Monday:  Typical Talladega Monday here.  It seems like they always change the results of the race on Monday morning.  But I have never seen it like this.  For whatever reason the unofficial points listed every driver with five bonus-points for leading a lap.  Looking at it now makes me wonder why I did not notice last night.  I did notice that nobody was awarded an aditional five bonus points for leading the most laps, that has now been awarded to Denny Hamlin.  In all I count 21 drivers lost 5 points upon the Talladega results being made official.

While I have not heard anything yet, they did say that Kurt Busch failed post-qualifying inspection.  We will be keeping an eye out for penalties.  Stay tuned.

Saturday:  Qualifying has completed and the field is set for Talladega.  The stars (*) next to driver names in this website should be up to date to show who is in the race.  I noticed that Jacques Villeneuve made the race and will make his first ever start in Nascar.  If he causes any harm to a Nextel Cup Chase contender it may be his last start as well.  I also see that neither Ricky Rudd or Kenny Wallace put the #88 in the show.  Did I miss something or did Yates close up that team for the year?  Looks like they did not even make an attempt.  Anyway, good luck everyone with your picks, should be a tough one.  See you at the finish!

Wednesday:  This weekend is Talladega and the high-banked drafting we all have come to know and love.  For the race this Sunday there will be some added twists so pay attention.  For starters, this will be the first restrictor-plate race in a Car of Tomorrow (COT).  They tested the new cars there on September 11th for two sessions and I have added the speeds to the Talladega Links.  I will also add that this is an impound race.  There are two practices scheduled for Friday and they qualify on Saturday just after noon.  Following qualifying the cars are locked down till the race starts.