An Insider dissects Talladega, Danica's win and the drug policy

Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks to break a 70-race winless streak this weekend at the always dangerous Talladega Superspeedway. AP

Heading into Sunday's race in Talladega, an anonymous NASCAR insider shares his thoughts about the latest vibes in NASCAR nation:

Talladega's really smooth; especially since they repaved it. When that happened, even the little handling you needed that could separate guys was taken away. So all the cars are pretty much the same, and there's not a lot you can do to avoid the big wreck. There obviously are guys that are better at doing it than others, but you got to put yourself in the right place at the right time, and most of the time that's out of your control.

The good cars are always going to be coming to the front, but there's nothing real special you can do to go out there and completely keep yourself out of trouble. If you try and run at the front, trouble could start there; and if you try and hang back in the back -- unless you do what used to be done in the past where guys would lay back in 10, 12 second groups behind the main pack -- there's nothing you can do to avoid getting caught up in it.

Me, I always want to be at the front of the pack. If you're leading, chances are most of the time crashes are going to happen behind you; and if everybody takes the strategy to run at the back, you're still going to be in a big group. But it's so tough to say [which strategy is right]. Even the best will get caught up in the wrecks; so, the best thing you can do is try not to make a mistake yourself... start the Big One or be a cause of it. You just try and be smart.

Qualifying at Talladega definitely takes the pressure off the drivers. There's four weekends out of the year a driver can go into qualifying and not feel the pressure like it's on his shoulders; and it's the restrictor plate tracks. As long as you know how to shift the car clean, get through the gears and drive with almost two fingers on the steering wheel, just trying to be as smooth as possible, it's easy.

But I think the hardest thing is the first lap on the race track in practice is usually going to dictate where you are [for restrictor plate qualifying]. You just feel that pressure [if you're outside the Top 35] ... you get your first lap, you come in the pits and you do your first run, and you stare at that time board and hope that it's up front; because if not, there's not a whole lot you can do to make that car faster over the next few days. If you are slow, it's frustrating because you know you don't really have a good chance, and you won't be able to make it better. But you can't come back Monday and go, 'That wasn't my bad guys, it was yours.' You make it as a team, whether it's on the driver or the car.

Talladega's the most difficult race when you get out there with 43 cars. But I think the draft with the Car of Tomorrow has gotten a little bit easier. With the old cars, you were just afraid to lift, because with the restrictor plates, man, if you lifted it was like putting the parachute out, and you were afraid of losing the pack. Well, with these things you can suck up pretty good from far enough back; it's kind of like a Craftsman Truck in the sense that you can lift and still get the momentum back because the cars draft so well.

The first 450 miles on Sunday, it's kind of like a game. You're trying to find which guy you can work with, which line is better for you -- inside, outside, middle -- and it's a chess match. All you're doing, you're just trying to find the right people to work with. Hopefully, teammates help you out; but once it gets to about 20 to go, all bets are off, and you're basically throwing up a Hail Mary and hoping it lands in the right spot.