For Chasers, it's all about surviving the 'Big One' at 'Dega

Pick whatever description of racing at Talladega Superspeedway works for you, because they all apply.

Unpredictable. Scary. Dangerous. Electrifying. Thrilling. Volatile.

Most drivers won't agree on any one word to sum up racing at the mammoth, 2.66-mile track, but there's one all hope to avoid in Sunday's AMP Energy 500.

Crashing.

The inevitable Talladega "Big One" once again casts its shadow over the seventh race of the Chase on Sunday, and every driver knows it's usually not a matter of if but when it will happen.

"The Big One is going to happen -- it's just whether you get caught up in the crash or not, or whether it comes early or late in the race," says six-time Talladega winner Jeff Gordon. "It's going to be an exciting race for the drivers and the fans."

•  Johnson on pole after rainout | Lineup

David Reutimann agrees with Gordon and also believes it doesn't matter where you are on track when the potential multi-car crash can occur.

"We've seen the Big One happen at the front and at the back of the pack," Reutimann says. "You just run your race and hope that you can avoid the trouble."

That is, however, easier said than done.

Over the years, drivers and teams have employed several strategies to try and tame the Talladega beast, only to have the Big One reach out and swat down those plans.

But that hasn't stopped the plotting for Sunday's race.

"I'm going to go there and race and I am going to race like I am not concerned about getting in an accident," said Mark Martin, who comes into the weekend 118 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson in the standings and is never a fan of restrictor plate racing.

"And sometimes accidents are all around you and you don't get tangled up, and I am going to race like I am expecting it to happen around me and not catch me. I've thought about it and that is how I feel. If we wreck, then I am not going to worry about it. If we wreck, we don't have a chance to win the championship and if we win, we might -- we just might. So we are going to go there and just see what it turns out."

Like Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya needs to make up ground in the points standings. He moved up a spot after a top-five run at Martinsville last week and believes each driver's overall goal will determine what plans are employed.

"It will be interesting to see what kind of strategy you play during the race because there is always two ways of looking at it," Montoya said. "Do you need points and you want to try and lead as many laps? Or do play conservative and play it at the end? It is always a challenge, especially with the side-by-side restarts. It is going to be, 'Whew, pretty wild.'"

That's exactly how last April's Talladega race ended with the wild finish that saw Brad Keselowski score an upset victory while Carl Edwards' car flew up into the main straightaway guardrail and nearly into the grandstands.

The track raised the catch fence since the incident and NASCAR mandated a smaller restrictor plate to slow the cars down and hopefully keep them on the ground in case an accident does break out.

But even with those safety initiatives, Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows Talladega will be very much the same as it's always been.

"We always put on a great show, and there's always a lot of drama," Earnhardt said, who finished second in the April race. "It can be dangerous, but we've got a safe race car, and they get safer every year. The track has got a great history, too. We always run good here, and the fans are always great to us, so I enjoy coming here."

Who's hot

Tony Stewart: Won this event in 2008; Stewart finished 23rd in track debut with Stewart-Haas in April but has led the most laps in the four COT races (123).

Denny Hamlin: Best driver rating among drivers that have competed in more than one race at Talladega, Hamlin has led 164 laps in seven starts. He led 28 laps in April and finished 22nd.

Jeff Gordon: Leads all active drivers with six wins and laps led (805). Gordon swept both Talladega races in 2007 and won the first race with the COT at the track.

Who's not

Mark Martin: Finished 43rd in first track start with Hendrick Motorsports in April. Martin has been taken out in a crash in two of his last four starts. His last of 22 top 10s came in this event in 2006, with Roush Racing.

Carl Edwards: Has suffered crashes in the last two events. Edwards' best finish -- fifth -- came in this event in 2005. He has posted an average finish of 26.8 in the four races with the COT.

Kasey Kahne: His only top 10 (second) came in this event in 2006. Kahne has posted an average finish of 27.8 in the four races with the COT. He finished 36th in April.

Make a note

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. holds the record for consecutive wins (4) at Talladega, recorded from 2001-03.

• Chevrolets have won 18 of the last 21 races at Talladega.

• David Ragan will have a new Ford FR9 engine and has posted an average finish of 6.3 in his last three starts at Talladega.

• Martin Truex Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya will be back in cars that won restrictor-plate poles this season.

• Marcos Ambrose and Elliott Sadler (who will debut in a Ford) have average finishes of 9.0 and 11.3 on restrictor-plate tracks in 2009.

• Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth will also debut Ford's FR9 engine.