Auto Racing

TALLADEGA — Just a few weeks into the Chase for the championship, the field has shuffled around and drivers who appeared to be near the back of the pack now appear to be serious contenders.

Perhaps the biggest surprise came in the dismal finishes by Kyle Busch in the first two races of the Chase. The young driver took the racing world by storm during the first 26 races in 2008, but mechanical issues (a broken bolt on his sway bar at New Hampshire, a blown engine at Dover and a fuel problem at Kansas) have moved him to last in the Chase standings.

While Busch is hoping for a car that can go an entire race, Roush-Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle is emerging as a serious threat to win the title.

Biffle was winless through 26 races, but picked up back-to-back wins at New Hampshire and Dover to start the Chase. Those victories boosted him from ninth to third. After winning at New Hampshire, Biffle said he was confident because he runs well at several of the tracks in the Chase.

"I felt like we were a definite threat for the Chase if we made it, you know, because of the momentum we've had and because of how good racetracks are in the Chase for me," he said. "I can't name them all. Dover, Homestead we've won at, Texas, Kansas. … There's a bunch of great racetracks for us in the Chase."

While he's run well at several of the tracks, Biffle hasn't had a lot of success at Talladega. The Vancouver, Wash., native hasn't finished better than 18th in a Cup car at the track.

"You know, there are some that I was a little nervous about," Biffle said. "One was Loudon, and the other two are Martinsville and Talladega. We've gotten through the one a little better than I expected, which is (Loudon). So I feel like we're definitely the dark horse, like a couple people said we are."

Defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson enters Sunday's race as the leader after holding off Carl Edwards at Kansas for the win. The two-time defending champion has gotten hot at the right time, but he says he' still wary of Busch getting on another tear.

"I just think it's way too early in the Chase to count anybody out," Johnson said. "We just have no clue what's going to happen with the races to come."

And when it comes to unpredictability, the race at Talladega takes the cake. Although Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Johnson look forward to it, several other drivers see the 2.66-mile track as a pit where championship dreams can die on any given lap. Even the drivers who have experienced immense success at the track know just how quickly the "big one" can happen.

"I think Talladega is the best opportunity to get swept up into a wreck or something that's not your fault," Kevin Harvick said. "But … there's a lot of cars that run well at Talladega and anybody can win from anywhere you start on the grid. It is a little bit of a wild card race. There's just a lot of things going on."

Only four Chase contenders have won a Cup Series race at Talladega, but several have come close in the past. Tony Stewart, in his last season with Joe Gibbs Racing, has finished second numerous times at the track, but has yet to take the checkered flag in a Cup Series event at the speedway.

Regardless of who wins the race, all of the drivers in the Chase said they expect the Amp Energy 500 to be an exciting event.

"It always has been (the wild card in the Chase), but that's what makes the Talladega fall race so interesting to watch, because it can be such a mixer as far as the points standings," Stewart said.

Next: Amp Energy 500
Sunday, noon, ABC 33/40, 92.7 FM