Image by Getty Images via @daylifeNSCS: Amp Energy Juice 500It took a few minutes but NASCAR finally decided that Clint Bowyer was the winner of Sunday's Amp Energy 500 at Talladega. After a review of the videos and loop data, they determined that Bowyer was just ahead of his RCR teammate Kevin Harvick when the race ended under caution.
Bowyer was in the inside lane being pushed by Juan Montoya. Harvick was on the outside with David Reutimann glued to his back bumper. As they came to the stripe to take the white flag, Harvick was inches ahead, but a few seconds later, when the caution came out and the field was frozen, Bowyer was just ahead of Harvick.
It was Bowyer's fourth career win, his first at a restrictor-plate race, and his second of the Chase. Montoya finished third, followed by Reutimann and Joey Logano. (Race results)
Bowyer and Harvick almost weren't there at the end. On Lap 141 (of 188) Bowyer got into the rear of Marcos Ambrose in Turn Two, turning him in front of Harvick. Both RCR cars suffered front-end damage, but were able to continue. Harvick made a lengthy pit stop to put tape on the nose of his car.
The race was tame by Talladega standards. There were just five cautions, and one of those was for debris. The only accident that would come close to being a "Big One" was the wreck that brought out the final caution and ended the race a couple of miles too soon. A. J. Allmendinger got the worst of that one. He spun, flipped up on his side, and slammed hard (still on his side) into the inside wall. Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Scott Speed, and David Gilliland were also involved.
On Lap 134, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who led a race-high 24 laps, tried an ill-timed bump draft on Jeff Burton. The contact put Burton into the wall, where he collected Earnhardt, finishing both of their days.
Kyle Busch pushed his JGR teammate Denny Hamlin to the front and was in position to win, but got shuffled back at the end of the race and finished 25th. All of the Roush Fenway Chasers -- Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle -- suffered the same fate. They finished 16th, 17th, and 19th respectively.
Denny Hamlin's day almost became a disaster to ruin his championship hopes. On Lap 77, while cruising around in the back of the field to stay out of trouble, he lost contact with the pack and fell out of the draft. Running by himself, he fell behind quickly at the rate of about four seconds per lap and was eventually lapped on Lap 105. Once he got back in the main pack, he was able to stay up near the front, and eventually got his lap back during the caution for the Bowyer-Harvick-Ambrose incident on Lap 141.
It was a three-man race for the championship coming into this race, and it's an even tighter three-man race now. In fact, this is the closest race between the top three contenders with three races to go since the Chase format started. Jimmie Johnson, who finished seventh, increased his lead over Denny Hamlin, who finished ninth, from six to 14 points, but Harvick is now just 38 points behind Johnson. Jeff Gordon, who finished eighth, jumped back ahead of Kyle Busch to fourth in the standings, but he's 207 points out. (Points standings)
NCWTS: Mountain Dew 250
Kyle Busch beat Aric Almirola to the line to gain a controversial win in Saturday's Mountain Dew 500 at Talladega. Busch's margin of victory was 0.002 seconds, the closest in Camping World Truck Series history and tying Ricky Craven's win over Kurt Busch in a Cup race at Darlington in 2003 for the closest win in the three national series since the introduction of electronic timing in 1993.
Johnny Sauter finished third, followed by Matt Crafton and Ricky Carmichael. (Race results)
They came out of the final turn in a single-file line with Busch seemingly ready to just push Almirola to the victory, but Sauter went low and Busch went down to block. Sauter gave Busch a push, then moved up high and the three crossed the line side-by-side-by-side. That final push from Sauter got Busch out of shape and his left tires went below the yellow line, out of bounds, as he struggled to keep control. That had Almirola's team complaining that Busch should have been disqualified. NASCAR let it slide.
It was Busch's sixth Truck Series win of the season, his second at Talladega, and the 22nd of his career.
The Big One came on Lap 91. Grant Enfinger bumped series-leader Todd Bodine, turning him and triggering a wild wreck that saw Ron Hornaday's truck flip several times before coming to rest on its roof. Bodine finished 18th and took a big hit in the points standings, but still has a comfortable 216-point lead over Almirola with just three races remaining.
