NASCAR Notebook: Stewart preaches patience in the Talladega snarl

 

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Tony Stewart was once one of the “red-hot racers” at Talladega Superspeedway, but gradually he learned some lessons about restrictor-plate racing.

“When I first started, it was get everything you can get every lap. If somebody gave you the little bit of a hole, you took advantage of it,” he said. “Then, the longer you ran, the more you got to race with guys like Dale (Earnhardt) Sr., Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Dale Jarrett, those guys. … The guys, the longer they do this, the smarter they are about, yeah, you can put that guy in the middle, you can hang that guy out to dry, but it can come back and cost you later on in the day when you need that guy's help.

“You learn to think about what's important during the race. Part of the strategy isn't necessarily what you're doing, but it's also about how you're running with guys around you and working with those guys to where later in the race, they're behind you, and you feel like you have their support, that you took care of them early in the race and they're going to take care of you at the end.”

* * *

GETTING THE HANG--Entering Sunday’s Amp Energy 500, Denny Hamlin could easily be counted among plate racing’s up-and-comers. Hamlin, who is only six points off Jimmie Johnson’s point lead, finished fourth at Talladega on April 25.

“You can never expect anything at Talladega other than you are going to need a great car and a good amount of luck,” said Hamlin. “We’ve improved so much here over the years, and we now come to Talladega thinking we can run up front, and our record here shows that we can.

“If we can keep our car out of the trouble at Talladega, I think we’ll have as good of a chance as anyone to win here.”

* * *

NOTHING TO IT--David Reutimann’s take on Talladega wasn’t nearly as nuanced as either Stewart or Hamlin.

“There’s not anything really difficult about driving Talladega,” said Reutimann. “You have to have a good car, and then you can hopefully get out there and get in the right line, and get with the right guys and work with the right people to try to make your day go as well as you can.

 “At Talladega, you would like to be able to qualify up front, but you’re really not  all that worried about it because you know that, in a matter of a couple laps, you could be up there leading the thing.”

* * *

TREVOR, NOT BILL--Nineteen-year-old Trevor Bayne will get the nod for his Sprint Cup debut at Texas on Nov. 7, taking the wheel of the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford in Bill Elliott’s stead.

Dodge Ford Chrysler