Dale Earnhardt Jr. has eight top-10 finishes, including seven top-fives and five victories at Talladega. Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Earnhardt Jr., Gordon step up to the plates

Two non-Chase drivers expected to be contenders at Talladega

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to Talladega looking to avenge a 15th-place showing in the May race, the result of being collected in a six-car crash two laps from the finish.

Avenge? Yes, after all it was his worst finish at the 2.66-miule superspeedway since his rookie season. In 2000, Junior blew an engine an finished 42nd -- the only time in 11 starts that he hasn't led a lap -- and followed that up with a 14th-place finish in the season's second date at 'Dega.

Inside the Numbers Most restrictor-plate wins Rank Driver No. 1. D. Earnhardt 11 2. J. Gordon 10 3. D. Earnhardt Jr. 7 4. D. Jarrett 5 5. S. Marlin 5 Season sweeps at Talladega Year Driver 1970 Pete Hamilton 1975 Buddy Baker 1982 Darrell Waltrip 1990 Dale Earnhardt 1999 Dale Earnhardt 2002 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Big E's 2000 winHighlights from Dale Earnhardt's final victory at Talladega Fantasy ReportMarty, Danielle and Jimmy Spencer discuss 'Dega! Around the TrackJeff Burton and EASports take you for a lap at Talladega FedEx PreviewNBC/TNT's Marty Snider looks ahead to Talladega NASCAR WeatherCNN/Headline News forecasts Talladega's weather Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

In the May race this year, Earnhardt led only three laps, his worst laps-led performance since the Fall 2003 event, when he also led only three laps.

Make no mistake, with Tony Eury Jr. back on the pit box, this trip to Talladega is a big race for the No. 8 team.

"Talladega is a special place to me, always has been, always will be," Earnhardt said. "I love racing there. I love winning there. It's definitely one of my favorite tracks.

"Tony Jr. has had Talladega marked on his calendar for a while, and he's been putting in overtime to get this car ready. I feel we need to redeem ourselves after our last race. The wreck was a bad deal, but we weren't that good to begin with."

Earnhardt has reason to be optimistic. He has eight top-10 finishes, including seven top-fives and five victories at Talladega. Factor in that DEI cars have won 11 of the past 19 restrictor-plate races and there's no reason not to expect Junior to race for the checkers.

"This is the same car we raced in May, and we've done a lot of work on it to make it better. Tony Jr. is really good at building and preparing restrictor-plate cars.

"Our grandpa was Robert Gee, and Robert Gee was the best in the business when it came to hanging bodies on cars, so Tony Jr. learned from the best. Tony Jr. spent a lot of time with him learning how to hang bodies for different types of tracks. He is certainly one of the reasons we've had success at restrictor-plate tracks."

Earnhardt is the defending race champion, rallying from 11th during the final five laps to beat Kevin Harvick. However, his post-race slip of the tongue in Victory Lane is what fans will most remember from the 2004 EA Sports 500.

Jeff Gordon, no slouch himself when it comes to wheeling at plate tracks, can equal Dale Earnhardt's series record for restrictor-plate victories with a win -- and become only the sixth driver to sweep Talladega in the same year.

Gordon won the Aaron's 499 in May, and also won the season-opener at Daytona. A victory Sunday in the UAW-Ford 500 would give the four-time Cup champion three plate wins in a season, which also would tie Earnhardt's record (1990).

"Dale was the master at these types of races," Gordon said. "I'd love to get the win, but not because of any statistic or record. And it really doesn't add any extra incentive because this DuPont team tries to win every race.

"Statistics are great when it's all said and done but, during the season, you really don't care about them or where you might rank on a list."

• Martin the Lone Ranger when it comes to 'Dega