NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top Story News Schedule Race Update/Results Statistics Point Standings Starting Grid Race Preview Driver Info Team Info Track Info Season Chart All-Time Wins Odds Weather NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Preview From The Sports Network   DATE: Sunday, October 7th SITE: Talladega Superspeedway (1969) -- Talladega, Alabama TRACK: 2.66-mile oval - 4,300 feet (Frontstretch); 4,000 feet (Backstretch) CAPACITY: 143,231 (Grandstand Seating) ANNUAL: 41st TELEVISION: ESPN ANNOUNCERS: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio START TIME: 2 p.m. (ET)/Green Flag: 2:20 p.m. (ET) DEFENDING CHAMPION: Clint Bowyer RUNNER-UP: Jeff Burton POLE WINNER: Mark Martin (Finished 20th) LAPS: 188 MILES: 500 QUALIFYING RECORD: Bill Elliott, 1987 (212.809 m.p.h.) RACE RECORD: Mark Martin, 1997 (188.354 m.p.h.) TOTAL PURSE: $5,261,714 (2011 figures) PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $260,5580; 2nd Place - $170,500; 3rd Place - $160,833 2011 Finish Finish Driver Start Finish Driver Start 1 Clint Bowyer 3 6 Kasey Kahne 26 2 Jeff Burton 25 7 Tony Stewart 12 3 Dave Blaney 41 8 Denny Hamlin 31 4 Brad Keselowski 16 9 Michael Waltrip 23 5 Brian Vickers 30 10 Martin Truex Jr 37 2011 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Facts and Figures AVERAGE SPEED: 143.404 m.p.h. TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 29 minutes, 14 seconds MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.018 second CAUTION FLAGS: 9 for 37 laps LEAD CHANGES: 72 among 26 drivers POLE WINNER: Mark Martin (181.367) Past Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed 2011 -- Clint Bowyer (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 143.404 m.p.h. 2010 -- Clint Bowyer (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 163.618 m.p.h. 2009 -- Jamie McMurray (22nd) -- Ford -- 157.213 m.p.h. 2008 -- Tony Stewart (34th) -- Toyota -- 140.281 m.p.h. 2007 -- Jeff Gordon (34th) -- Chevrolet -- 143.438 m.p.h. 2006 -- Brian Vickers (9th) -- Chevrolet -- 157.602 m.p.h. 2005 -- Dale Jarrett (2nd) -- Ford -- 143.818 m.p.h. 2004 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr (10th) -- Chevrolet -- 156.929 m.p.h. 2003 -- Michael Waltrip (18th) -- Chevrolet -- 156.045 m.p.h. 2002 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr (13th) -- Chevrolet -- 183.665 m.p.h. 2001 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr (6th) -- Chevrolet -- 164.185 m.p.h. 2000 -- Dale Earnhardt (20th) -- Chevrolet -- 165.681 m.p.h. 1999 -- Dale Earnhardt (27th) -- Chevrolet -- 166.632 m.p.h. 1998 -- Dale Jarrett (3rd) -- Ford -- 159.317 m.p.h. 1997 -- Terry Labonte (6th) -- Chevrolet -- 156.601 m.p.h. 1996 -- Jeff Gordon (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 133.387 m.p.h. 1995 -- Sterling Marlin (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 173.188 m.p.h. 1994 -- Jimmy Spencer (2nd) -- Ford -- 153.217 m.p.h. 1993 -- Dale Earnhardt (11th) -- Chevrolet -- 153.858 m.p.h. 1992 -- Ernie Irvan (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 176.309 m.p.h. 1991 -- Dale Earnhardt (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 147.383 m.p.h. 1990 -- Dale Earnhardt (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 174.430 m.p.h. 1989 -- Terry Labonte (5th) -- Ford -- 157.354 m.p.h. 1988 -- Ken Schrader (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 154.505 m.p.h. 1987 -- Bill Elliott (1st) -- Ford -- 171.293 m.p.h. 1986 -- Bobby Hillin (13th) -- Buick -- 151.552 m.p.h. 1985 -- Cale Yarborough (2nd) -- Ford -- 148.772 m.p.h. 1984 -- Dale Earnhardt (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 155.485 m.p.h. 1983 -- Dale Earnhardt (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 170.611 m.p.h. 1982 -- Darrell Waltrip (2nd) -- Buick -- 168.157 m.p.h. 1981 -- Ron Bouchard (10th) -- Buick -- 156.737 m.p.h. 1980 -- Neil Bonnett (2nd) -- Mercury -- 166.894 m.p.h. 1979 -- Darrell Waltrip (8th) -- Oldsmobile -- 161.229 m.p.h. 1978 -- Lennie Pond (5th) -- Oldsmobile -- 174.700 m.p.h. 1977 -- Donnie Allison (2nd) -- Chevrolet -- 162.524 m.p.h. 1976 -- Dave Marcis (1st) -- Dodge -- 157.547 m.p.h. 1975 -- Buddy Baker (2nd) -- Ford -- 130.892 m.p.h. 1974 -- Richard Petty (3rd) -- Dodge -- 148.637 m.p.h. 1973 -- Dick Brooks (24th) -- Plymouth -- 145.454 m.p.h. 1972 -- James Hylton (22nd) -- Mercury -- 148.728 m.p.h. 1971 -- Bobby Allison (2nd) -- Mercury -- 145.945 m.p.h. 1970 -- Pete Hamilton (4th) -- Plymouth -- 158.517 m.p.h. 1969 -- Richard Brickhouse (9th) -- Dodge -- 153.778 m.p.h. NOTE: Formerly called Talladega 500 (1969-1987), Talladega Diehard 500 (1988), Diehard 500 (1989-1997), Winston 500 (1998-2000), EA Sports Thunder 500 (2002), EA Sports 500 (2001, 03-04), UAW-Ford 500 (2005-07), Amp Energy 500 (2008-10). Past Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Pole Winners (Finish) 2011 -- Mark Martin -- 20th 2010 -- Juan Pablo Montoya -- 3rd 2009 -- None -- Weather 2008 -- Travis Kvapil -- 27th 2007 -- Michael Waltrip -- 25th 2006 -- David Gilliland -- 15th 2005 -- Elliott Sadler -- 34th 2004 -- Joe Nemechek -- 7th 2003 -- Elliott Sadler -- 30th 2002 -- None -- Weather 2001 -- Stacy Compton -- 11th 2000 -- Joe Nemechek -- 3rd 1999 -- Joe Nemechek -- 30th 1998 -- Ken Schrader -- 24th 1997 -- Ernie Irvan -- 5th 1996 -- Jeremy Mayfield -- 16th 1995 -- Sterling Marlin -- 1st 1994 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 34th 1993 -- Bill Elliott -- 11th 1992 -- Sterling Marlin -- 2nd 1991 -- Sterling Marlin -- 5th 1990 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 1st 1989 -- Mark Martin -- 3rd 1988 -- Darrell Waltrip -- 33rd 1987 -- Bill Elliott -- 1st 1986 -- Bill Elliott -- 27th 1985 -- Bill Elliott -- 4th 1984 -- Cale Yarborough -- 6th 1983 -- Cale Yarborough -- 24th 1982 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 15th 1981 -- Harry Gant -- 4th 1980 -- Buddy Baker -- 32nd 1979 -- Neil Bonnett -- 34th 1978 -- Cale Yarborough -- 4th 1977 -- Benny Parsons -- 24th 1976 -- Dave Marcis -- 1st 1975 -- Dave Marcis -- 4th 1974 -- David Pearson -- 2nd 1973 -- Bobby Allison -- 29th 1972 -- Bobby Isaac -- 42nd 1971 -- Donnie Allison -- 41st 1970 -- Bobby Isaac -- 2nd 1969 -- Bobby Isaac -- 4th Last Race Results RACE: AAA 400 (September 30th) SITE: Dover International Speedway -- Dover, Delaware MILES: 400 LAPS: 400 WINNER: Brad Keselowski RUNNER-UP: Jeff Gordon THIRD: Mark Martin FOURTH: Jimmie Johnson FIFTH: Carl Edwards POLE WINNER: Denny Hamlin (Finished 8th) TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 11 minutes, 53 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 125.076 m.p.h. MARGIN OF VICTORY: 1.078 seconds CAUTION FLAGS: 5 for 28 laps LEAD CHANGES: 11 among 6 drivers LAP LEADERS: D. Hamlin 1-34; Kyle Busch 35-145; J. Gordon 146; C. Bowyer 147; B. Keselowski 148-151; Kyle Busch 152-180; D. Hamlin 181-184; Kyle Busch 185-311; J. Johnson 312-354; Kyle Busch 355-389; D. Hamlin 390; B. Keselowski 391-400. Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Entry List Car Driver, Hometown Car/Name 1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/Bass Pro Shops 2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Dodge/Miller Lite 5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/hendrickcars.com 9 Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/DeWalt 10 David Reutimann (Zephyrhills, FL) Chevrolet/T-Mone 6 11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Freight 13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/Geico 14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Mobil 1/Office Depot 15 * Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy 16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M 17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/Nat'l Breast Cancer Found. 18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's 20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Home Depot 21 Trevor Bayne (Knoxville, TN) Ford/Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire 22 Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) Dodge/SKF 23 Robert Richardson Jr. (McKinney, TX) Toyota/North Texas Pipe 24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger 26 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport 27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Certain Teed 29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Budweiser 30 David Stremme (South Bend, IN) Toyota/Inception Motorsports 31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar 32 Terry Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Ford/C&J Energy 33 Cole Whitt (Alpine, CA) Chevrolet/littlejoesautos.com 34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/MDP/8-Hour Alert 36 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Golden Corral 37 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Ford/TBA 38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts 39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/U.S. Army 42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target/Gillette 43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Gwaltney Foods 47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Scott/Kingsford 48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's 51 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction 55 Michael Waltrip (Owensboro, KY) Toyota/Aaron's Dream Machine 56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 78 Regan Smith (Cato, NY) Chevrolet/Furniture Row 83 Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) Toyota/Burger King 87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/AM FM Energy Wood&Pellet 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Diet Mt. Dew/Nat Guard 93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King 97 Timmy Hill (Port Tobacco, MD) Toyota/TBA 98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/K-Love/Curb Records 99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Subway * - Two-time defending champion. Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) Driver 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Clint Bowyer --- --- --- 35th 11th 5th 12th Won Won Jeff Burton 32nd 13th 35th 27th 43rd 4th 5th 41st 2nd Brad Keselowski --- --- --- --- --- --- 8th 10th 4th Kasey Kahne --- 27th 13th 2nd 16th 36th 2nd 26th 6th Tony Stewart 3rd 6th 2nd 22nd 8th Won 35th 31st 7th Denny Hamlin --- --- --- 21st 4th 39th 38th 9th 8th Michael Waltrip Won 25th 42nd 14th 25th 19th 7th 28th 9th Martin Truex Jr --- --- 28th 5th 42nd 41st 31st 6th 10th Carl Edwards --- 42nd 5th 9th 14th 29th 14th 17th 11th Paul Menard --- --- --- 34th 38th 2nd 13th 13th 12th Greg Biffle 24th 28th 27th 41st 23rd 24th 4th 19th 14th Matt Kenseth 33rd 14th 3rd 4th 26th 26th 24th 16th 18th Marcos Ambrose --- --- --- --- --- --- 34th 34th 19th Juan Pablo Montoya --- --- --- --- 15th 25th 19th 3rd 23rd Joey Logano --- --- --- --- --- --- 3rd 5th 24th Dale Earnhardt Jr 2nd Won 40th 23rd 40th 28th 11th 39th 25th Jimmie Johnson 34th 37th 31st 24th 2nd 9th 6th 7th 26th Jeff Gordon 5th 19th 37th 36th Won 38th 20th 8th 27th Jamie McMurray 16th 17th 12th 37th 37th 32nd Won 36th 29th Regan Smith --- --- --- --- --- 18th 39th 12th 30th Kevin Harvick 7th 2nd 10th 6th 20th 20th 21st 2nd 32nd Kyle Busch --- --- 33rd 11th 36th 15th 15th 25th 33rd Kurt Busch 6th 5th 8th 3rd 7th 21st 30th 30th 36th Ryan Newman 4th 16th 4th 13th 5th 43rd 36th 23rd 38th Mover of the Week Mark Martin - Started in the 26th position and finished 3rd Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Brad Keselowski Darkhorse - Dave Blaney Last Week's Pick to Win (Jimmie Johnson) - Finished 4th Last Week's Darkhorse (Ryan Newman) - Finished 21st NOTES: Dale Earnhardt couldn't do it. Even Dale Earnhardt Jr. failed to do it. So what are the chances of Clint Bowyer doing it? Of course, we're talking about a three-peat at Talladega in the fall. Bowyer has captured the last two Chase races at Talladega Superspeedway, and with four straight top-10 finishes in the Sprint Cup Race, he's poised as ever for the trifecta. Only 16 points separate the top three drivers after four races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, as Brad Keselowski leads Jimmie Johnson by five points and Denny Hamlin is third (16 behind). Seven of this year's 12 Chase qualifiers (Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon) have each won at Talladega. Two-time defending Talladega champion Bowyer is fourth on the points list, just 25 markers behind. Last season, Bowyer joined the Earnhardt family as the only back-to-back winners of this race. Dale Earnhardt won back-to-back fall races at Talladega three times (1983-84, 1990-91, 1999-2000), while son Dale Jr. captured this race in 2001-02. In what turned out to be another frantic finish last season, Bowyer made a winning pass on his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton on the final lap to take the race. Both Bowyer and Burton were hooked up in a two-car tandem for most of the 500- mile race at Talladega. Regan Smith's hard crash into the outside wall during the closing laps set up a two-lap sprint to the finish. After the final restart, Bowyer and Burton quickly pulled away from the field. As the two RCR drivers came out of the last turn on the final lap, Bowyer dove underneath Burton to take the lead. He crossed the finish line 0.018 seconds ahead of Burton for his fifth Sprint Cup Series title. Bowyer, who owns two titles this year, raced to victory in 2010, as he edged Kevin Harvick for the lead just before NASCAR displayed the caution flag on the final lap for a five-car accident on the frontstretch. A.J. Allmendinger's car got airborne and flipped upside down on the track before it rolled back over. After the 500-mile race ended under caution, it took NASCAR several minutes to determine a winner. Officials reviewed replays and then credited Bowyer with the victory. Bowyer's two wins are part of a five straight top-10 placing at Talladega. Jamie McMurray took the checkered flag for the 2009 running of this race, as he defeated Kasey Kahne to snap an 86-race winless streak in the Series. McMurray crossed the finish line in the lead when the caution flag was displayed for a multi-car crash that featured Mark Martin's car flipping on the track during a green-white-checkered finish. McMurray scored his third career Cup victory, but his first since July 2007 at Daytona. When Tony Stewart won in 2008, it was his 33rd career Sprint Cup title, as he defeated Paul Menard by 0.052 of a second. Stewart, who started 34th, led four times for a race-high 24 laps, including the final 17. The race featured 64 lead changes among 28 drivers. Pole sitter Travis Kvapil led for 10 laps, but finished 27th. Jeff Gordon started in the 34th position in 2007 and led just one lap, but it was the final one, as he defeated Jimmie Johnson by less than a second. The win was a milestone for Gordon, as he captured his 80th career Cup title, only the sixth driver to reach that mark. Gordon has added six titles since then and stands alone in third place on the series' all-time win list. In 2006, Brian Vickers recorded his first career Sprint Cup title, as he crossed the finish line under caution ahead of Kasey Kahne. In front of an estimated crowd of 160,000, Vickers claimed the lead down the final backstretch. Jimmie Johnson ducked to the bottom, but Vickers gave him a little shot from behind and Johnson spun into Dale Earnhardt Jr, sending both off the track. Vickers led on five separate occasions for 17 laps, while Earnhardt Jr led seven times for a race-high 37 laps. In 2005, Dale Jarrett came out of nowhere to capture his 32nd and final Sprint Cup title, as he clipped Tony Stewart for the checkered flag. Jarrett, who led for just one lap early in the race, overtook Matt Kenseth on the final lap for his only win of that season. Stewart led 11 times for 65 laps, while Kenseth led seven times for 23 laps and finished third. Chevrolet has won this race in 17 of the last 22 years. Dodge has struggled here, last winning in 1976, as legend Dave Marcis won the Talladega 500. Overall, Dodges have won only two of the previous 39 fall races at Talladega, Marcis in 1976 and Richard Petty in 1974. In 39 career starts at Talladega, Jeff Gordon has six wins and 18 top-10s with an average finish of 16.769, while Earnhardt Jr has five victories in 25 starts with a 14.800 average. This race has been won from the pole position four times, the most recent in 1995 by Sterling Marlin. Overall, the pole sitter has won 13 of the 86 races at Talladega. The furthest back a winner has started at Talladega was when Jeff Gordon won the DieHard 500 in April of 2000, as he started from the 36th position. Stewart (2008) and Gordon (2007) own the record for winning the fall race from the furthest starting spot, 34th. Since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993, every race that has ended under green has had a margin of victory under half a second. 62 of the 86 races at Talladega have been won from a top-10 starting position. Actor Kevin James will serve as the Grand Marshal. The Chase for the Sprint Cup championship moves on to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Oct. 13 Bank of America 500. Matt Kenseth won last year's race there. 10/02 15:12:49 ET As of October 2, 2012, at 03:13 PM ET