Every driver has a race he looks forward to. For some it’s their home track, others, their best race. But there is one race that every under-dog team circles on their calendar.  The Geico 500 at Talladega. It’s five hundred mile around a 2.66 mile track. Thirty-three degrees of banking. Speeds up to 200 mph. It is the fastest track on Earth.

The thing about Talladega is that the draft makes it unpredictable. A driver on the smallest team in Nascar can win here. To win here you just need to be in the right place at the right time. In 2013 David Ragan won here racing for Front Row Motorsports. Never heard of the team? That’s because they had never won before. Usually their drivers were finishing around 30th. And then came a 1-2 finish for them at Dega. Wow.

There are a couple of drivers who stand out at restricter-plate tracks. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick are two of these. Both have been running well in recent races at Talladega, if you cut out Jr.’s wreck last Fall. Another driver to watch is Jamie McMurray, who won his last race here. Jamie is carrying a lot of momentum into this weekend, and a win would most likely claim him a Chase spot.

Last year a late caution scrambled the field in the Fall race. But before that caution, Jimmie Johnson, who was the day’s dominate driver, was passed. By Danica Patrick. She claimed the lead from Jimmie, and was holding it until the caution. She has shown great speed at Talladega, and if she can avoid bad situations, (such as untimely cautions), she could very well win her first race ever.

There are two drivers who are probably the best skill wise at restricter-plate tracks. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Both have had amazing cars for Talladega and Daytona, but both have been wrecked in several of those races. Stewart hasn’t finished a whole restricter-plate race since 2011. He was leading the Fall Talladega race, within sight of the checkered-flag, when him and Michael Waltrip collided, wrecking them both. Jeff has been a little better, but still has had multiple problems in recent years.

David Ragan was mentioned earlier. His win in 2013 marked the start of a great streak at Talladega. Him and teammate David Gilliland both had a great streak. Ragan is substituting for Kyle Busch. Busch drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, and that team has an outstanding restricter-plate racing program. That could mean a win for Ragan.

This is the one track where I honestly can’t predict the winner. However, I do have a fun little fantasy game I do with my family sometimes. I pick five top-drivers who I believe will do well, and then I pick one under-dog. My five top drivers are McMurray, Earnhardt Jr., Ragan, Gordon, and Stewart. note: Ragan is driving for a top team, so thus he qualifies as a top driver. My under-dog pick is Danica Patrick. Her recent stats here suggest a strong run is in the making. However, while I think these are the best picks I can make, I will be lucky if even half finish well. I’ll be insanely surprised if one wins. That is how crazy Talladega is. Your leading one minute, crashed the next.