By Sam Atwell

Talladega is one of the tracks that drivers fear the most, or it used to be. They all feared the “big one”, but now they are small ones, all thanks to the COT. Sure the possibility is there, but I believe it will be another lackluster race in a lackluster season.

One driver, who loves Talladega, needs a great run (a victory) on Sunday. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is in desperate need of some good news. A rumor circulated last week that a crew chief change had been negotiated with the #5 team; it was a done deal according to some “source” inside Hendrick Motorsports. The rumor was proven false by a real source and a credible website. The point remains, something needs to happen to shake-up this team. My apologies to the Junior Nation, but it isn’t all Eury Juniors’ fault. The mistakes that have happened to this team on pit road are all on the driver, a tremendous lack of concentration. Don’t get me wrong there have been bad calls for adjustments and slow pit stops; this team is not focused at all.

Even though there have been public shows of support I have to believe that the management at Hendrick Motorsports is taking a long hard look at the 88 team. I believe a change is coming and the only place it can come is on top of the pit box. Eury Junior is the man on the 88 team. He is the leader, he is the head coach, he bears responsibility for the on track performance and he will ultimately pay the price for the lack of performance. Dale Junior can protest all he wants, but if he truly came to Hendrick Motorsports to win races and championships, it is time to buy into the Hendrick program 100%; it is working for the other three teams.

Could this be the weekend for Dale Junior to pick up his first win of the season? You bet he could, will he? Nope. I think it will fall to one of his other teammates to get the win on Sunday. Jeff Gordon is awfully good at Talladega, along with Jimmie Johnson. There is a dark horse out there for me, not really a dark horse, but Tony Stewart very well could win on Sunday. The Stewart team is poised for a victory and it is just a matter of time for him to get his first win as an owner/driver.

Like I said before this is a track that some drivers fear, lets see if Talladega Superspeedway stands up and fights back!

By Steve Parker

Remember a year ago when Jeff Gordon finished last at Texas? Only the second time in his career Gordon had done that. His only other last place finish also came at Texas after a hard crash in 1999.

His poor finish in the Lone Star State in 2008 was not the result of a crash or mechanical failure. Well, a spin did compound the problems they were already having, but the 24 team just missed the setup that badly and were never competitive. It was sort of a microcosm of the season for Gordon and his team. There were just off for most of the season and Jeff went through the season without a victory for the first time since his first full-time campaign in 1993.

For many Gordon fans the blame was placed squarely at the feet of crew chief Steve Letarte. Yes, the same Steve Letarte who led Gordon to a modern era record 30 top ten finishes and six wins in 2007. He couldn’t figure out the new car. He made bad adjustments. None of the problem could possibly be with the four time champion driver.

Gordon never wavered in his support for his young crew chief, assuring anyone who would listen that he was the right man for the job. But even though Gordon ran stronger in the chase, he still didn’t win, and many felt going into this season that Letarte’s seat atop the pit box was still very hot.

Well, if it was, it should be like sitting on a block of ice about now.

Gordon has easily been the most consistent driver so far this season and on Sunday, finally got the Texas monkey off his back. Now, I’ve never seen a Texas monkey but I’m guessing it’s even bigger than a regular monkey. He has five top five finishes in seven races and has a comfortable points lead.

What’s been most important for those who felt Letarte had suddenly become a buffoon last year is what happened during the Texas race. Gordon’s car was not very good at the drop of the green flag. But Letarte was able to adjust on the car and get it the best it was all day at the end of the race when Jeff needed it most.

That’s what a championship crew chief does. It’s what Ray Evernham did better than maybe anybody. It’s what Chad Knauss does week in and week out. Take the information the driver gives and adjust on the car to make it better and better. Letarte is doing that again this season. He certainly looks more like the genius from ’07 than the dummy from last year. But he’s the same guy.

More experience with the new car has helped. Jeff says he’s more focused than ever. I’m sure there are many factors in the team’s return to championship form.

But the bottom line is Steve Letarte is a championship caliber crew chief. He showed it in 2007 and he’s certainly showing it this year. His driver never doubted him and nobody else should either.

By Sam Atwell

I am not afraid to say that I am wrong. I am wrong! My error started way back at the end of last season when Tony Stewart announced that he was leaving Joe Gibb Racing to form his own team with Haas. I couldn’t believe that he would make such a move. Didn’t he realize that he was throwing away a very successful career? What was he thinking? Were things that bad at JGR? It seemed like a very foolish decision, at first. When the details came out about the deal, it was really too good for Tony to turn down.

He is now 50% owner of a NASCAR Sprint Cup team and it didn’t cost him a dime in cash.

My biggest fear for Tony was his ability to handle all the responsibilities of an owner and all the responsibilities of a driver. He has run a pretty successful open wheel team, but this was the big time, this was NASCAR! When Tony began to put together his operation he made some very solid decisions. Darian Grubb and Tony Gibson as crew chiefs, Jeff Meendering and Kevin Pennell as car chiefs and Ryan Newman as a second driver.

So the teams looked good on paper, but could they perform? Well Stewart has answered that question in big bold letters, YES HE CAN PERFORM! Tony has four top tens, one top five and is in seventh place in the point standings. He has run up front all season long and may even contend for the championship in his first season as a car owner. I was one of the people saying that the days of Tony being a champion are over! No driver/owner has really had an impact on the sport or competed for championships since Alan Kulwicki. To top it all off both of the Stewart-Haas teams finished in the top ten on Sunday in Martinsville. What a great day for two new teams, and this won’t be the end for either of them. I see no reason why there progress shouldn’t continue each week and you will see a Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet this season.

So when I’m wrong, it is a doozy and in this case I’m not afraid to admit my mistake. I want Tony to succeed as an owner/driver, because that would be good for NASCAR