This hasn’t been Jamie McMurray’s season to say the least – just three top-10 finishes and none since early June. Yet McMurray goes to the post at Talladega as one of the favorites based upon his knack for finishing well at both Daytona and Talladega.

McMurray was the last Ford driver to win at Talladega (fall 2009) and is both a Daytona 500 and Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola champion in Daytona.

Another not-so-dark horse is Jeff Burton, who finished 10th in Talladega’s spring event and second to Bowyer in last fall’s Chase race. Bowyer claims Talladega’s best Driver Rating of 90.7 and has made more Green Flag Passes (4,048) than any other competitor.