When it comes to winning the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway, Clint Bowyer likes to add a little drama.
Last season, Bowyer and teammate Kevin Harvick were in the right place at the right time, battling side-by-side across the start-finish line. After several minutes of deliberating on the photo finish, the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevy was awarded the victory.
Sunday, Bowyer and teammate Jeff Burton were effective in a two-car tandem draft in the late stages. After pushing Burton to a comfortable advantage out front, Bowyer won the Good Sam Club 500 with a final-lap slingshot pass on the 2.66-mile track’s massive frontstretch.
It was Bowyer’s first win since last October’s race at Talladega and it very well could be his last victory for RCR. The Kansan will leave for Michael Waltrip Racing and the No. 15 Toyota next season. Ironically, Sunday marked the 100th win for RCR in Sprint Cup competition.
As always, the frantic shuffling in the final 10 laps or so caused a random jumbling of cars and teams near the front of the pack on Lap 188. Dave Blaney finished third, his best result since a third-place finish at Talladega in October 2007. Brad Keselowski was the top Chaser at the end of the day, finishing fourth. The Red Bull Racing combo of Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne took fifth and sixth, while Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann rounded out the top 10.
Sunday’s race was ran under heavy hearts, as all 43 teams honored the life of IndyCar great Dan Wheldon, killed last weekend in a horrific crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. On a track known for the “Big One,” extra sensitivity was apparent in terms of driver safety.
On Lap 174, Bobby Labonte made contact while hooking off with Waltrip and spun into Landon Cassill, Labonte then took a hard hit from Kurt Busch and slid up into the backstretch wall. Labonte was shaken, but he appears to be OK.
Seven laps later, Regan Smith made heavy, head-on contact with the outside wall in an incident which included Hamlin and Mark Martin. Once again, Smith walked away.
Kurt Busch and Hamlin weren’t the only Chasers with issues during today’s race, however.
Kyle Busch received a black flag for speeding down pit road without making a legitimate attempt to slow down on Lap 68, when Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano went into the grass after the drafting partners made contact – eventually blowing a tire in the process. Kyle Busch was then involved in a Lap 104 pileup and wound up 33rd, 13 laps behind the leader.
Ryan Newman spun out on Lap 80, suffering plenty of damage to his splitter as he spun through the infield grass. He would finish 38th, 16 laps down.
Finally, Harvick was involved in the same Lap 104 pileup that collected Kyle Busch. He struggled for the rest of the afternoon, making numerous stops to allow the No. 29 crew to fix front-end damage. Harvick narrowly avoided a black flag by heading behind the wall on Lap 129, receiving repairs from a gaggle of RCR crew members. The No. 29 Chevy salvaged a 32nd-place result, nine laps behind the leader.
As for the Sprint Cup standings heading into the final four races in the Chase, Carl Edwards lingered in the back for the entire race and finished 11th – building up a 14-point advantage over teammate Matt Kenseth in the process. Keselowski is third, 18 points behind, while Tony Stewart is fourth (-19), Harvick fifth (-26) and Kyle Busch (-40) sixth.
The top six may be the only group left with a legitimate shot at the title, as Jimmie Johnson (-50), Kurt Busch (-52), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-74) appear to have joined Jeff Gordon, Newman and Hamlin on the outside looking in, more than one race (43 points) behind Edwards.
The Sprint Cup shifts from restrictor-plates to paper clips next weekend, as Martinsville Speedway beckons. The Virginia short-track hosts the Tums Fast Relief 500 Sunday.
Image courtesy of www.al.com
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