job and not let the emotions affect my effort and my focus. That can be negative thoughts, it can be good thoughts. You've just got to stay focused on your little world, or I stay focused on my world, and that's it. I encourage my guys to do the same. If it's a tire changer, all he needs to be thinking about is five lug nuts off, five lug nuts on; run to the other side, five off, five on. Jack man needs to think of his steps, where he's placing the jack, run around, do the same. So that's kind of what I mean by it is for us to all stay in our worlds and focused on our jobs, and we need to go out and execute."

Mark Martin, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

This week: Martin is a two-time Talladega winner and has 10 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s in 43 starts there. But his last victory at Talladega was way back in May 1997, he has just two top-10 finishes in his last 11 Talladega starts and in April he finished 43rd after getting caught up in a wreck on the seventh lap of the race. "I refuse to be concerned about Talladega," Martin said. "I refuse. We'll go there, we'll try to not worry about it much and we'll strap in on Sunday, and unless (crew chief) Alan (Gustafson) asks me to take a different approach we will race as far forward in that pack as we can be every lap of the whole race. That's where I'm at right now. I'm not going to sweat it. Somehow or another I just feel lucky about this one. If you can wreck on lap five (seven, actually) of the last one there, something tells me I ought to be able to miss it this time. That's about as bad of luck as you can have. So I don't know. I feel like it will be OK. If it's not, it will still be OK. To me, it's my opportunity to really get back into the running for it. So I plan on going there and driving like I know I am not going to wreck."

Last week: Martin is coming off an eighth-place finish at Martinsville after leading the race one time for just one lap. "It was a great job — we got everything that we could," Martin said. "It just wasn't quite enough, but it was a super job — everybody gave it all. We need to pick it up. You, know, eighths, sevenths, that won't get it right now. But you know what? We gave it everything we had."

Etc.: Martin has called Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson "Superman" and said he brings back memories of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. "Yeah, I think he's as good as Dale Earnhardt," Martin said. "It's a different time and a different day and age. But had he been here with me when I was racing Dale Earnhardt in the early '90's for the title, I think Jimmie would have held his ground. In my opinion, it appears to me that he would have held his ground better than I hold mine."

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

This week: Gordon, trailing Jimmie Johnson by 150 points, is watching any chance at the title slip away as he heads to one of his best tracks. Gordon is a six-time Talladega winner, most recently sweeping both contests in 2007. But since then, he has faltered badly there, including runs of 19th, 38th and 37th in his last three starts. Overall, he has 13 top-five finishes and 16 top-10s in 33 Talladega starts.

Last week: Gordon fought his way to a fifth-place finish after he was involved in some tight racing with Juan Pablo Montoya. "He's an aggressive driver," Gordon said. "We've seen it from him before. I thought I did something to make him mad because I didn't understand why he was just driving into me for no reason. But hey, that is Martinsville. That's kind of the way he drives. And I just tried not to make him mad anymore and race him as clean as I could. And unfortunately my car wasn't as good on the restarts and he got by me and we had a great battle for third and we raced clean at the end and that's all that really matters. I hope it's not something that transfers over because I don't know really what I did if I did do something."

Etc.: When it comes to avoiding "The Big One" Gordon believes the simple solution isn't always the easiest to execute. "It seems simple, really. Just be ahead of it or way behind it — just don't be in the middle of it," he said. "Rarely do you escape when you are in the middle of it. You can be aggressive or you can be conservative — either approach can be good or bad. And I don't believe one approach works better than the other. 'The Big One' is going to happen — it's just whether you get caught up in the crash or not, or whether it comes early or late in the race. It's going to be an exciting race for the drivers and the fans, but things are definitely changing here. We saw it a little bit last year and again here in April — two cars working together could separate themselves from the bigger pack. We're still going to see three- and four-wide racing with a big pack of 30 to 40 cars, but you could see some breakaways during the race and again at the end. We will most likely take the aggressive approach and try to lead but try to make smart decisions as well. A lot of that will depend on where we start and what is going on around us once the race starts. If need be, we can change our game plan during the race. But there is one approach I prefer, and that's racing from the drop of the green flag."

Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing

This week: Stewart, 192 points out of the Cup lead, won this race last year in a disputed finish —Regan Smith actually got to the start/finish line first, but NASCAR officials ruled Smith drove under the out-of-bounds line. He was placed at the end of the lead lap, dropping him to an 18th-place finish. Stewart has nine top-five and 12 top-10 finishes in 21 Talladega starts and was 23rd in April. "Just like everybody else, it (the championship) is still up for grabs," Stewart said. "Anyone can have trouble any day, but this team is pretty strong. We are just going to keep fighting and see what happens and how it shakes out after it is all over. It's literally about math. We just have to figure out how we can outperform them (the No. 48 team), and this is a part of the year when they are strong. I don't know if we can do that. If not, of course we are going to be disappointed. But, at the same time, we're happy for what we have been able to accomplish this year. Is it going to be the end of our world? Absolutely not. I mean, no matter where our two teams end up this year, we have a lot to be proud of by just by making the Chase. We've exceeded our own expectations. What we get from here forward is a bonus. But we are competitors. We want to win every time that we go out. Of course we want to win the championship. It's not going to be a great thing if we don't win it, but at the same time it is not going to be the end of our world."

Last week: Stewart is coming off a ninth-place finish at Martinsville. "Everything didn't fall the way we needed it to," crew chief Darien Grubb said. "It wasn't what we wanted. I think we had a top-four or five car. We just needed to get the car up in that track position and we just didn't get it when it was all over with."

Etc.: Other teams acknowledge that Johnson needs to have some bad luck to lose his points lead. "That is what everybody in the whole series is thinking right now," Grubb said. "He has got that dominant performance going, and he is out there pulling away from everybody. You have a good strong run and you still lose points. That is a hard day to swallow. You never wish bad luck on any of your competitors or any of your friends or anyone out there, but you have to go out there and perform to the best of your ability and hope to capitalize if they do have a bad day. Just whatever happens, you have to be the one to win the race and get the most points."

Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

This week: Montoya moved up one position in the standings but is 200 points out of the lead after hanging in there through the first four races of the Chase. Montoya has just one top-five finish at Talladega, second in April 2008, in five starts. He was 35th last year and 20th in April, when he started on the pole.

Last week: Montoya scratched and fought and clawed his way to a third-place finish at Martinsville. "When people are clean with you, you're going to be clean with them," Montoya said. "When they race the hell out of you, you're going to do the same. That's what it is. But you're going to be ending beating it, banging it and hitting it and getting hit. It's part of the deal. It's fun."

Etc.: Montoya said he enjoys Talladega even though it's so stressful. The key question, in his mind, is whether to try to save the engine. "You come off the truck with whatever you think is fastest, and if it doesn't do anything crazy, you park the car," he said. "You probably do 10 laps of practice, make sure all the temperatures look good. Qualify the car and race it and see what happens. It will be interesting to see what kind of strategy you play during the race because there is always two ways of looking at it. Do you need points and want to try to lead as many laps (as you can)? Or do you play conservative and play it at the end? It is always a challenge, especially with the side-by-side restarts. It is going to be 'whew' — pretty wild. I think it is going to be cool."

Kurt Busch, No. 2 Dodge, Penske Racing

This week: Busch, who enters Talladega 240 points out of lead, has no wins, six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s at Talladega in 17 starts. He was 21st in this race last year and sixth in April. Busch has finished in the top 10 in eight of his last 10 Talladega races. "I don't know what driver first called it a high-speed chess match, but that's a pretty good analogy and I've always thought of the competition that way," Busch said. "It's like you come down to the finish looking to be among the lead pack. Then it comes down to making your strategic moves out there while at the same time anticipating the next moves of all the guys around you. It often gets really hairy out there, and you're forced to really hang it all out on the line. But the way I've always looked at it is, what we do every race is certainly not for the weak at heart. These races just always seem to bump it up a notch or two on the stress meter — for the drivers, team members and especially the fans."

Last week: Busch is coming off a 17th-place finish at Martinsville. "We took a hit in the points at Martinsville last weekend and lost more ground to the leader, but we know from experience that it could have been much worse," Busch said. "We knew that the 48 car (Johnson), Mark (Martin), the 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the 42 (Juan Pablo Montoya) were all going to be good there, and they were. But we all recognize that anything can happen at Talladega this weekend. We're coming in there realistically more than a full race behind the leaders, but things happen so fast and the points situation could really get shaken up at the end of Sunday's race."

Etc.: So how is Busch planning on celebrating Halloween weekend at Talladega? "We'll probably dig up a costume to wear, hop on the golf cart and do a spin or two around the Talladega infield," Busch said. "A bunch of our team members are planning on hanging out after practice on Saturday. We all plan on heading over to take in the Zac Brown Band concert."

Ryan Newman, No. 39 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing

This week: Newman moved up a position in the Chase but at 312 points out he is nothing more than a bit player for the remainder of the season. Newman has no wins, four top-five finishes and seven top-10s in 15 Talladega starts. He was 43rd last fall and third in April and has four top-10 finishes in his last five starts there. "I know they've made one big step, and that's to reduce the restrictor plate size to slow the cars down so we're less likely to get airborne," Newman said. "... Realistically, the drivers, as NASCAR has evolved to restrictor-plate tracks, have changed the way we drive. There will be times when we single-file out, and there will be times when we're four-wide/four-deep for the whole pack at times. So it's just a matter of excitement and strategy and the timing of those things in conjunction with what lap we're on and what there is to expect before the end of the race, because I didn't expect the last race there to be two cars, two groups of two cars pushing each other and may the best two-team win. I never thought that would be a Talladega race. Realistically, you never know what to expect. But I know the restrictor plate change is a big thing."

Last week: Newman had one of his better races in the Chase when he finished seventh.

Etc.: Newman would like to see some changes made to NASCAR's current car. "There's different ways of looking at that," Newman said. "From a mechanical standpoint, there are things we could do to make the car ride different or be able to adjust to it differently. I haven't been a big fan of the bump stops, but they are a way we tune the race car and they are a way we can create advantages. ... Ideally, we'd not like to have bump stops; we'd have four shocks, go off and make it more simple. When you make it more complex, (it) makes the more understanding teams be more successful. So the second part of it is the aerodynamics of the car: I don't know if they're ideal. I'm not a huge fan of the wing. I think that we'd get more side drafting, have a little bit better side-by-side racing, if we had a spoiler on the back of it. I think you'll see a lot of the things we'd ideally have liked to have seen in the Car of Tomorrow for the Cup Series and the Car of Tomorrow for the Nationwide Series in the future based on things that both NASCAR and the teams have learned."

Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

This week: Biffle has just one top-10 finish, seventh in April, in 13 Talladega starts. He was 24th in this race last year. "We need to survive Talladega with a decent finish," Biffle said. "If we could have a run there like we had in the spring and walk away with a top-10 finish, I would be happy with that. I've said it before, but Talladega is such a wild card in the Chase because you just never know what will happen there. We're obviously not in contention for the championship (350 points out of the lead), but we need to get the best finishes we can in the Ford and finish out this season on a high note. Any momentum we can gain for 2010 will help."

Last week: Biffle was 25th at Martinsville. "We couldn't really do anything with our car," Biffle said. "With practice getting rained out Saturday, it really hurt us. That happened in the spring, so that makes it tough. Someday when we get to test or practice here, we'll be all right."

Etc.: Crew chief Greg Erwin is hoping a new chassis can improve Biffle's efforts at Talladega. "It is a new build, and we feel confident based on wind-tunnel numbers that it should be as good (as) or better than what we ran there in April," Erwin said. "Since it was repaved, Talladega is really smooth, which allows for faster speeds. Wrecks happen so quickly there because everyone is so bunched up. Talladega is just more of a mental game for the drivers."

Denny (Hamlin)Hamlin No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

This week: Hamlin has no wins, two top-five finishes and no other top-10s in seven starts at Talladega. He was 39th last fall and 22nd in April.

Last week: Hamlin scored his second consecutive win in his home state of Virginia when he won at Martinsville for the second time. He also drove to victory at Richmond in September. "It feels great to get three wins this season — more than we've had in any other season. This is the best we've been. It's just a shame our Chase has gone so bad," he said.

Etc.: Hamlin is hopeful that a strong finish to the 2009 season will help erase his poor start to the Chase. "We don't have any weak spots anymore in our race team, and I feel like that's how I figured I could say that I knew we were going to win another race regardless," Hamlin said. "Even last week after our troubles, I said we're going to win another race, because every single week, whether it is a superspeedway, a short track or intermediate (track), we can win. Obviously, when you put yourself in position like we have over the last few weeks, you're going to win races. It's just great to have that feeling, able to go to a race track and know that you can win no matter what type of race track that you're on. I just had a lot of confidence in the team, and I knew if we just got past a few hurdles here and there, had some good stops at the end of the races, then we would win. Obviously, it came true."

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

This week: Edwards is another non-winner at Talladega. He has one top-five and three top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the Alabama track. He was 29th last October and 24th in April, although he was in the lead coming out of the trioval on the final lap before eventual winner Brad Keselowski nudged Edwards' Ford, sending it airborne into the fence. "I've heard they raised the fences, so that is good," Edwards said. "You never like to come back and see a new fence because of you. Our team has worked hard on our restrictor-plate package, and it's pretty good. Maybe we'll partner up with somebody like we did last time and make it to the finish line this time to finally get a win at one of these places. That would be a blast."

Last week: Edwards is coming off a disappointing 20th-place finish at Martinsville.

Etc.: Blake Bobbitt, a young girl who was one of the spectators injured by debris that flew off the fence during Edwards' crash in April, plans to attend this weekend's race. Edwards called it "a great example of how passionate our fans are. She's pumped about the race, too, so that's cool."

Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Dodge, Richard Petty Motorsports

This week: Kahne has only one top-10 finish in 11 starts at Talladega, a second in the fall race of 2006. "Starting out the first couple of years, it seemed like I was in the majority of the wrecks, the wrong place at the wrong time, but I still like these places (Talladega and Daytona)," said Kahne. "To figure out how to get a top-15 or top-10 is always the challenge. I like it."

Last week: It was a long afternoon for Kahne as he twice bounced off the wall while battling an ill-handling race car. As a result, he finished 32nd to drop from ninth to 11th in the standings. "It definitely wasn't our day," said Kahne. "I can't tell you what happened when our tire went down, but the car just went around on me in turn three and I was in the wall. Then I just got loose a few laps later and up in the wall again."

Etc.: Kahne said the last 20 laps at Talladega are "intense — really intense. A lot of blocking, and you're trying to get in the right lane. You're always trying not to let somebody get you out of the line and push you back. Every lap is pretty intense."

Brian Vickers, No. 83 Toyota, Red Bull Racing

This week: Vickers has one win and five top-10 finishes in 10 starts at Talladega, including a 10th in April. "For us, the championship has been lost for a while now," said Vickers, who trails Jimmie Johnson by 530 points. "The rest of the year is about having some fun, winning as many races as we can and finishing as high in points as we possibly can."

Last week: Vickers was all smiles after finishing 11th at Martinsville. "It's no secret that it's not gone well for us in the Chase, and 11th at a tough place like Martinsville is a good start to getting back on track," said Vickers. "We had a good car and overcame a bad starting position (24th). We could've run better and finished better, but we'll take it."

Etc.: Vickers is looking forward to the next two races. "We have some tracks that we've performed well at in the past — Talladega and Texas, for starters," said Vickers. "We'll go in there with nothing but the attitude of trying to win the race."

CUT-OFF FOR "CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP"

Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

This week: Busch has one win and no other top-10 finishes in nine starts at Talladega. "The key there is to somehow stay out of trouble," said Busch. "It's such a crapshoot there in the last 20, 30 or 40 laps that you never really know who is going to win, what's going to happen and where the wreck is going to come from."

Last week: A late pit stop for four new tires helped Busch rally for a fourth-place finish at Martinsville, where he normally struggles. "We were always on the right strategy," said Busch, who started 41st. "The guys had awesome pit stops all day. With those new tires we were able to drive back through some guys. We had a good enough car to do that with."

Etc.: The team announced Tuesday that Dave Rogers will replace Steve Addington as the crew chief after this weekend's race at Talladega. Rogers is the crew chief on the 20 car in the Nationwide Series. The 20 car has won 14 races in the last two years. "Dave has proven himself a talented crew chief, and we think he will work well with Kyle," said JGR president J.D. Gibbs.

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

This week: Kenseth has six top-10 finishes in 19 starts at Talladega. He and teammate David Ragan will debut the new Ford Racing engine this weekend. "I'm very excited about the debut of the FR9," said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports. "All of us are anxious to see it in competition for the first time."

Last week: Kenseth began the day feeling ill but he said he got to feeling "quite a bit better" during the race as he finished 14th. "For us, that's pretty good here (Martinsville)," said Kenseth. "We didn't run particularly well and I wasn't at my best today. I thought I did a bad job and thought I ran into about everything. So all things considered, to finish 14th is really good."

Etc.: Kenseth said "Talladega is a lot like going to a 200 miles per hour go-cart track. Everyone's cars handle there and you run wide open all day. The challenge is not getting in a wreck. You also have to have your car in the right place, with the right cars, so you don't get hung out and lose a lot of positions."

Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

This week: Bowyer has finished in the top 10 in two of the last three races at Talladega. Bowyer believes the new COT car is "built for the superspeedways, and I think it produces some great racing. I think the biggest thing with the new car is that you can bump draft and not pick up the rear wheels of the car in front of you. It'll shove them forward."

Last week: After running in the top 10 for most of the race, Bowyer was hit with a pit-road speeding penalty with only 82 laps left in the 500-lap event. As a result, he fell a lap down and ended up 19th. "That was a disappointing end to a really good day," said Bowyer. "Our BB&T Chevrolet was fast all day. We had a top-10 finish coming, there's no doubt about that. They said I was too fast exiting pit road."

Etc.: Car owner Richard Childress said the organization is "doing a lot of capital investments on some new stuff" as it gets ready for 2010. "We're making changes in our personnel; we're gong to be making more changes in the weeks to come," he said. "We're going to get back to running up front."

David Reutimann, No. 00 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing

This week: Reutimann is still looking for his first top-10 finish at Talladega. His best finish in five Cup races at the track is 20th. "I've never had much luck at Talladega," said Reutimann. "We haven't run that bad, but we have never been close to a top-10 or better. We just need a little racing luck there."

Last week: Smart pit strategy put Reutimann out front on lap 303, and he held the lead for 20 laps. But the longest green-flag run of the caution-filled race ruined any hopes he had of finishing in the top 10. "We had a pretty good car, but that long green-flag run just killed us," said Reutimann, who ended up 16th. "Rodney (Childers, crew chief) made a good call to get me to the front, but it just didn't work out."

Etc.: Reutimann hasn't given up in his bid to be the first driver outside the Chase. "Finishing 13th (in the Sprint Cup standings) would be nice," said Reutimann. "It would be our best points finish by a long way." He finished 22nd in 2008. Reutimann trails 13th-place Kyle Busch by 256 points with only four races left in the season.

Marcos Ambrose, No. 47 Toyota, JTG-Daugherty Racing

This week: Ambrose finished a surprising fourth in his first Cup race at Talladega in April. For that reason, the first-time driver can't wait to get back to the 2.66-mile superspeedway. "Our big-track program has been really good," said Ambrose. "After the last few weeks, it is going to be nice to run a superspeedway."

Last week: Ambrose was another driver who spent a long afternoon at Martinsville. He finished 27th. "This track is rough and tough, and that was the case for us today," said Ambrose. "We got it home in the end, but our brakes were running hot and few other things (like bouncing off other cars) hurt us."

Etc.: The team has extended its alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing for another season. "Being a single-car team without a strong alliance is next to impossible," said co-owner Tad Geschickter. "This one is working, so why change it? Toyota's influence and the support they give us is big."

Jeff Burton, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

This week: Burton will be seeking his third straight top-10 finish at Talladega this weekend. He has 12 top-10 finishes in 31 starts there. "I'm always nervous to run at Talladega," said Burton. "It's a stressful Sunday morning, but once the race gets going, I calm down. It's unbelievable how you can feel the intensity level there more than any other race track."

Last week: After finishing 15th at Martinsville, Burton said "the 31 Caterpillar Chevy was real competitive all day. We were really loose toward the end of the race, but Scott (Miller, crew chief) adjusted for that on the last pit stop and we were able to gain a few spots at the end. We're getting better each week, and I'm proud of the continued efforts everyone is putting in."

Etc.: Burton is looking forward to working with his new crew chief, Todd Berrier. "Since the first day I was at RCR, I was always impressed with Todd and his work ethic and his ability to make stuff happen," said Burton. "He's really smart. He's a racer. I really have a lot of respect for him. He's the guy I feel like I can have the most success with."

Casey Mears, No. 07 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

This week: Mears has four top-10 finishes in 13 starts at Talladega, including two in the last four races. "Talladega has been a pretty good place for me," said Mears. "The real reason I'm excited about going there this time is we're taking the car we had at Daytona in July. That car was unbelievable."

Last week: Mears was headed for a top-10 finish at Martinsville when he got run into by Mark (Martin)Martin "We were hanging on to what we could and I don't know if he got in too hot or what, but he got into the back of us and got us into the marbles and we just lost a lot of spots," said Mears, who ended up 18th. "I'm just proud of the car that we had here today and how we ran here today."

Etc.: Car owner Richard Childress announced last week that Doug Randolph will be the new crew chief for the 07 team with Todd Berrier moving to the 31 team. "I'm confident that making these changes now will be a benefit to the teams for the rest of this season as well as in preparing for 2010," said Childress.

Joey Logano, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing

This week: Logano finished ninth in April in his Talladega debut. "I am really excited about going back to Talladega," said Logano. "I mean, we got a top-10 there the last time and I kind of had fun racing there. I think it's pretty cool. All the cars are pretty much glued to the race track, and it's a big chess game."

Last week: Logano finished 12th at Martinsville and took Rookie of the Race honors for the third consecutive race and for the 23rd time this season. "I'm glad it's over," said Logano. "This is a very, very tough race track. I feel like we fought ourselves all day more than anything else. Couldn't make a good pit stop, kept losing track position."

Etc.: Logano is determined to finish in the top 20 in the point standings in his first year of Sprint Cup racing. "We've been 19th or 20th now for a long time, and we would like to move up a couple of spots," said Logano. "We're going to need four good finishes (in the final four races of the year) to make sure we stay in the top 20."

OTHERS

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

This week: Harvick has seven top-10 finishes in 17 starts at Talladega and has been second twice. When asked if he could sense when trouble was brewing at Talladega, Harvick said, "You can kind of see when things are starting to happen and they are probably a little bit questionable. It all happens really, really fast regardless of whether you see it coming or not."

Last week: Harvick started 10th and ran in the top 10 all afternoon as he finished 10th for his seventh top-10 finish at Martinsville. "Good job all around today by the Shell-Pennzoil team," said Harvick. "This is the closest we have been in a long time. We were competitive all afternoon. Great job by all the guys."

Etc.: An estimated 2,500 fans attended Richard Childress Racing's 40th Anniversary Fan Day on Oct. 22. Childress said $170,000 was raised for the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing

This week: McMurray has four top-10 finishes in 14 starts at Talladega. "Going to Talladega is always a race that I feel I can win each time we go there," he said. "We had a great car for the race at Talladega earlier this year, but unfortunately we got wrecked out early."

Last week: McMurray finished sixth at Martinsville for only his fourth top-10 finish of the season. His best finish of the year moved him up three spots in the standings to 22nd. "It was a really good day," said McMurray. "We made really good pit calls and had good pit strategy. Our car was better than average, so we just had a solid day."

Etc.: McMurray is confident about his chances of running well this weekend. "Our restrictor-plate program at Roush Fenway has always been strong, and I expect the same this weekend at Talladega," said McMurray.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

This week: Earnhardt's second-place finish at Talladega in April is his best finish of the season. He has five wins and 11 top-10s in 19 starts at the high-speed facility. In other words, Talladega is the perfect place for Earnhardt to put an end to his run of bad luck and bad finishes. He has finished 17th or worse in the last eight races.

Last week: It is becoming a broken record. Once again, Earnhardt raced his way into the top 10 only to have lady luck fail him just when he thought he had a chance at a good finish. Earnhardt endured three blown tires and two losing bouts with the wall as he finished 29th. "I don't know what we have to do to go through a race without problems," said Earnhardt.

Etc.: Earnhardt said he always loves going to Talladega. "We've had a lot of success there," he said. "It's been a while since we won one (October 2004), but we had a real good car in the spring and had a really good shot at winning it. So we are really looking forward to going back."

A.J. Allmendinger, No. 44 Dodge, Richard Petty Motorsports

This week: Allmendinger is still looking for his first top-10 finish at Talladega. His best finish in two starts is 30th. "We've run pretty well at the restrictor-plate tracks this season," said Allmendinger. "We finished third at Daytona in February and then we were pretty decent there in July. So we have high hopes for this weekend."

Last week: Allmendinger was not in a good mood after finishing 34th at Martinsville. "Not much I can say," said Allmendinger. "We just got taken out today. The 20 car (Joey Logano) crashed us. Until then we were working on the car and getting it better. Our lap times were good, and we were just trying to conserve our stuff and be there at the end."

Etc.: Car owner Richard Petty said the secret to "running well at Talladega is to have a fast car. I know that sounds simple, but we used to go down there and get beat because we weren't fast enough. Handling doesn't matter as much as having a car that will go fast."

Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports

This week: Sadler has only three top-10 finishes in 20 starts at Talladega. He will be driving a Ford this weekend in anticipation of making the full-time switch from Dodge at Daytona next year. "This will be our first time to practice and work on a Fusion under real race conditions," he said.

Last week: Sadler finished 21st at Martinsville. "It was an interesting day for use with our Best Buy Dodge," said Sadler. "Anytime that you start 40th at Martinsville, it's going to make for some tough sledding. We fought a race car that was tight in the center (of the corner) all day and couldn't get our car to turn through the middle of the corner."

Etc.:  Sadler planned to spend Thursday lending a helping hand in the building of a Habitat for Humanity home in Birmingham, Ala. "Habitat for Humanity does great work all over the country, and it's for such a great cause," said Sadler. "I've been able to help on a couple of builds over the last couple of years."

***

Notes provided by The Sports Xchange