Viewer's Guide: Talladega

ATLANTA -- -- Elliott Sadler has proven this season that he belongs among the upper echleon in the Nextel Cup Series. Entering this weekend's EA Sports 500 at Talladega, Sadler finds himself sixth in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Elliott Sadler is less than 100 points behind Nextel Cup Series points leader Jeff Gordon. Credit: Autostock

If you think he's good at driving a race car around, you should see him drive to the hoop.

Marty Snider played a little basketball with Sadler earlier this week and talked about not only his quest for the first Nextel Cup Series title, but also about his days as a hoopster at James Madison University.

The piece will air as part of a 60-minute prerace show Sunday on NBC, beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.

Sadler played for James Madison University and head coach Lefty Driesell for one season before a knee injury ended his basketball career and opened the door for him to join the Busch Series in 1997.

ELLIOTT SADLER •   Driver Page •   Ford Driver's Eye •   Superstore: Sadler gear •   Pedigree Pet Tips

Returning to Talladega likely makes Sadler a bit nervous. In last year's event, contact with Kurt Busch 18 laps from the finish sent Sadler's No. 38 Ford flipping through the infield.

This year, however, Sadler has a championship to think about.

"We're like 100 points out -- I don't know," he said. "I want to get through Talladega and then we'll start talking about (the Chase) because if we have problems at Talladega, we'll be way too far out.

The reigning Miss America, Deidra Downs, took a trip in "Wally's World" last weekend. Credit: Turner Sports Interactive

"That's a wild card race and anything can happen (but) if we can go down there and run all 500 miles, we should be fine."

Avoiding "The Big One": In "Wally's World" this week, Wally Dallenbach explains how drivers will be attempting to avoid the big wreck at Talladega.

Watch your speed: In this week's "Dave Discovers," Dave Burns will illustrate the particulars of figuring out pit road speed, which was such a hot topic last weekend at Dover.

Ask The Producer: This week's question comes from several users that want to know what exactly is that metal-looking object that surrounds the drivers' heads in NBC/TNT's new graphics package.

Sam Flood

NBC/TNT producer Sam Flood said it's a simply a design element that he explained as looking like a racetrack. However, he has heard some other descriptions.

"I've read people say it looks like a toilet seat," he said. "You can make anything look like anything, I guess."

Let your voice be heard: Each week, we'll pick one question to ask the producer of the NBC/TNT telecast. Why did they do things this way? Why did they talk to that driver? Any question that eats at you could be answered right here in the Viewer's Guide.

Send your questions to the e-mail box in this piece.

The Rant: This week, J. Wayne Slocumb of parts unknown echoes the statements of many when he says reporters don't respect the emotions of drivers.

"I feel that the current practice of interviewing drivers immediately following the race is not a good thing for either the driver or the viewer. It reminds of the term 'paparazzi' in that the drivers are often 'ambushed' by the reporters.

"Giving the driver a chance to 'cool off' and collect his thoughts... would eliminate a lot of the problems we have seen in the recent past (Tony Stewart for example). There are also times when the driver hasn't had an opportunity to "see the tapes" and therfore will make statements (based on emotion) that are incorrect and/or embarrasing later."

We get this type of rant often and I often find myself scratching my head after I read one. We hear all the time in sports that athletes are too polished, that they never say what they're really thinking and that they all sound the same. Even in NASCAR, this is true far too often:

"The (insert sponsor name and car make here) ran well. We just had a little problem back there and we'll just move on to (insert track name here) next week and see what we have for them."

Sound familiar?

Sports is all about emotion. How long of a cooling off period would you like? Five minutes? Ten? Twenty? Fine. Just don't expect many post-race interviews. The ones you get you probably won't want to hear anyway.

EMAIL Send Mark your take for "The Rant" or your question for "Ask The Producer"

Get in on the action: In "The Rant," we'll pick e-mails each week to argue about a TV coverage issue, be it a commentator's comment, a driver's comment, a pre-race feature -- basically anything you want to spout off about.

Come with an intelligent, passionate argument and you may see your take on NASCAR.COM.

On to this weekend's schedule:

Site: Talladega, Ala.

Track: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval, 33-degree banking in turns).

Last year Another win Waltrip celebrates his second win of the season Wild ride Sadler flips out after an accident late in the race Hard hit Contact with Waltrip and Junior sends Johnson spinning

Race distance: 500 miles, 188 laps

TV: Bud Pole Qualifying: SPEED, 4 p.m. ET Friday. Happy Hour: SPEED, Noon ET Saturday. Race: NBC, 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday.

Last race: It was a dominating day for Ryan Newman at Dover International Speedway. Newman went right to the front as soon as the green flag dropped and led over 300 laps on his way to victory in Sunday's MBNA America 400.

Last year: Michael Waltrip broke Dale Earnhardt Jr's stranglehold on Talladega Superspeedway, sweeping high off the final turn and denying his teammate a fifth straight victory at the high-banked oval.

Potential storyline: Talladega Superspeedway will be the first restrictor -plate racetrack to host a race in the Chase to the Nextel Cup. It'll be interesting to see how the drivers in the Chase approach restrictor-plate racing.

Point to ponder: Mark Martin became the 13th driver to gain top-five status in the NASCAR Nextel Cup point standings in 2004 when he moved into fifth place following the MBNA America 400 at Dover in September. He became the first new driver in the top-five since Bobby Labonte was in the top-five for one race following the first Michigan race - 13 races earlier.

Site: Fontana, Calif.

Last year California Dreamin' Musgrave gets his third consecutive California victory Easy victory Musgrave cruises to the checkers at Fontana

Track: California Speedway (2-mile oval, 14-degree banking in turns).

Race distance: 200 miles, 100 laps

TV: Race: SPEED, 10 p.m. ET Saturday.

Last race: Shane Hmiel chased down Todd Bodine, passed him with two laps to go, and held on to win Saturday night's Las Vegas 350. It is Hmiel's first career Craftsman Truck Series victory.

Last year: Ted Musgrave, his truck rejuvenated by a major suspension change at mid-race, ran down Bud Pole starter Brendan Gaughan with nine laps remaining to win his third consecutive Fontana NCTS race.

Potential storyline: While Bobby Hamilton Jr. leads the Craftsman Truck Series standings, Shane Hmiel is the series' hottest driver. In the past six races, Hmiel leads the series with 894 points scored. In that stretch, Hmiel has four top-10 finishes.

Point to ponder: California Speedway's event decided the Craftsman Truck Series championship in 1999 and 2001.

Mark Spoor is an interactive producer of NASCAR.COM. The Domino's Viewers Guide appears each Thursday during race weeks.