For the second straight time in the Chase race at Talladega Superspeedway, Joey Logano grabbed the win after holding off rookie Brian Scott in the final laps.
Earning his second win of 2016, Logano advances to the Round of 8 after entering the Alabama track in a tie for the final advance spot.
Brian Scott, who was unable to maneuver past the No. 22, came home second in his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Not only a career-best result, but the best finish for the two-car RPM team since Aric Almirola won at Daytona in July of 2014.
“Just trying to get any sort of bright spot this year has been difficult,” said Scott, who entered Talladega 34th in points. “I think this is by far the brightest spot we’ve had in a really challenging year for Richard Petty Motorsports. I’m really proud to deliver a good, solid top 5.”
Rounding out the podium spots, Denny Hamlin advanced into the Round of 8 over Austin Dillon after the two drivers tied in points. With a higher finish, Hamlin earned the tiebreaker, beating Kurt Busch to the line for third by 0.006 seconds.
“I wasn’t sure if I needed to finish third,” Hamlin said. “I told them I didn’t want point updates. The No. 3 was in the middle of the pack so he’s fighting and getting positions. He could change two positions in the last 100 yards, so you couldn’t predict it.”
Dillon was on the disappointed side of pit road, as he lost that tie to Hamlin, calling the result “heartbreaking.”
“It just wasn’t meant to be our season this year,” Dillon said. “The [Nos.] 22 won and the 11 finished third. Not what
we needed.”
From the early stages of the Hellmann’s 500, “luck” wasn’t a part of many drivers’ Sunday afternoon. It started with Martin Truex, Jr., who blew a motor on Lap 41, ending his championship run in the garage area.
“Damn, it just hurts to go out like that,” Truex said. “We could’ve raced all day, got in a big wreck and still not made it. There’s no telling.”
He wasn’t alone, as Brad Keselowski blew a motor with 45 laps remaining. Spending a race-high 90 laps out front, Keselowski misses the cutoff toward a second championship.
“It just didn’t play out,” Keselowski said. “It just wasn’t meant to be.”
In a relatively clean day at the 2.66-mile monster, only three cautions flew for accidents, with the first – and only multi-car accident – involving Greg Biffle, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Casey Mears on Lap 113.
Alex Bowman ran top 5 throughout the day before spinning through the tri-oval grass in the late stages. Kasey Kahne would have a similar incident in Turn 2, losing his No. 5 Chevrolet and bringing out the race’s final caution.
Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick made contact on the cool-down lap. Harvick approached Busch after the race and appeared to take a punch while Busch was still in his car.
Wrapping up the drivers in the Round of 8, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards join the round winners of Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson for next week’s race at Martinsville Speedway.
Completing the top-10 finishers, Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon and AJ Allmendinger.
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Any predictions on the penalty for Logano damaging his car after the race? I don’t think it will pass post-race inspection.
Was that Jeff Gordon in the Mercedes pits in Texas? Is Mercedes coming to NA$CAR? Is Jeff doing Brian’s bribery?
Who is Warren Beatty’s sister? The answer might stun you.
How did Biffle manage to finish 15th? He also might fail post-race inspection.
Inquiring minds want to know…Wackadoo Shirley Maclaine, What a joke all of it….