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A good season can turn bad in a hurry if things go awry at Talladega. The crown jewel of Alabama has a mind of its own, writes Mark Ashenfelter.

A smooth surface leads to increased speeds, and Busch Series teams showed that Talladega Superspeedway hadn't lost much speed after a track repaved last summer had some time to cure.

Martin Truex Jr. would love to win his fourth straight Talladega Busch race. Big names like Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be standing in his way, writes Mark Ashenfelter.

With any trip back to Talladega, talk of the Big One always comes easy. It's no different this time, with Chase hopes on the line, writes Mark Ashenfelter.

Kasey Kahne's career looked ready to take off after last May's win at Richmond. It hasn't yet, but it might soon, writes Mark Ashenfelter.

How will the softer bumpers at Talladega affect bump drafting? That depends on who you ask, writes Mark Ashenfelter.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. digs his paint scheme this weekend at Talladega, but he'd like a win a lot more, writes Mark Ashenfelter.

After two Chase races, no one's jumping to conclusions. Talladega's up next, and the seemingly inevitable "Big One" could change everything.

Rusty Wallace is still in the Nextel Cup top 10 even after a bad break, but up next looms Talladega.

Jeremy Mayfield's sporting interesting T-shirts and, perhaps more than any Chase drivers, he's having fun.