2008 AMP Energy 500

The 2008 AMP Energy 500 was the thirtieth stock car race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the fourth in the ten-race season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup. It was held on October 5, 2008 at Talladega Superspeedway, in Talladega, Alabama before a crowd of 145,000. The 190-lap race was won by Tony Stewart of the Joe Gibbs Racing team after he started from thirty-fourth position. Paul Menard finished second and David Ragan came in third.

Travis Kvapil, who had the pole position, held the lead until he was passed by Carl Edwards on lap nine. The race was first stopped sixty-three laps later when a multi-car collision was triggered by Brian Vickers, and was restarted seventeen minutes later, with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. leading the field. A second red-flag period was triggered after Edwards got into teammate Greg Biffle starting a chain-reaction involving a further ten drivers. Stewart led the field for the remainder of the race, until Regan Smith passed Stewart below the yellow line (out of bounds line) on the final lap. Stewart was therefore handed the victory, and Smith was demoted from second to 18th. The race had a total of ten cautions and sixty-four lead changes among twenty-eight different drivers during the race, which set a new Sprint Cup Series record.

2009 AMP Energy 500

The 2009 AMP Energy 500 was the 33rd race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season and the seventh event of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Summary

It was held on November 1, 2009, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, and is the only race in the Championship Chase to utilize restrictor plates. This marks the first time the race was run in an early November spot, the slot formerly occupied by the Atlanta Motor Speedway event. Jamie McMurray won the race, his first since Daytona in 2007. Nationwide Series regular Robert Richardson Jr. made his first Cup start and finished 18th.

Qualifying

Because qualifying was rained out, the rules awarded points leader Jimmie Johnson the pole position.

Single-file racing

NASCAR told the drivers in the drivers meeting that they could not bump draft in the corners. That was followed by a controversial race where drivers drove in a single file line all the way around the track for a few segments. Many fans believed and still believe that that was a protest by the drivers to the new rule. Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray all defended their actions. Johnson responded by saying, "No, there's not truth to that. When we hit single-file like that, we just know there's no need to race at that point. All that matters is from that last pit stop on." Instead of deciding to wreck and dwindle down the field on Sunday, Johnson said the drivers finally got smart about how to approach the race. Everyone seemed to realize that you can't win if you aren't around at the end.

2010 AMP Energy Juice 500

The 2010 AMP Energy Juice 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 31, 2010, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps, it was the thirty-third, and the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup during the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The race was won by Clint Bowyer, for the Richard Childress Racing team. Kevin Harvick finished second, and Juan Pablo Montoya clinched third.

Pole position driver Juan Pablo Montoya fell to third during the first lap, as Joe Nemechek, who started in the third position on the grid, moved to first. Afterward, Harvick became the leader of the race. Some of the Chase for the Sprint Cup participants, such as, Jeff Gordon stayed in the rear almost all race, but with about twenty laps remaining, him and his team mate Jimmie Johnson moved to first and second. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. led the most laps with 24, even though he was involved in an accident on lap 134. After the final caution, Bowyer led on the restart, but Harvick passed him with one lap remaining. While Harvick and Bowyer were side-by-side in the first turn, the sixth caution ended the race, which resulted in Bowyer winning over Harvick. Bowyer was able to edge Harvick for his second Chase win, with his other being at New Hampshire.