Biggest NASCAR Storylines to Watch Ahead of Sprint Cup Series at Talladega

Did you know that the GEICO 500 could save you 15 percent or more on your car insurance?

Everybody knows that.

Well, did you know a T. rex is really bad at push-ups?

Anyway, the circuit and the GEICO gecko will bring their restrictor plates to Talladega for the biggest, baddest and fastest track in all the land.

Denny Hamlin will look to defend his title, the No. 10 car has “Daddy” issues and other drivers will scramble for a spot in the coveted Chase.

There are big implications for this spring race. As the sixth Chase race, Talladega closes out the Contender Round, so the notebook will feast on Talladega this Sunday.

I know I'm all zipped into my fire-retardant onesie. Are you? Let's hit up some storylines held in check by restrictor plates.

Time for Denny Hamlin to Load Up

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Hamlin won this race a year ago, and it vaulted him into the Chase where he would ultimately lose at Homestead.

Hamlin said in a release (h/t SpeedwayMedia.com):

"

Winning Talladega obviously put us in the Chase, and for me, it was our first points paying victory on a restrictor plate race track. It really just happened to be the momentum that we carried on from Daytona.

It was a great feeling for us, and as a race team, every time we go to Talladega we feel as confident as we would going to somewhere like Martinsville (where he is a multiple race winner).

"

As compared to last year, Hamlin isn't quite as sharp. His average start is about the same (14.5 in 2014; 15.1 in 2015), but it's the average finish that must worry Joe Gibbs Racing (14.3 in 2014; 17.6 in 2015).

None of that really matters since he already qualified for the Chase with his impressive win at Martinsville, but he could be a quick out in the Challenger Round if he doesn't start racking up top 10s. He had 18 in 2014 and has only three through nine races this year.

He's on pace for just 12.

A strong performance here could give the Deliverminator some momentum in late spring and tie him for wins with the two big stalwarts: Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.

Who's Not Your Daddy?

Wade Payne/Associated Press

Despite Danica Patrick's record-breaking season when she became the all-time leader in top 10s for a female driver, her parent sponsor, GoDaddy, is pushing Patrick out of the nest—effective 2016.

Everyone is saying the right things, and GoDaddy is staying on for the remainder of this year, but this means the website hosting platform sees little value in partnering with a driver whose average finish is more often than not in the 20s.

But not this year.

Patrick's average finish through nine races in 2015 is 18.4, up more than five spots from her 2014 average of 23.7. She has improved with each year, too. In 2013, her first full-time year on the circuit, her average finish was 26.1.

Is this the wrong time for GoDaddy to jump? Maybe they don't feel like NASCAR fans are the type to create their own websites.

Some new sponsor may be very lucky in 2016 if she keeps improving at this rate. Patrick is a Chopped champion on the Food Network, so maybe something related to the culinary arts or a restaurant chain could work.

David Ragan Earns Full-Time Gig

Steve Helber/Associated Press

David Ragan, the substitute driver for the injured Kyle Busch, has found a new home in Michael Waltrip's No. 55 Toyota.

Ragan said in Jay Pennell's Fox Sports' story:

"

It's going to be awesome knowing when I climb in the No. 55 at Kansas that car will be mine the rest of the season. I look forward to working with (teammate) Clint Bowyer, the crew and shop employees at MWR. It's tough what's happened to them this year but I hope I can come in and make 2015 something special.

"

Not only tough for what happened to them but for what happened to Brian Vickers. Vickers, who had harbored hopes for returning this year following complications with heart surgery, will be sidelined for the indefinite future.

Waltrip said in Pennell's story:

"

There is absolutely no question about Brian Vickers' ability, but there remains a question of his availability. We are going to remain very close with Brian while he works on his plan to return. We have told him that MWR is here when he has a clear picture about what the future holds, but we don't need to add any timeline pressures.

"

There have been many moving parts in NASCAR this season. Ragan filled in for Busch, and Regan Smith filled in for Kurt Busch. The musical drivers appears to have slowed for now.

Will Talladega Be the Breakthrough Race for a Chase Hopeful?

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Here are drivers No. 2 through No. 6 in last year's Talladega spring race: Greg Biffle, Bowyer, Vickers, A.J. Allmendinger and Paul Menard. Extend it out a bit farther and there's Kyle Larson in ninth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 10th.

A heavy crash took many of the big names out, but that's what makes restrictor-plate racing so unpredictable and why it can open the door for one of those wild-card drivers to get a win.

Biffle, who made the Chase last year without a win, finished second a year ago here. His only top 10 in 2015 was in the Daytona 500, so it appears the No. 16 car has the superspeedways figured out.

Bowyer, who won three races in the 2012 season, hasn't parked on Victory Lane in 86 races. He also finished in the top 10 at this year's Daytona 500, so like Biffle, he could be on the cusp of earning that elusive win and a berth in the Chase.

Can Kurt Busch Stay on the Straight and Narrow?

Scott P. Yates/Associated Press

Kurt Busch may be the unofficial favorite to win this race.

The No. 41 car comes off a dominant effort at Richmond, and his numbers at Talladega make him a threat to take back-to-back races.

He lacks a win at Talladega, but he has six top fives, 14 top 10s and the third-best average running finish of 14.6. He has the fourth-best driver rating at 88.3, 7,702 green flag passes (second) and a Cup-high 5,288 quality passes.

The question remains: Will Busch make the most of his latest off-the-track incident and live his life as well as he drives a car?

Fox Sports' Darrell Waltrip wrote:

"

He can't let his guard down. He can't let himself be lulled and letting himself slip back into the old Kurt. When things aren't going well, which we all know will happen to a race car driver, Kurt can't lose his focus. Kurt has to learn to pick his battles. He can't revert back to the way he used to be and blow up at everything and everybody when things don't go his way.

"

Busch's talent is undeniable. The second he took the car back from Smith in the fourth race of the season, the No. 41 car took off as if on nitro. Whatever Busch brings to the car, it's fast.

Like Waltrip said, Busch needs to keep his head down because he could be a Cup champion this year with the right measure of focus on and off the track.