TALLADEGA, Ala.—Jamie McMurray was the unlikely winner of an uncharacteristically dull race at Talladega Superspeedway, where a ban on bump-drafting forced most competitors to treat the event as a slow Sunday drive. The day started with a stern warning from NASCAR President Mike Helton against the aggressive driving that has turned Talladega into the most exciting track on the circuit. What followed was an anesthetized first 450 miles, with long periods of single-file traffic and no driver willing to defy NASCAR’s order not to bump through the corners.

At its best, NASCAR superspeedway racing is a captivating combination of speed, power and strategy. At its worst, superspeedway racing with restrictor plates on the engines is a dangerous en deavor, a catastrophe waiting to happen. The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona on Saturday night was the best and worst of NASCAR. The last four laps were spellbinding. Tony Stewart battled to hold his lead but lost it on a bold pass by Kyle Busch.

Consistency has become too important to NASCAR. The holy grail in NASCAR is the Sprint Cup points championship. In order to compete for the grail, drivers must rank among the top 12 after 26 races. They then spend 10 races running for the Cup while the others get in the way. Too much emphasis is placed on top 10 finishes in Races 1 through 26, and not enough is placed on winning.

Carl Edwards insists that safety issues at Talladega Superspeedway must be addressed after he survived a violent crash on the final lap Sunday. He seems relatively satisfied after meeting earlier this week with NASCAR officials. Even though he holds firm that change is necessary at Talladega, Edwards laughed it off yesterday before qualifying for the Crown Royal Presents Russell Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

TALLADEGA, Ala.—Jeff Gordon will chase his fifth Sprint Cup title with a bad back. Gordon expects to drive with some discomfort this season and the pain he felt last week at Phoenix International Raceway has not entirely subsided. The four-time Cup champ said the tracks in Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol; and the road courses could adversely affect him later this year.