=== This Week in Auto Racing April 28 - May 1 ===

by Steve Schwarz, Motorsports Editor

Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - As we are set to turn the calendar page and enter May, we begin the heart of the racing season with two big races on the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway.

NASCAR

Nextel Cup

Aaron's 499 - Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, Alabama

Just as soon as the trailers drive through the tunnel and enter the Talladega Superspeedway, all eyes look towards Dale Earnhardt Inc. and with good reason. The DEI team has dominated the 2.66-mile oval like no other.

Since the fall of 2001, DEI has taken six trips to Victory Lane in seven tries. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won four straight times from the fall of 2001 through the spring of 2003 and after failing twice (to teammate Michael Waltrip and Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon in a controversial decision) came back last fall to win again.

With this background we must look once again this Sunday to Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip. After struggling early in the season, the pair have collected top-10 finishes in each of the last two events.

Waltrip probably had the best car last week in Phoenix, but just ran out of tires catching Busch and therefor had nothing left to make the winning pass.

If Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip come up short, then you must look at the amazing effort put in by Roush Racing so far this year. The team has earned four wins (Greg Biffle - 2, Kurt Busch - 1, Carl Edwards - 1). Four of their five drivers sit in the top-10. Only 2003 Nextel Cup champion Matt Kenseth has struggled.

However, Talladega has never been very kind to Jack Roush. He has just two wins at the Alabama track and none since the spring of 1997 (Mark Martin).

Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports broke up the DEI domination last spring when the No.24 Dupont Chevrolet took a controversial yellow/checkered flag last April.

The win (over a charging Earnhardt Jr.) led to NASCAR's installation of the green-white-checker finish after fans threw debris on the track to protest Gordon's win.

One can only hope that Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. will be side-by-side this weekend and the fans can get the answer to the question that went unanswered last spring.

Busch

Aaron's 312 - Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, Alabama

DEI hasn't been just dominant at the Nextel Cup level when it comes to the Talladega Superspeedway. The team has won the last two Busch Series events at the 2.66-mile oval.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 2003 event leading a race-high 60 of 117 laps. Last year, "Junior" escorted teammate Martin Truex Jr. to the finish line for a one-two DEI finish.

Truex Jr. avoided a couple of late crashes and was just ahead of Earnhardt Jr. with two laps to go when the final caution flag flew to end any chance of an exciting finish. The drivers completed the white flag lap and took the checkered flag under caution.

Truex Jr. has come out of the gate slowly in 2005, with just one win (Mexico City) among his three top-10s. His six races outside the top-10 compares poorly to the eight times he finished 11th or worse in all of 2004 (34 events).

Yet despite the early season woes, the No.8 Chevrolet team is in fifth-place overall. Unfortunately, they are 348 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

The No.60 Ford of Edwards has been remarkably consistent. He has finished in the top-10 in each of the first nine events. No other driver has more than six top-10s (note - Kevin Harvick has six top-10s in six races).

To use Edwards' name and Harvick's name in the same sentence says something for the 25-year-old. And the best thing about Edwards is that he seems to be having so much fun out there. His smile is contagious and it is impossible not to root for the youngster.

He finished eighth at Phoenix after he and Truex Jr. got together early in the race.

"I made one mistake and Martin Truex Jr. and I got together," said Edwards after the race. "Other than that our day went well. It was a lot of fun and I had a great time racing...I wish it could have gone a little differently, but I'm not going to be greedy. We have had a top-10 in every race this season with the No.60 car and I'm pretty proud of that."

He should be very proud of what he has done to date, but there are still 25 races before they crown the Busch Series champion and a lot of thing can go wrong between now and Homestead.

Especially at Talladega where the "Big One," the huge multi-car crash is a distinct possibility. In 2004, 10 drivers crashed on lap 101. The 2003 event was marred by a "classic" Big One which involved 21 cars and in 2002 we were witness to a 27-car melee.

Can't wait to see what 2005 has in store for us.

Craftsman

Dodge Ram Tough 200 - Gateway International Raceway - Madison, Illinois

While the Nextel Cup and Busch Series teams try to avoid disaster at Talladega, the Craftsman Truck Series will be "cruising" around the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway just outside of St. Louis.

OK, if last year's event is any indicator they will not be "cruising." David Starr won the 2004 event while surviving a record four green-white-checker finishes.

And even Starr was forced to use his bumper to make his way to the front. He used the classic Saturday night "bump and run" to move Chad Chaffin out of the way and win for the second time in his Craftsman career.

While Bobby Hamilton holds the series lead, this year has seen four different drivers make the trip to Victory Lane. Hamilton won the opener in Daytona and has been followed by Steve Park, Ron Hornaday Jr. and Bobby Labonte.

Hamilton has used three top-three finished to offset a sub-par 20th-place result at Martinsville and still hold a 19-point lead over Nextel Cup veteran Ricky Craven who is racing full-time in the truck series for the first time.

Craven has collected three top-fives including a runner-up at Martinsville to move into second overall. Veterans Ted Musgrave, Hornaday Jr. and Jimmy Spencer make up an "ancient" top-five in the stands.

The series seems to have become a place where former and current Nextel Cup drivers go to "enjoy" racing as there is so much less stress than in Busch or Nextel Cup racing.

Here is one vote in favor of Nextel Cup drivers being given a chance to drive in the series instead of retiring from racing altogether.

IndyCar

Indy Japan 300 - Twin Ring Motegi - Motegi, Japan

Teams would love to gather momentum with a victory in Japan which would give them an advantage as they prepare for the 2005 Indianapolis 500.

Dan Wheldon currently holds that advantage after collecting a win on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL three weeks ago. It was Wheldon's second win of 2005 and gave him a 24-point lead over defending series champion Tony Kanaan.

Wheldon also won last year at Motegi - Honda's first win on its home track. The No.26 Honda crossed the finish line 1.4454 seconds ahead of teammate Kanaan. The Emberton, England native was by far the dominant car on the track, yielding the lead only during green flag pit stops.

Kanaan and Andretti/Green Racing continue a remarkable string of top-five finishes that dates back to the second race of 2004 (18 races). This year has seen him post three top-three results, but no victories.

"We have a great team and we will keep doing our job the same way we did last year," said Kanaan.

But will it be enough without a trip or two to Victory Lane?

With Wheldon "learning" how to win, Kanaan may just have to step his game up even further. Strange words for a driver who has an 18-race top-five streak...but true.

Sandwiched in between Wheldon's two wins was a victory by Sam Hornish Jr. at Phoenix. The two-time series champion sits in third-place overall 29 points behind Wheldon and just ahead of his Penske Racing teammate Helio Castroneves.

The team faltered on the Florida city streets coming home 15th (Hornish Jr.) and 20th (Castroneves).

Expect a big effort from Penske as they tune up for Indy, where owner Roger Penske is "king."