No we haven't switched our coverage here at HardcoreRaceFans.com to baseball - even though the Philadelphia Phillies are now to one game away from advancing to the National League Championship Series, but that's another story. This weekend's race at Talladega Superspeedway is seen by most Chase teams as one of the biggest wild cards in determining the outcome of the championship. Anything can, and probably will happen at Talladega and each of the twelve drivers going for this year's title know if they want to have a shot at taking home the trophy, they need to make it through 'Dega unscathed.

Last year it was the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson that stole the show in the Chase and finished 1-2 on the high banks of Talladega. Gordon used a last-lap move coming off Turn 2 to slingshot around his teammate and to his sixth win at the 2.5-mile Superspeedway.

Not a factor for much of the afternoon, Gordon decided from the outset to stay towards the back of the pack, avoid the 'Big One' and wait for his opportunity to strike. The strategy paid off, giving the four-time champ a season sweep at Talladega.

"Leading is probably the best way to avoid the 'big one,'" Gordon explained. "But if you get shuffled out of the lead, you have to survey the situation and make the best decision at that time.

"If there are plenty of laps left, do you try and stay in the lead pack to draft back up to the front? Or do you clear yourself of the main pack and just ride around until the closing stages to make your move?" Gordon said of the different options. "Last year in this race, I hung back away from the big pack for much of the day and was still able to win. While I hate that strategy, it worked in that instance."

Johnson, who is currently second in the standings to Carl Edwards, agrees with his teammate on how to approach this event. While sandbagging at the back of the pack may have its advantages, it's not always a guarantee.

"You either race or you ride," Johnson pointed out. "We've seen guys caught up in wrecks in both philosophies. I have no clue what to do when we get there. We've tried the ride thing and it's worked out. The spring it didn't work. We got torn up. Last fall it worked out. You don't know. That's the part that makes it exciting for everyone else. The guys dealing with these race cars and driving them, it drives us crazy. We do not like Talladega in the Chase. We love Talladega. Talladega is a blast in the spring. But this time of the year, for those 12 guys, there isn't a worse track to put on the schedule for us and our mental stability. But it is what it is. We're all dealing with the same stuff and it certainly keeps things interesting and can be a turning point in this Chase battle."

One driver looking to make this weekend's Amp Energy 500 a turning point in the Chase is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Talladega's favorite son, Dale Jr. has five wins on the high-banks and is one of the best restrictor-plate drivers on the circuit - he did learn from the best after all.  Not only is Earnhardt Jr. returning to one of his best tracks, he does not have a DEI engine under his hood this time. Last year during this race, Earnhardt Jr. looked to be a contender as always; that is until his fifth engine failure of the year took him out of contention for good. With a much more stable engine package under his hood this season, a good run this weekend could boost this team currently eighth in the standings into the thick of the Chase as the series heads to Charlotte next week.

Earnhardt Jr. was not the only driver to have problems at Talladega last year either. Kyle Busch, this year's April winner at Talladega, was caught up in a mid-race incident in Turn 4 that ended the youngster's day. With so much going wrong in the first three races of this year's Chase, a repeat of last year's incident would simply add insult to injury to this team.

While the Joe Gibbs Racing stable currently 10th, 11th and 12th in the series standings, Busch hopes the JGR restrictor-plate program will step up to the plate and make it count when they desperately need a home run.

"So far this year, our restrictor plate program's been really good," Busch said. "We?ve had some great luck on it. Our cars have handled the best, but they haven't had the most speed. Hopefully, this time around we can change that and be better. Anything can happen (at Talladega)."

Another driver hoping to simply make it through this weekend's event at Talladega is Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle. Since 2006, Biffle has finished only one race at the 2.5-mile Superspeedway, an 18th earlier this year. His best finish at 'Dega was a 13th in 2005. With only thirty points separating him from the Chase lead, Biffle knows he can't afford to keep up this trend of bad runs, but is remaining optimistic.

"I can't wait to get to Talladega," Biffle explained. "We'll be one race closer to deciding who the champion will be. I'm ready for it. You can either be on edge at times in the race, or at other times it gets strung out. You just never know what to expect. Pit stops can be important but at the end of the day, there's not really a whole lot you can do to prepare for what can happen on the track without a moments notice. The spotters play a huge role in racing at Talladega. I rely on Joel (Edmonds, spotter) to let me know what's going on all around me throughout the race. Other than that, you just have to try to race smart and hope things work out."

Biffle's Roush Fenway Racing teammate and the man second in points, Carl Edwards is in a very similar situation. After going for broke for the win last weekend on the last lap in Kansas, Edwards showed he is willing to do whatever it takes to win races and beat the competition. While it didn't quite work out as planned last week, Edwards is only ten points out of the Chase lead. Much like Biffle, the driver of the No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion is heading to a track he has had mixed success on. In eight races, Edwards has only one top-5, three top-10s and four finishes of 32nd or worse.  Despite the mixed results, the Missouri-native is actually looking forward to this weekend's event.

"Believe it or not, I love racing at Talladega because it's a really fast track that definitely keeps you on your toes," said Edwards. "Hopefully we can stay out of the wrecks or the 'big one' as some call it and we should be fine. We had a great race last weekend at Kansas, and the Office Depot team has been very strong thus far in The Chase."

One team that continues to show its strength throughout the Chase is that of Kevin Harvick and his Richard Childress Racing crew, led by crew chief Todd Berrier. Leaving Kansas, this team is coming off a career-best nine straight top-10 finishes. Harvick has yet to win since his dramatic victory in the 2007 Daytona 500, but has used consistency to put himself in the title hunt.

"I would take the top 10, for sure! Talladega is obviously a wild card in the Chase. It is just so hard to predict what is going to happen," Harvick pointed out. "You try and keep yourself around other drivers who understand the drafting game but one small mistake by anyone can take out the entire field. I would love to win at Talladega but if I was guaranteed at top-10 finish, I would take it."

With forty-three cars racing bumper-to-bumper, two-three-and-four-wide for 500 miles, something is bound to give. A mental mistake behind the wheel, a blown tire or a bump the wrong way at over 200 mph can spell trouble for many. The key to having a successful weekend at Talladega and heading home to Charlotte next week is to race smart, have a reliable drafting partner and, most importantly of all, come out unscathed. Otherwise, your championship hopes could go up in smoke.