TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The more things change at Talladega Superspeedway, the more they seem to stay the same. No matter what teams do to improve horsepower and aerodynamics, whether it's the new chassis or the old one, restrictor-plate racing creates a parity that can't easily be overcome by money, technology or ability.

And drivers say that will be the case again in Sunday's Aaron's 499. The win won't necessarily go to the fastest or best handling car. Instead, it'll go to the driver who finds himself in the right place at the right time, something that's been the case at NASCAR's largest track since shortly after it opened in 1969.

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How you pull things off and how you try to pass somebody, the ability to bump draft has changed a lot [in the new car]. This is why we see it all the way around the race track now.

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-- JEFF BURTON

Even though the cars have evolved -- most recently with the advent of the new chassis -- the strategy of the race has remained a constant: Stay out of trouble all day, put yourself in a prime position in the final laps and hopefully find a drafting partner who can propel you to the front.

So even though Juan Montoya and Greg Biffle will bring the field to the green flag Sunday, someone like Jeff Burton -- starting 20th -- may have just as much chance of running up front all day.

"It is the same, but it is different. If that makes any difference," Burton said. "There are a lot of things that are so much the same. In the first race here with the [new chassis], it was crazy because everybody just got in the high line and just rode around for three-quarters of the race.

"In every race since then, it has been three-wide, four-wide. You get big runs with the cars. In a lot of ways, the car isn't really all that different than the old car. But then you get yourself in some situations and it's completely different.

Burton said it's easier to notice the minute differences in the racing between this current chassis and the previous one from inside the cockpit than it is from the grandstands.

"Watching the race may look the same, to me, when you watch them," Burton said. "But in the car, how you pull things off and how you try to pass somebody, the ability to bump draft has changed a lot. This is why we see it all the way around the race track now. Some of the things are different but honestly, for me, when I watch the race, they don't look much different at all."

Jeff Gordon, who qualified 14th, said the pack mentality brought upon by the restrictor plates is the major reason why the racing really hasn't changed.

"Well, we've always had parity I think here at Talladega," Gordon said. "I mean the restrictor plate brought parity. You might have seen some different things happening in qualifying over the years and you're still going to see a little bit of that here, but when it comes to the race I think this car has brought parity in general everywhere that we go. But I don't really see any difference in parity here than I have in the past with the old car."

When it's only "a sticker package that's different between the cars and with the restrictor plate on the motor," Jimmie Johnson said it's incumbent upon the employees back at the shop in North Carolina, particularly those key people in the engine shop, to find the smallest of advantages.

Johnson finds himself deep in the field, rolling off 37th. But what works when a car is on the track by itself may not be much of an asset when 42 other cars are running nose to tail and wheel to wheel. Still, when speeds begin approaching 200 mph, horsepower is paramount. And the more you have, the better your odds of winning.

"I go to the shop and the guys are jumping up and down because they found three horsepower," Johnson said. "So it's such a small gain that you just stay on top of one another here. It might hurt the stats in that way.

"But on the flip side, everybody is involved in the race and you're running bigger packs so it probably puts on a better show at this track. So there are some things that kind of go away with the [new chassis] here, but then there are other aspects that get a little stronger."