>>Chase Shifts To Talladega

(Talladega, AL)  --  Five down, five to go, as the Chase for the Sprint Cup continues this week at Talladega for Sunday's Good Sam Club 500.  Only seven points separate the top three drivers at the halfway point, as Carl Edwards holds down the top spot, followed by Kevin Harvick, five behind, and Matt Kenseth, seven points behind.  Five-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, after moving to third on the points list, was pushed to the door last week in North Carolina, as he dropped to eighth after wrecking at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Despite tumbling down the points list, Johnson is 35 points behind.  Matt Kenseth won last weekend in Charlotte.

Clint Bowyer will attempt to do something only the Earnhardt family has accomplished at Talladega, and that is to win this race in back-to-back seasons.  Dale Earnhardt won back-to-back fall races at Talladega three times, while son Dale Jr. captured this race in 2001 and 2002.