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The Callahan Report: High NASCAR Excitement at Talladega

8 October 1997

TALLADEGA, AL: It's time for the NASCAR drivers to go back to high
gear, high speed, high banks and high excitement.  Many of NASCAR's
stars hate racing at Talladega because of restrictor plate rules
required by the sanctioning body.  Fans on the other hand, love the
shows at this enormous Alabama facility.


Dale Earnhardt is ready to end all the talk of his losing streak.
Talladega could be the place.  This is the track that bit him last
year, sending him home broken and battered.  Earnhardt has finished
second (twice) and third in the last three races.  The black number 3
is knocking at the door.  It may be opened on Sunday.  Earnhardt has
won seven times at Talladega. 


 
Dale Earnhardt 



Mark  Martin, who is  chasing Jeff Gordon for  the Winston Cup, should
love his  chances.  Martin  won the  race  held  earlier this year  at
Talladega.  He won  it with a record  speed of 188.354 mph.  Martin is
125 points  behind Gordon.  He closed the  gap by ten points this past
weekend at Charlotte.  He will have to do better than that if he is to
win the championship.  There are only four races remaining on the 1997
schedule.


As good as Martin's chances are, Jeff Gordon is the defending champion
of the Diehard 500.  Gordon knows how to win at this track.  He may
not be going for the victory.  Gordon drove conservatively at
Charlotte last weekend.  When he was in traffic, he didn't take any
chances.  He drove a consistent, patient race.  Gordon will drive
Talladega the same way.  If he is in the top five with a lap to go,
and within striking distance of the leader, he may go for the win.  If
Charlotte is any indication, he will try to maintain his spot in the
top five.


Jeremy Mayfield



Another driver to watch for this weekend will be Jeremy Mayfield.  The
driver of the Kmart car was the polesitter here last year.  He is a
proven superspeedway driver and he is overdue for his first NASCAR
Winston Cup victory.  Mayfield fell to 16th here last year.


Dale Jarrett will once again be a factor at Talladega.  Jarrett won
for the sixth time this season last weekend at Charlotte.  He finished
second to Gordon in last year's Diehard 500.  He was in the hunt the
entire race.  He started from the third spot.  Jarrett, who is third
in the points race, needs for Gordon and Martin to have some bad luck
if he hopes to have a shot at the 1997 Winston Cup title.


Ernie Irvan, stable mate to Jarrett, is also good at Talladega.  Irvan
finished fourth here in last year's fall outing.  Irvan is winding up
his ride in the number 28 Texaco Havoline Thunderbird.  He is capable
of making it to victory lane in anything Robert Yates Racing puts
underneath him.


The dark horse at Talladega is Jimmy Spencer.  He had a top five
finish here last year.  Spencer got a big confidence boost last
weekend in the Busch Grand National race.  Spencer held on to win the
All Pro 300 at Charlotte last Saturday.  He was running good in the
cup race on Sunday before being caught up in a crash.  Spencer won
this race in 1994.


The race will air at 1:00 P.M. (ET) this Sunday on CBS.  In car audio
will be provided by The Auto Channel on the net.  The drivers
will run 188 laps on the 2.66 mile banked superspeedway.  The expected
purse is $1.9 million.


Terry
Callahan -- The Auto Channel