Fearless Forecast: Smoke Will Sweep at Talladega
Saturday, April 26th, 2008 by Jim Mc Coy
It’s just a hunch. By now, every serious NASCAR fan knows how Tony Stewart has finished 2nd 6 times in Cup competition. He’s been knocking on the door for quite some time….and tomorrow Tony Stewart’s kicking it down.
Here’s what I’m expecting tomorrow…..the teams that have put forward the stout engines will run up front. Look for strong (and victory worthy)Â performances from the HMS boys: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Casey Mears. Remember that Junior has won at ‘Dega 5 times and Gordon 6. There’s no reason to believe they won’t be in the mix.
This assumption also bodes well for Stewart and his Gibbs’ teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. In fact, I number Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman as my dark horses. Yes, I expect Dodge to be well represented tomorrow, so that means Kurt Busch could be a part of the action.
With that extra horsepower, I expect other Toyotas to run well…..you should not be shocked if Michael Waltrip (a super speedway specialist of sorts), Brian Vickers (also a former Talladega winner), or even A.J. Allmendinger make a substantial amount of noise. In fact, I considered using Mikey as my “upset special” pick. Now that’s a fearless forecast!
Of course, I wish good things for those unexpected front-runners. I mean, who here expected Joe Nemechek and Ken Shrader in the top 5? Hear that sound of silence?
All speculation aside (and Heaven knows I;ve heard more insane tea leaf reading than I care to think about this week), here’s what you need to know…..
Tony Stewart will win (again) at Talladega!!
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Tim Zaegel
Right on, Jim - I’m right there with you. I’ve had Smoke slated to win this race since I posted my preview on Thursday, and yesterday’s Nationwide win only makes me feel that much better about the prediction. Good pick.