Some Talladega drafting

The Sprint Cup hits its final superspeedway of the season at Talladega and it may be the final chance for the Chasers on the fringe to get back into the mix for the title. Four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson has a six-point lead over Denny Hamlin. Kevin Harvick is 62 points back and then there's Kyle Busch at 172 back. Really, anyone after that needs a miracle to get back in it, and Busch needs a minor one. He needs to win at least twice to get back into the mix.
The unpredictability of a restrictor plate track and the close racing means the Chase leaders could get knocked out early and have a 30-plus finish. Or if one of them survives and wins, while the others do not, he could make a big gain.
At any rate, here's a look at my top five for this week:

Jimmie Johnson. He's still the leader and has a knack for missing the big wrecks.
Jeff Gordon. He's had some bad luck, but the Chevys are always strong in the superspeedways.
Tony Stewart. He's pretty much out of the Chase picture at 236 back, but he's become very good at restrictor plate tracks.
Kurt Busch. He's figured out the restrictor game in the last couple of years.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Probably a reach to pick him here, but if he's going to win one this year, this is the place.

Thunder on the Mountain ... and picks

It will be a real endurance test at Pocono. The race is long at 500 miles, it's likely to be hot and humid and the track has three distinctly different turns. The one break the drivers do get is the long straightaway at Pocono, so they do get a chance to catch their breaths for a few seconds before going into turn one.
First a look at how my picks fared last week at the 600-miler:

Kyle Busch: Finished third, so OK there, whether Jeff Burton likes it or not.
Jimmie Johnson: Got caught in an accident, but came back out and ran some laps to finish 37th.
Jeff Gordon: Was solid all day and took sixth, continuing a very good season.
Kurt Busch: The winner. You're welcome.
Kasey Kahne: A respectable 12th. Debated on whether to pick Kahne or Logano in that last spot, and Logano was 13th, so not much difference.

OK, for this week at Pocono ... remember when a deer ran onto the track there? You never know what kind of critters you might see up in Long Pond.

Denny Hamlin - He runs well at Pocono and the team is pretty hot, so hard not to pick him.
Tony Stewart - He needs a win and he won here last year. Has traditonally run better in warmer weather, so maybe it's his time to step up.
Kyle Busch - He drives for Gibbs. He's been leading and winning in everything, so got to pick him here.
Jeff Gordon - The dude's gonna win soon ... really.
Joey Logano - I wrote about why I liked him earlier this week, so it wouldn't look good if I didn't pick him right?

P.S. - Wanted to pick Junior, but not a believer on one good qualifying run.
Don't forget the race is on TNT, Sunday, 1 p.m. start.