No one seems to have Talladega Superspeedway figured out better than Richard Childress Racing.
A year ago, Kevin Harvick won the spring race at Talladega, while teammate Clint Bowyer beat Harvick for a 1-2 finish in the fall race.
Little wonder RCR drivers, including Paul Menard and Jeff Burton, like their chances in this Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Aaron's 499 at Talladega.
Bowyer, of Emporia, Kan. won last fall's restrictor-plate race at Talladega by passing Harvick as the caution flag waved on the final lap.
"I really did think when the caution came out that I was ahead of him, and I was," Bowyer said. "I didn't know it was that close, but I really did think that I won. It just came down to the wire. When you're sitting in the equipment that we get to sit in at those superspeedways, it doesn't surprise me that I was racing a teammate for the win."
Harvick has won a season-most two races this season and is ninth in the points standings, but blew an engine 22 laps into the first restrictor-plate race of the year at Daytona.
"In all of the practices and races leading up to the race in Daytona our cars were fast, and then the bottom fell out, and we had a little problem with the engine," Harvick said. "Those things are going to happen. I think we should be good at Talladega."
Bowyer led 31 laps at Daytona before he was collected in a wreck with four laps to go, so he feels prepared for the perils of Talladega.
"You have to be conscious of your surroundings," said Bowyer, who has moved up to 12th in the standings after consecutive top-five finishes, including a second last week at Texas. "You can't put yourself in a bad situation. If they're racing hard in front of you, and you don't think you should be around, get out of there! Get out of it and just don't stay there and hope it's going to change because nine times out of 10, that's when it's going to bite you."
Burton won the second Duel 150 qualifying race at Daytona, but he's yet to win at Talladega in his 18-year career.
"I feel like we have cars that can win races, run in the front and lead a lot of laps," said Burton, who has gone 84 races since his last Sprint Cup win at Charlotte in the fall of 2008. "We have to miss the wreck. What happened in both of last year's races was me minding my own business, and the next thing you know, I'm in a wreck."
The drivers are bracing for a repeat of Daytona that was distinguished by two-car drafts.
"I think the two-car draft is something that everyone is going to try to use at Talladega, no question about that," Burton said. "The doors are open, and the only way to shut it is to change some rules. I don't even know how you can change the rules to make it so you can shut it. You would have to do something pretty radical."
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