TV: FOX, 1 pm EDT

Laps: 188
Track length: 2.66 miles
Race length: 500 miles

Qualifying record: Bill Elliott, 212.809 mph, 1987
Race record: Mark Martin, 188.354 mph, 1997

DRIVERS TO WATCH

Johnny Benson -- Sits third in the Winston Cup standings by way of good runs after eight races; continues to look for his first career series win; has five top-10 finishes including a season-best finish of third at Texas.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Makes no secret of his love for restrictor plate racetracks; led 28 laps in last fall's Talladega race before a daring maneuver on the final lap cost him positions to a 14th finish; second finish at Daytona (another restrictor plate speedway), should see him among competitors for top positions; legendary father died at Daytona on a final lap crash.

Bill Elliott -- His record-setting qualifying mark of 212.809 mph stands since 1987; won that race known as the Winston 500 at the time, but none since at the track; leads all drivers with four poles for the DieHard 500; also won the Winston race in 1985.

Jeff Gordon -- One of five active drivers with two wins at Talladega; is the winner to start from the lowest position (36th), accomplished in last year's DieHard 500; his first win was also in the DieHard 500 in 1996; finished fourth in the Winston 500; trails leader Dale Jarrett by 123 points in the standings.

Dale Jarrett -- Remained first in the Winston Cup champion following his win at the Virginia 500 at Martinsville, the third win of the season; the only driver with more than one victory in 2001; has 123 points advantage over Jeff Gordon; a runner-up finisher in 1999 in both races at Talladega to the late Dale Earnhardt; not among the top 10 in last year's events; one victory at the track was in October 1998 at the Winston 500.

Bobby Labonte -- After a disappointing eight races, coming to another restrictor-plate race is cause for concern for the 2000 Winston Cup champion; his last three restrictor-plate races at Talladega and Daytona, this season, have been bad luck and poor performances; at the Daytona 500 he was a victim of a multi-car accident for a 40th finish; last October while the late Dale Earnhardt was making history by moving from 18th to a win within the final few laps, Labonte was getting shuffled from second to an eventual 12th place finish; won at Talladega from the pole in the spring of 1998 at DieHard 500.

Terry Labonte -- A winner at Talladega in 1989 and 1997; solid runs last year improving a seventh in this event to a fifth in the Winston 500 in October; posted 21 top-10s and 13 top-fives at Talladega; Winston Cup champion in 1996.

Sterling Marlin -- Drove to successive wins at Talladega in the fall of 1995 and spring of 1996; always more competitive on superspeedways; posted his fifth top-10 result of the year with a fifth-place finish at Martinsville two weeks ago; finished eighth in this race last year, giving him 14 top-10 results in 36 starts at Talladega.

Mark Martin -- Never a fan of restrictor-plate racing, his career record at Talladega Superspeedway is of highs and lows; won the spring race twice (1995, 1997), but was also involved in more than his share of accidents; had strong runs last year, leading 98 laps in the spring event before charges by Jeff Gordon and Mike Skinner shuffled him back to sixth.

Steve Park -- After eight races he stands fifth in the points standings and has one victory in the books; won the Dura Lube 400 at North Carolina Speedway in February; has five top-10 finishes on the year including two second-place finishes to Dale Jarrett (Darlington and Texas).

Rusty Wallace -- Good results early this season has put him in sixth place of the standings; has four top-10 finishes and just missed the top-10 mark in three other races; top result was third in the Daytona 500; tied with Jeff Gordon for eighth on the all-time win list (53); won at least one race in 15 consecutive seasons.