Weekend That Was: 'Dega (cont'd)

On Lap 113, driver Martin Truex Jr. lost his engine -- the second of the RCR/DEI collaborations to fail (watch video). Suddenly all eyes began to focus on the red No. 8 of Earnhardt, wondering if he would be next, and when (read more).

On Lap 115, Elliott Sadler led the field, making all of us wonder when the last time he actually won a race (it was at California Speedway in September of 2004, meaning he has gone even longer than Earnhardt without visiting Victory Lane).

Lap-by-Lap

Jeff Gordon led only one lap at Talladega, where there was only one Big One but more trouble for some Chase drivers.

• Lap-by-Lap, click here
• Race Video, click here
• Inside Chase, click here

Finally, on Lap 128, with 60 to go to the finish, it started looking like old Talladega again. There was three-wide and four-wide racing at speeds of 197 mph, with the cars just inches apart. Is there a better rush watching racing on TV than when it is like that?

With 55 laps to go, Tony Stewart led the field in his No. 20 Chevrolet, followed by Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Juan Montoya and Reed Sorenson in their Dodges.

With 52 to go, the crowd groaned as Earnhardt's engine all-too-predictably went after he had been running up front or near there virtually all afternoon.

With 44 to go, the Big One finally occurred when Bobby Labonte's strong run evaporated as his No. 43 Dodge mysteriously fish-tailed into the outside wall and then came down across the track, collecting collateral-damage victims all along the way (watch video). When the smoke had settled, 11 cars were damaged heavily enough to either end their days completely or at least terminate any realistic chance they had of finishing well, including hard-luck Chase for the Nextel Cup participants Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth (read more).

With 13 to go, Michael Waltrip's chances for a top finish also were lost when he cut a right-front tire and was involved in a mini-melee (by Talladega standards) that eliminated Greg Biffle, Tony Raines and Sadler from the hunt, as well as Waltrip himself.

Now the racers left battling in the lead pack were getting frantic. Penske Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch eventually hooked up on the outside lane, following Stewart. Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Casey Mears teamed up and were coming hard on the inside line.

Stewart eventually made the mistake of attempting to block first the Hendrick gang low and then the Penske bunch high within a matter of seconds. It didn't work and he got shuffled out temporarily.

With eight to go, the top three were Newman, Kurt Busch and Montoya. But with five to go, Johnson led the Hendrick charge to the front, pushed from behind by Gordon and Mears.

If all of this sounds exciting, it was. It was as thrilling a finish as even Talladega has seen in a while.

On the final lap, Gordon jumped out from behind Johnson and in front of Stewart, who continually displayed why he may just be the most talented driver out there by again and again battling his way to the front even when he got shuffled out. But Stewart was to get shuffled out once more after pushing Gordon to the front -- and had to settle for eighth as Gordon headed to Victory Lane, with Johnson second (watch video).

How was the view from home? Well, I wouldn't know until well after the fact. I had to leave for a church function and tape the end of the race for later viewing (OK, so I had one of my kids actually do the taping).

When we emerged from church, my car wouldn't start. My youngest daughter even tried sprinkling Holy Water on the hood, to no avail. Who knew they were putting RCR/DEI engines in Dodge Caravans these days?

Two-man race?
If the end of the UAW-Ford 500 looked familiar in that Gordon and Johnson finished 1-2, perhaps we all should get used to it. The Hendrick Motorsports titans are 1-2 in the Chase points standings now, too, separated by a mere nine points.

With six Chase races remaining heading into this weekend's Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, where Johnson often dominates, this is looking more and more like a two-horse race.

Clint Bowyer of Richard Childress Racing sits in third, only 63 points behind Gordon, and you have to admire how he has performed in the Chase so far. But in addition to lacking the experience of the two guys sitting in front of him, now one has to question the overall reliability of the engines currently being fielded by Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies.

About the only other driver left outside the top two with a legitimate shot at the title now is Stewart, who is fourth and 154 points off the pace being set by Gordon. For anyone else to have a chance, both Gordon and Johnson will have to screw up mightily -- an unlikely scenario. (Continued)