Bobby Labonte (18) flips in turn two of the Talladega Superspeedway as Johnny Benson (10) spins on the final lap of the NASCAR EA Sports 500 in Talladega, Ala., Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001. (AP file photo) | ZOOM |

        TALLADEGA, Ala. — The most recent visit to Talladega Superspeedway ended with a 16-car accident, angry drivers and a renewed focus on the dangers of racing under restrictor-plate rules.

        A new aerodynamics package has changed little as NASCAR returns to Talladega this weekend for the Aaron's 499, a race drivers have accepted will be nerve-wracking.

        “The problem is that Talladega is a place where the restrictor plate forces you into doing things that you shouldn't be doing,” said veteran Bill Elliott, who will be making his 51st start at Talladega. “You start cutting people off. People take it for a while; (then) the guy gets mad and he ain't going to take it anymore. It puts you in a bad situation.”

        Few drivers are fond of restrictor-plate racing, a requirement at Talladega and Daytona, the two biggest tracks on the Winston Cup circuit.

        Forced to use horsepower-sapping carburetor plates, the speeds are slower and cars have a hard time pulling away from each other.

        It leads to pack racing, which makes avoiding the big wrecks close to impossible. When the leaders wrecked on the final lap at Talladega in October, drivers were adamant that NASCAR do something to improve the conditions.

        The sanctioning body responded with a new set of rules the teams took to Daytona in February.

        The new package altered the height of the spoilers and removed the roof deflector and metal strip at the top of the spoiler designed to punch a hole in the air and keep the speeds down.

        There was more tweaking for the Fords and Dodges, with both makes getting reductions in spoiler height before the actual race.

        But the results were the same — an 18-car wreck midway through the race and a finish marred by a six-car accident.

        Defending race winner Bobby Hamilton said the wrecks are just the nature of restrictor-plate racing, and blocking at Daytona and Talladega is a necessary evil.

        “The issue is restrictor plates and when you have to lift, it bogs you up real bad and jeopardizes everybody around you,” he said. “When you get a run on somebody at Charlotte, you have 800 horsepower, the car recovers good, and you have a ton of downforce.

        “We have the necessary evils at Talladega and Daytona. We have no downforce — if somebody touches you, the car goes around. And we have no power. We really can't afford to let off the gas, because we're going to get hit from behind. Nobody can stop, you can't be touched, and you really can't afford to let off the gas, because the thing won't pull back up.”

        Because of the demanding nature of the track and the danger it poses, few drivers enjoy racing at Talladega. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won at Talladega in October, isn't one of them.

        “I'm always in a good mood at Talladega because I love the track and we always seem to run really well here,” he said.

        KERRY EARNHARDT'S RIDE: Kerry Earnhardt, driving a car co-owned by Terry Bradshaw, will start in the Winston Cup race at Talladega in October.

        Earnhardt is a regular on NASCAR's Busch series, also racing for Bradshaw and fellow owner Armando Fitz. After signing with Racing USA, Inc., as a primary sponsor for the Winston Cup race on Oct.6, Earnhardt will race the No.83 car in the EA Sports 500.

        IRL: Race driver Eliseo Salazar was listed in satisfactory condition at Indianapolis Methodist Hospital on Thursday, two days after surgery to repair a torn artery in his chest.

        The Chilean driver, who lives in Miami, was injured in a crash during private testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Tuesday.

        He is expected to miss the rest of the Indy Racing League season.

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