TALLADEGA – Now that NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have made it through the first race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway, they head to Richmond for a Saturday-night feature this week. For some drivers, Talladega gave them much-needed momentum heading into Richmond, while others are still searching for their first good finish of the season.
Jeff Burton came into Talladega leading the points and left in the same position, but second-place Kyle Busch, the winner of the Aaron’s 499 on Sunday, only trails by 22 points and is on a hot streak so far this season. Despite getting involved a couple of wrecks on Sunday, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. remained in third place after his 10th-place finish at Talladega.
The driver who made the biggest jump in the points was second-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya who leaped five spots to 12th after his finish. David Ragan, driver of the Roush Fenway No. 6 Ford, gained three spots in the points after a fourth-place run at the 2.66-mile speedway.
“It would have been nice to have some teammates up there,” Ragan said after the race. “It looks like some of our teammates and our Fords had a tough day today, so I was kind of alone up there with all the other manufacturers. For the most part, the best move I made was just not making a move all day, just staying in line.”
Ragan’s teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards battled tire problems during the day and finished 41st and 40th respectively. Kenseth dropped four spots in the points standings, falling to 19th, while Edwards lost just one spot to 10th.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin moved up from sixth to fourth after his third-place performance. Jimmie Johnson fell one spot to fifth after being caught up in a crash on the last lap. Kevin Harvick, also involved in that wreck, finished 24th and dropped to sixth in the standings.
Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Edwards round out the top 10.
J.J. Yeley remained 35th in the points, meaning he won’t have to qualify on speed for the race at Richmond. He holds a mere five-point lead over 35th-place Dave Blaney.
Rookie drivers didn’t fare well at Talladega on Sunday, with Regan Smith finishing in 22nd as the highest rookie in the field. Smith didn’t gain any positions in the points standings, remaining at 34 and being locked into the race at Richmond.
Saturday’s race in Virginia will be quite different from Talladega as Richmond is a three-quarter mile track. Hamlin, a native of the state, will take a lot of momentum into the race. Jimmie Johnson won the last race at Richmond and would like to get back in victory lane at the track.
Saturday’s race will begin at 6:30 p.m.
