TALLADEGA, Ala. -- NASCAR will point to the 58 lead changes among 26 drivers as proof of a good race at Talladega Superspeedway. But pushing those stats is much like a used car salesman trying to unload a lemon. You can spit-shine the product all you want, but a dud is still a dud. Driver after driver griped about their sanitized Sunday drive, even as they turned laps around NASCAR's fastest track. A combination of a pre-race ban on bump-drafting through the turns, the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates that are used to control speeds, and the desire to be racing at the checkered flag led many drivers to utilize a conservative strategy for the first three-quarters of the race. A track known for electric three- and four-wide racing had been reduced to a single-file parade lap for a large portion of the race. It was so peculiar, many wondered if it was a unified 43-driver thumbing of the nose at NASCAR, which surprised the participants two hours before the race with a no-bumping edict.