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 th...

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