NASCAR from Talladega - Amp Energy 500

When it comes to NASCAR betting, you can throw everything you know out the window when wagering Talladega. The 2.66-mile tri-oval is the wild card of the Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship.

Drivers can go from first to last in a lap and there is always the threat of the “Big One”. Just ask Carl Edwards about the perils of Talladega - his No. 99 car took a ride along the front stretch fencing in the final lap of this April's Aaron's 499.

Looking at this weekend's NASCAR betting odds should give race fans an idea of the volatility of the Amp Energy 500. The only driver priced under +1000 is Kyle Busch at +700, who has one career win at Talladega and finished 25th there early this season.

Busch is riding a bit of a hot streak in recent races. Despite being out of the Chase, the No. 18 car has back-to-back Top 10 showings and will be under crew chief Steve Addington for one more race before he is replaced by Dave Rogers for the final three races of the schedule.

Restrictor-plate specialists Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart are all set at +1000 for this Sunday's event. Stewart and Gordon are among the Chase contenders, while Earnhardt is trying to salvage a poor 2009. The No. 88 car has five wins at Talladega and ran a second-place showing at Alabama in April.

Gordon owns six wins at Talladega but hasn't had much success there recently. He boasts an average career finish of 16th at the super speedway but has an AF of just 31st in his last three races there. Gordon is coming off a fifth-place effort at the Tums Fast Relief 500 last weekend. The No. 24 team has placed inside the Top 10 in five straight races and sits third in the Chase standings.

Stewart is fresh off a ninth-place showing at Martinsville last Sunday. That left the No. 14 car in fourth in the points heading into Talladega. Stewart has one career win in Alabama with an average finish of 13.8. In March he placed 23rd at the Aaron's 499, but he is the defending Amp Energy 500 champion, leading 24 laps and earning the checkered flag in 2008.

Points leader Jimmie Johnson is priced at +1200 for this weekend. Johnson finished second at Martinsville on Sunday, following back-to-back wins. At Talladega he has one career win and has finished inside the Top 10 three times in the last five races in Alabama. The No. 48 team has a stranglehold on the Sprint Cup and will more than likely be playing it safe at this unpredictable track.