2009 AMP Energy 500 Reflections

I came to the AMP Energy 500, my seventh consecutive Talladega  weekend, ready to see Carl Edwards right the wrongs from the Aaron’s 499 in April. It was a cool, sometimes cold, weekend that featured a Mountain Dew 250 ran late in the evening and won by Kyle Busch with a push from his teammate Aric Almirola. We sat in the Moss-Thornton Tower, section E, right on Start/Finish. I was pulling for Rick Crawford, who made a late race charge to the front, but he was wrecked by Mike Skinner. Sunday morning was cool, but dry. The sun made for a nice day at the track. Many people would comment that the race was “boring” but I find every race at Talladega unique in some way. This race featured several laps where the entire field was in a single-file line. My driver, Carl Edwards, played his usual smart strategy of riding in the back to avoid “The Big One” but could not muster a run to the front in the end. Jamie McMurray held off charges from several drivers late in the race to claim victory after a green-white-checker finish was cut short by a crash in the tri-oval on the final lap. Overall, I believe NASCAR’s ruling to disallow bump drafting did lead to a less exciting race but I’m sure they will work on it for 2010. Happy HALLOW-DEGA!