Talladega Superspeedway is, in the fall, one of those racetracks that give crew chiefs fits.

There are a number of different reasons for it, including the fact that it's not so important how the car handles as whether or not it drafts well. Of course, there's always the specter of the Big One looming over their heads, as well, and that doesn't help.

Scott Miller, crew chief for Jeff Burton's No. 31 Chevrolet, has been there and done that and come out on all possible ends of the spectrum.

“

You would think that Daytona and Talladega are similar, but especially since Talladega has been repaved they've taken on different characteristics.

”

SCOTT MILLER

"As it always is, Talladega is a crapshoot," Miller chuckled. "You've got to run good and you have to stay out of trouble. We're focused on trying to make both of those happen."

Since Burton is in the Chase, it becomes a matter of managing risk. Handling is not the end-all, be-all that it is at Daytona, but it is more about speed than its sister superspeedway, Miller said.

"Talladega is all about speed," he said. "You would think that Daytona and Talladega are similar, but especially since Talladega has been repaved they've taken on different characteristics. At Daytona, the handling is so important; you've got to have some speed, but the handling will allow you to perform well.

"At Talladega, it has so much grip now that, knock on wood, it's been easy for all of us to get our cars to drive at a reasonable level. Then it just becomes all about aerodynamic drag, the horsepower you've got in the engine and your driver's ability to draft and put himself in the right position at the right time."

Since Burton is a master at that, Miller's mind is somewhat easier than some crew chiefs, but there's still the question of calling the race from the box.

"I think the strategy for this race is to pit with, when we have green-flag stops, cars that are running good so that when the pack separates there, you're with enough cars to where you can run the pack down again. That really, from a crew chief standpoint, is it. From a driver's perspective, it's understanding which line moves and where you are on the track and where you're going to put your eggs in the basket. The whole thing is a chess game for the last 15 laps or so."

Since he doesn't have to worry so much about finding grip -- like he does in the other 34 races --he can focus on calling the race.

"That's [grip] been what we've all been chasing forever in the sport, to have more grip than your competitors, but with the advent of the [new car], it's become more difficult," he said. "They don't drive as good, don't make as much grip. You'll hear the guy that wins the race and the guy that finishes 30th basically complaining about the same thing. They just don't make as much grip, and knock on wood again, Talladega has been one of those places where it's been relatively easy to get it to make grip."

Making grip and making horsepower are not usual problems at Talladega, but other stuff is, Miller said.

"Talladega, other than the engine and the driveline leaving the pits with the tall gear ratios -- it's hard on the axles and the driveline -- you just hope you can get out of the pits without breaking axles or driveshafts or pinions or anything like that," he said. "You hope that the engine lives running wide-open all day, and that you don't have any cooling issues in the big pack.

"The cars struggle to get air at the superspeedways, especially Talladega, since we run in such a tight pack. If you can do those three things ... those are what we focus on at Talladega and are the most worried about."

Tires, since the repaving, have not been a big issue, either.

"Last time, running two full fuel runs on a set of tires was not a problem," Miller said. "A lot of times, I don't think it behooves you not to take tires as long as you have to put in fuel that's going to take longer than changing two tires. If, to get all the fuel you need, it's going to take as long as it would to get two tires, then you might as well take two tires. In a situation where the cautions have fallen so that you have to pit in the last 10 laps, it makes sense to not take tires and get as much fuel in there as you can."

Miller said that he didn't anticipate making any adjustments to the car on Sunday, other than to add or remove tape from the grille, which is a big change from almost all the other tracks he visits.

Talladega races are different from the others, even Daytona, Miller said. Even so, there are enough other factors -- many of which are out of his control -- to still conjure up nightmares on occasion.

"Knock on wood again, I hope this doesn't come back to bite me on Sunday," Miller joked.

Video
• Burton: You can run well and finish 28th here