By the numbers: The 2013 Chasers at Talladega - MotorSportsTalk

Hold your breath. Cross your fingers. Talladega has arrived.

The 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders will look to keep their cars and championship hopes intact in Sunday’s Camping World RV Sales 500 – the sixth race in this year’s postseason – at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway.

Chaos is always just a heartbeat away at this track thanks to the pack racing created by the speed-robbing restrictor plates, and it makes for a race that is marked by both excitement and dread. It wouldn’t be surprising to see more than one Chaser’s title bid end in that patented Talladega mega-crash – “The Big One.”

But the wild card nature of Talladega also can lend itself to stunning upsets. Take Sprint Cup’s last visit to Talladega in May, which ended with Front Row Motorsports’ David Ragan getting a push from teammate David Gilliland on the final lap to win in a green-white-checkered finish.

Of course, that G-W-C finale was set up by a Big One with six laps to go, triggered by contact involving J.J. Yeley and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. down the backstretch. Adding to the spectacle, Kurt Busch was hit by a wayward Yeley and flipped onto the roof of Ryan Newman.

As provided by NASCAR, here are statistics on how each Chase contender has done results-wise at ‘Dega in their careers. But don’t bother trying to use these numbers to predict who wins on Sunday, because, time and again, this track has proven how unpredictable it can be.

Matt Kenseth (LEADER, 2,225 points)
· One win, five Top-5s, nine Top-10s
· Average Finish: 17.6 in 27 races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 14.1

Jimmie Johnson (Second, -4 points)
· Two wins, six Top-5s, 10 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 17.1 in 23 races
· Average Running Position: 17.5, 11th-best

Kevin Harvick (Third, -29 points)
· One win, Top-5s, 10 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 16.4 in 25 races
· Average Running Position: 19.0, 21st-best

Jeff Gordon (Fourth, -36 points)
· Six wins, 15 Top-5s, 19 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 16.3 in 41 races
· Average Running Position: 18.4, 18th-best

Kyle Busch (Fifth, -37 points)
· One win, three Top-5s, four Top-10s
· Average Finish: 22.9 in 17 races
· Average Running Position: 19.1, 22nd-best

Greg Biffle (Sixth, -58 points)
· Two Top-5s, five Top-10s
· Average Finish: 19.9 in 21 races
· Average Running Position: 21.4, 28th-best

Kurt Busch (Seventh, -59 points)
· Six Top-5s, 13 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 16.7 in 25 races
· Average Running Position: 15.1, third-best

Clint Bowyer (Eighth, -63 points)
· Two wins, four Top-5s, seven Top-10s
· Average Finish: 16.3 in 15 races
· Average Running Position: 21.2, 27th-best

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Ninth, -66 points)
· Five wins, nine Top-5s, 13 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 15.1 in 27 races
· Average Running Position: 15.1, second-best

Carl Edwards (10th, -67 points)
· Two Top-5s, five Top-10s
· Average Finish: 20.8 in 18 races
· Average Running Position: 24.0, 39th-best

Joey Logano (11th, -75 points)
· Two Top-5s, four Top-10s
· Average Finish: 20.0 in nine races
· Average Running Position: 17.8, 14th-best

Ryan Newman (12th, -78 points)
· Four Top-5s, eight Top-10s
· Average Finish: 22.2 in 23 races
· Average Running Position: 21.6, 30th-best

Kasey Kahne (13th, -81 points)
· Three Top-5s, four Top-10s
· Average Finish: 21.5 in 19 races
· Average Running Position: 21.1, 26th-best

Follow @estradawriting

An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”