Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s epicenter of uncertainty.

Carved from a soybean field in the heart of Alabama, the 2.66-mile behemoth is wide and banked and deceptively easy to drive even at 190 mph . . . right up until 43 cars start weaving in and out of the pack as their drivers search for an advantage, bouncing off one another front-to-back, side-to-side and in ways yet unimagined.

Catastrophic crashes instantly convert millions of dollars of race cars into scrap metal, turn high hopes into bad days and take the championship standings for a wild ride, as well.

Recent history tells us that that much you can expect, even if the victims and victors can’t be foreseen. But what happens when a new style of race car is used on a big oval for the first time and a talented but completely unpredictable Formula One champion picks the whitest of white-knuckle races for his Nextel Cup debut?

Concern No. 1 on everyone’s mind is the Car of Tomorrow, the boxier, winged contraption never proven in race conditions on an oval more than half the size of Talladega.

The car’s behavior in traffic is unclear and its width and wing create vision problems. A driver in the pack can’t tell how many cars are ahead, and no one behind him can see the hand signals drivers otherwise would use to communicate their intentions.

“You can’t see somebody if they’re trying to wave you off unless they stick their hand out the left side,” two-time champion Tony Stewart said, “and most likely if you’re in position to wave somebody off, you’re not going to want to take your hands off the wheel in the first place.”

Front and rear bumpers match in height now, so one car slamming into another – for a quick burst of speed – won’t lift rear wheels off the asphalt. But officials are watching such contact closely and even parked Hamlin during practice Friday for being too aggressive.

So how, exactly, will the bump-draft work? Can two drivers work together to make a move or do they need more partners? What happens when they pull out of line? Or when one car moves a half-lane higher or lower on the track?

And what about the mechanical aspects of the car? Will drivers getting off and on the gas more frequently cause engine trouble? Will the splitter – a horizontal aerodynamic appendage below the front bumper – cut tires on other cars?

Another X-factor is Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 Indianapolis 500 winner and 1997 Formula One champion, whose second Craftsman Truck Series race, his second stock-car race of any kind, ended in a crash Saturday.

No one denies Villeneuve’s talent, but several drivers – most notably four-time champion Jeff Gordon, a huge F1 fan – have questioned Villeneuve’s preparedness for this race on this track when so many people have so much on the line.

Others worry to a lesser degree.

“We’ve wrecked each other without Jacques Villeneuve in this race plenty of times,” said contender Carl Edwards, who is winless in six Talladega starts. “I have a feeling with all the pressure he has, he’ll be fine.”

The Chase standings show Jimmie Johnson, Gordon and Bowyer separated by 14 points at the top and Matt Kenseth and Hamlin more than 200 behind at the bottom, but take one more quick look this morning. A flat tire, a baked engine or that Talladega specialty, the big crash, could change everything by tomorrow.

“I’ve been at the front, I’ve been at the back, I’ve been in middle, I’ve been in wrecks, I’ve started wrecks; I mean, I’ve been a part of everything here that can take place, and there ain’t a darn thing I can do about it,” said Johnson, the defending series champion.

“It doesn’t matter where you’re at, there’s a high chance you’re going to get tore up. It’s kind of timing: right place, right time or wrong place, wrong time.”