Expect 197-198 mph speeds at Talladega

The day of the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway in February was one of anxiety for NASCAR officials. They watched as Sprint Cup drivers, hooked up in the new Daytona version of the two-car draft, shot speeds into a relative stratosphere, spinning gauges to 206 miles per hour. That was very fast. That also was not acceptable. So NASCAR stepped into its occasional role as speed police, eventually changing the engine restrictor plate that helps control speeds at Daytona and Talladega and toying with the cooling systems that teams use to feed air to the engine compartment, with the aim of occasionally disrupting the two-car tandems. The plan worked, and a modification of it will be in use this weekend during practice and qualifying for the Aaron's 499 and the race itself at Talladega Superspeedway. After Daytona Speedweeks, NASCAR dropped the size of the restrictor plate by 1/64 of an inch to 7/8 for this weekend. A minor impact on speed is expected. John Darby, Sprint Cup Series director, said he expects speeds this weekend to be in the 197-198 mph neighborhood "with an occasional lap at 200 to 201." SPEED