A Little Dega Eye Candy

For those of you who weren't present at Sunday's Talladega race, my sincere condolences.  It was NASCAR Nirvana.

Unpredictable. Exciting. Dramatic. You name it, this Dega race had it. And after such a fantastic day of racing, it's hard to get back to workaday reality.

Here are a few of the sights I captured before the race.  Enjoy the photos and take my advice - order your ticket for the Fall Talladega race as soon as you can.  No self-respecting NASCAR fan should miss this.

Tony Stewart's Old Spice Chevy - I didn't get close enough to sniff him, but I wonder if Smoke actually wears this stuff?  My granddad used to ...

In the words of Martina McBride, "This One's for the Girls". NASCAR hunk Carl Edwards takes a moment in the garage to talk to broadcasters and sign a few autographs.

Talladega is a heartless mistress.  And no driver has suffered her scorn more severely than Ryan Newman. I wonder if he'll take the advice screen-printed on his shirt when he returns to Dega this autumn?

Roll Tide! University of Alabama Athletic Director Mal Moore served as the Grand Marshall Sunday. He's Bama diety, but even he seemed impressed with the boys of NASCAR. I heard him ask one of the photographers if he could get copies of his photos after the race.

The inside of Dale Jr's National Guard No. 88 Chevrolet, as it sits on the starting grid.

A.J. Allmendinger, David Reutimann and Jeff Burton chat it up before driver introductions.

Brad Keselowski may have exited the Cup race with an oxygen mask strapped to his face, but he rebounded in grand style to win the Nationwide race later that day.  Not too shabby.

Future teammates talking about 2011? Or two buddies catching up pre-race? Only Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Rick Hendrick know for sure ...

My favorite Talladega snapshot - is Kyle Busch giving big brother Kurt some driving lessons?

Talladega's favorite son, Dale Earnhardt Jr.  And rest assured you Junior fangirls, that hand with the wedding ring isn't Junior's. It belongs to Kurt Busch.

Jeff Gordon's Dupont Chevy on the starting grid. Such a promising start.  Such a disappointing finish.

Greg Biffle wins the day for the driver who signed the most autographs. Say what you will about The Biff, he knows how to treat the fans.