Dale Earnhardt Jr held the pack at bay to take his first win of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season at Talladega.
Earnhardt’s sixth Talladega win was achieved in unusual fashion for a superspeedway race, as he led most of the final stint while the field stubbornly remained in a long train behind him with no one willing to risk fanning out and making a move in case they lost the draft.
The race finally erupted with a lap and a half to go, when Denny Hamlin pulled out from fourth place and made a charge for the front.
Although it didn’t pay off for Hamlin, it broke the train up and allowed others to make a run at Earnhardt and Hendrick team-mate Jimmie Johnson.
Richard Childress Racing’s Paul Menard came closest but had to settle for third as Earnhardt led Johnson across the line – hanging on despite his engine temperatures rocketing due to litter blocking his Chevrolet’s front end.
Rookie Ryan Blaney, who had run third behind the Hendrick pair for a long spell, came fourth for Wood Brothers ahead of Martin Truex Jr and Sam Hornish Jr.
Hendrick had controlled the pace for most of the afternoon, but while it took first and second with Earnhardt and Johnson, its other two cars were out of luck.
Pole-winner and long-time leader Jeff Gordon couldn’t get back out of the midfield after a pit-speeding penalty and was then caught up in a multi-car crash on the last lap. He limped home 31st.
Kasey Kahne was among those who came off worst in the race’s biggest shunt, triggered when Trevor Bayne spun on lap 47 of 188 as Menard went around his outside.
Most of those outside the top 10 were caught up in the ensuing chaos, with 15 cars sustaining notable damage.
Champion Kevin Harvick was among them, but Stewart-Haas managed to patch his Chevrolet up without him losing a lap, and he recovered to eighth behind Ryan Newman, who had escaped a pit fire at an early stop.
Hamlin tumbled to ninth in his unsuccessful bid for the lead, while Phil Parsons Racing’s Josh Wise joined Blaney as a small-team underdog in the top 10.
Penske barely featured: Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano was first to collect Bayne in the ‘big one’ and Brad Keselowski was only 22nd.
PROVISIONALLY IN THE CHASE: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr
RESULTS – 188 LAPS:
Pos | Driver | Team | Car |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
2 | Jimmie Johnson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
3 | Paul Menard | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
4 | Ryan Blaney | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
5 | Martin Truex Jr. | Furniture Row Racing | Chevrolet |
6 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford |
7 | Ryan Newman | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
8 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
9 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
10 | Josh Wise | Phil Parsons Racing | Ford |
11 | Jamie McMurray | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
12 | Kurt Busch | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
13 | Cole Whitt | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
14 | J.J. Yeley | BK Racing | Toyota |
15 | Aric Almirola | Richard Petty Motorsports | Ford |
16 | Alex Bowman | Tommy Baldwin Racing | Chevrolet |
17 | A.J. Allmendinger | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
18 | Matt DiBenedetto | BK Racing | Toyota |
19 | Tony Stewart | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
20 | David Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
21 | Danica Patrick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Chevrolet |
22 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
23 | Justin Allgaier | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet |
24 | Chris Buescher | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
25 | Matt Kenseth | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
27 | Bobby Labonte | Go FAS Racing | Ford |
28 | Casey Mears | Germain Racing | Chevrolet |
29 | Michael Annett | HScott Motorsports | Chevrolet |
30 | Clint Bowyer | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota |
31 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
32 | Carl Edwards | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
33 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
34 | Kasey Kahne | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
35 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
36 | Michael Waltrip | Michael Waltrip Racing | Toyota |
37 | Greg Biffle | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
38 | David Ragan | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
39 | Landon Cassill | Hillman Smith Motorsports | Chevrolet |
40 | Brendan Gaughan | Premium Motorsports | Chevrolet |
41 | Trevor Bayne | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
43 | Brian Scott | Circle Sport | Chevrolet |
LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
Pos | Driver | Points |
---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Harvick | 394 |
2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 354 |
3 | Jimmie Johnson | 342 |
4 | Joey Logano | 335 |
5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 319 |
6 | Brad Keselowski | 305 |
7 | Jamie McMurray | 297 |
8 | Matt Kenseth | 292 |
9 | Kasey Kahne | 286 |
10 | Denny Hamlin | 281 |
11 | Paul Menard | 280 |
12 | Aric Almirola | 279 |
13 | Jeff Gordon | 277 |
14 | Ryan Newman | 271 |
15 | Kurt Busch | 255 |
16 | Danica Patrick | 253 |
17 | Clint Bowyer | 249 |
18 | Carl Edwards | 240 |
19 | A.J. Allmendinger | 229 |
20 | David Ragan | 224 |