By BILL WHITEHEAD, Scripps Howard News Service

I guess most NASCAR fans didn't realize it at the time, but we have been living in the sport's halcyon days over the last 10 years.

You've likely walked around the track on a race weekend, so you know what I mean: Trinkets, knick-knacks and giveaways galore. And it was never any better than the 1990s and the early part of this decade.

Since this column originates in sunny South Florida, I can only assume many readers will be sitting in the Homestead grandstands this weekend, watching all three major NASCAR series wrap up the 2008 season.

Mark Martin won't be there, though. He has other plans.

I must say this right up front: I like David Gilliland.

I like him as a second-generation NASCAR driver and enjoy watching him race for Yates Racing. His improbable path to the Cup level, complete with an underdog win in 2006, is a story line that comes along very rarely.

By this time next week, when I get another chance to figure out NASCAR's unspectacular Chase for the Cup and avoid writing about how much of a Jimmie Johnson runaway it's been, we will have a new president-elect of this great nation. So I want to take the time to talk about an important issue -- change.

Remember that engraver who's always doing his work as the British Open golf tournament starts winding down? He's an older, grizzled gent likely called Pappy or Mac, and is best known for prematurely chiseling Jean Van de Velde's name on the Claret Jug at Carnoustie in 1999 while the Frenchman was authoring one of the greatest collapses ever in sports.

I know we should be looking ahead to Saturday night and NASCAR's Lowe's Motor Speedway's race, but it's hard to get the thoughts of Talladega last weekend out of mind even though they're out of sight.

Here are a few mind-clearing points from yet another strange weekend in Alabama.

DENNY HAMLIN'S HEALTH

Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows there's only one place for him to be after the green flags drops Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway -- up front, all the time, especially at the end.

"We just kind of got to go for broke, really throw it out there and take some chances, take some risks," Earnhardt said this week.

Throughout sports, games and life, this statement's often been uttered by many: "I'd rather be lucky than good."

But how does that saying relate to this year's NASCAR title hunt? Where does the role of being good or lucky come in to play as 12 drivers try to win The Chase For The Spring Cup Championship?

Greg Biffle -- Very good.

Forget for a moment that a Ford other than Carl Edwards's No. 99 won Sunday, forget that the NASCAR's most dominant driver was rendered insignificant in the Chase opener and forget that the Big Three just might not be unbeatable after all in The Chase for the Cup.

Just remember Greg Biffle.

With NASCAR's regular season now behind us and championship possibilities afoot -- all of our points have been reset now -- it's time to start thinking about title contenders and Chase pretenders. There may be a list of 12 drivers eligible, but in actuality we're likely talking about three drivers here.