Brad Keselowski has put it all on the line to win at Talladega and progress to the next stage of NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Despite being one of the dominant drivers throughout the year and the first stage of the Chase, Keselowski had to win the GEICO 500 to remain in the title hunt and that was what he did, fighting off Matt Kenseth on the second ‘Green-White-Chequered’ finish at the Alabama superspeedway.
It was Keselowski’s 16th career win and sixth of the season.
“Talladega is such a wild card and to be able to win here you have to catch breaks and make your own breaks, a little of both,” said Keselowski.
“I can’t believe we won at Talladega. This race is the scariest of the three in the bracket. To be able to win here is really a privilege, it really is.
“We just persevered. We didn’t give up. I got a lot of help from my team-mate Joey Logano and wow, this is just special. Everything about today is special.”
The original 16-driver Chase field was cut to eight after the race, with big names Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne joining the list of those already eliminated from title contention.
Continuing in the title hunt with Keselowski are Ryan Newman, Kenseth, Kevin Harvick Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon.
On a typical day at Talladega, pack racing was the norm, and as the title contenders tried to stay out of the crashes, they quickly become embroiled in them.
First of all Kyle Busch who was running near the back midway through the race when a wreck in front saw the title contender attempt to get out of the way. He was hit from behind and sent into the inside wall. Although the team repaired the car his hopes of a top finish were ended.
Then on the first attempt of the ‘Green-White-Chequered’ finish Earnhardt Jr. was sent sideways after contact with Greg Biffle.
Johnson, who led the most laps, got shuffled back and too far down to score the much needed points to advance.
The final result meant that Hendrick Motorsports were left with only Gordon through to the next stage of the championship.
Marcos Ambrose had his best race since finishing second at Watkins Glen in August.
The Australian raced with the lead pack throughout the race. With 15 laps to run he appeared to be in with a shot of racing for the win.
He pitted along with a string of other Ford teams to charge to the finish. However, a caution a lap later negated the strategy and he restarted back in 17th.
He put his head down, and while others were fighting, Ambrose came through the middle of the pack to take a well deserved eighth place finish.
VIDEO: Race finish
VIDEO: Earnhardt Jr. crash
VIDEO: Kyle Busch’s hopes end in a wreck
RESULTS: GEICO 500 – Talladega Superspeedway
| POS. | CAR # | DRIVER | MANUFACTURER | STARTING POS. | LAPS | LAPS LED | FINAL STATUS | POINTS | BONUS POINTS |
| 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | 5 | 194 | 12 | Running | 47 | 4 |
| 2 | 20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | 13 | 194 | 1 | Running | 43 | 1 |
| 3 | 15 | Clint Bowyer | Toyota | 33 | 194 | 0 | Running | 41 | 0 |
| 4 | 40 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 29 | 194 | 1 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 31 | Ryan Newman | Chevrolet | 11 | 194 | 10 | Running | 40 | 1 |
| 6 | 33 | Travis Kvapil | Chevrolet | 7 | 194 | 0 | Running | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | 41 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 18 | 194 | 0 | Running | 37 | 0 |
| 8 | 9 | Marcos Ambrose | Ford | 26 | 194 | 0 | Running | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 39 | 194 | 2 | Running | 36 | 1 |
| 10 | 13 | Casey Mears | Chevrolet | 19 | 194 | 0 | Running | 34 | 0 |
| 11 | 22 | Joey Logano | Ford | 40 | 194 | 0 | Running | 33 | 0 |
| 12 | 5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 8 | 194 | 12 | Running | 33 | 1 |
| 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 30 | 194 | 0 | Running | 31 | 0 |
| 14 | 36 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 36 | 194 | 0 | Running | 30 | 0 |
| 15 | 26 | Cole Whitt | Toyota | 22 | 194 | 1 | Running | 30 | 1 |
| 16 | 66 | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | 34 | 194 | 0 | Running | 28 | 0 |
| 17 | 42 | Kyle Larson | Chevrolet | 42 | 194 | 0 | Running | 27 | 0 |
| 18 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 38 | 194 | 1 | Running | 27 | 1 |
| 19 | 10 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 27 | 194 | 7 | Running | 26 | 1 |
| 20 | 55 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 1 | 194 | 0 | Running | 24 | 0 |
| 21 | 99 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 15 | 194 | 0 | Running | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | 4 | 194 | 15 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | 47 | AJ Allmendinger | Chevrolet | 3 | 194 | 0 | Running | 21 | 0 |
| 24 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | 2 | 194 | 84 | Running | 22 | 2 |
| 25 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | 24 | 194 | 1 | Running | 20 | 1 |
| 26 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Chevrolet | 43 | 194 | 3 | Running | 19 | 1 |
| 27 | 78 | Martin Truex Jr | Chevrolet | 12 | 194 | 1 | Running | 18 | 1 |
| 28 | 98 | Josh Wise | Ford | 35 | 194 | 0 | Running | 16 | 0 |
| 29 | 38 | David Gilliland | Ford | 21 | 194 | 2 | Running | 16 | 1 |
| 30 | 34 | David Ragan | Ford | 25 | 194 | 2 | Running | 15 | 1 |
| 31 | 88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | Chevrolet | 28 | 194 | 31 | Running | 14 | 1 |
| 32 | 21 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 16 | 194 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | 32 | Terry Labonte | Ford | 9 | 193 | 0 | Running | 11 | 0 |
| 34 | 14 | Tony Stewart | Chevrolet | 37 | 190 | 5 | Accident | 11 | 1 |
| 35 | 1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevrolet | 31 | 189 | 3 | Running | 10 | 1 |
| 36 | 27 | Paul Menard | V | 20 | 188 | 0 | Accident | 8 | 0 |
| 37 | 7 | Michael Annett | Chevrolet | 10 | 187 | 0 | Accident | 7 | 0 |
| 38 | 49 | Mike Wallace | Toyota | 23 | 186 | 0 | Running | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | 17 | 166 | 0 | Running | 5 | 0 |
| 40 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 41 | 145 | 0 | Running | 4 | 0 |
| 41 | 95 | Michael McDowell | Ford | 6 | 127 | 0 | Accident | 3 | 0 |
| 42 | 83 | J.J. Yeley | Toyota | 32 | 102 | 0 | Accident | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | 23 | Alex Bowman | Toyota | 14 | 102 | 0 | Accident | 1 | 0 |
STANDINGS
| POS | DRIVER | POINTS | BEHIND | STARTS | WINS | TOP 5 | TOP 10 | DNF |
| 1 | Joey Logano | 4000 | Leader | 32 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 4 |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 4000 | Leader | 32 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 2 |
| 3 | Ryan Newman | 4000 | Leader | 32 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 1 |
| 4 | Denny Hamlin | 4000 | Leader | 31 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 5 | Matt Kenseth | 4000 | Leader | 32 | 0 | 12 | 19 | 2 |
| 6 | Carl Edwards | 4000 | Leader | 32 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 2 |
| 7 | Jeff Gordon | 4000 | Leader | 32 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 0 |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | 4000 | Leader | 32 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 1 |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 2193 | -1807 | 32 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
| 10 | AJ Allmendinger | 2163 | -1837 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| 11 | Jimmie Johnson | 2152 | -1848 | 32 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 3 |
| 12 | Greg Biffle | 2147 | -1853 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| 13 | Kurt Busch | 2146 | -1854 | 32 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 6 |
| 14 | Kasey Kahne | 2136 | -1864 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 3 |
| 15 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 2135 | -1865 | 32 | 3 | 11 | 17 | 2 |
| 16 | Aric Almirola | 2101 | -1899 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 6 |
| 17 | Kyle Larson | 967 | -3033 | 32 | 0 | 8 | 16 | 3 |
| 18 | Clint Bowyer | 885 | -3115 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 4 |
| 19 | Austin Dillon | 878 | -3122 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 20 | Jamie McMurray | 877 | -3123 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 3 |
| 21 | Brian Vickers | 830 | -3170 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| 22 | Paul Menard | 826 | -3174 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 2 |
| 23 | Marcos Ambrose | 781 | -3219 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 24 | Martin Truex Jr | 767 | -3233 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 25 | Casey Mears | 716 | -3284 | 32 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | Tony Stewart | 700 | -3300 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| 27 | Danica Patrick | 669 | -3331 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 658 | -3342 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 29 | Justin Allgaier | 548 | -3452 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 30 | David Gilliland | 488 | -3512 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 | Cole Whitt | 468 | -3532 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 32 | Michael Annett | 461 | -3539 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 33 | Reed Sorenson | 460 | -3540 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 34 | David Ragan | 451 | -3549 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 35 | Alex Bowman | 372 | -3628 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 36 | Josh Wise | 368 | -3632 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Travis Kvapil | 211 | -3789 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 38 | Michael McDowell | 205 | -3795 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 39 | Ryan Truex | 193 | -3807 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 40 | Terry Labonte | 88 | -3912 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Jeff Burton | 87 | -3913 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Michael Waltrip | 76 | -3924 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 43 | David Stremme | 75 | -3925 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 44 | Bobby Labonte | 54 | -3946 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 45 | Parker Kligerman | 54 | -3946 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 46 | Timmy Hill | 51 | -3949 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 47 | Brett Moffitt | 48 | -3952 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 48 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 47 | -3953 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | Alex Kennedy | 47 | -3953 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 50 | Dave Blaney | 46 | -3954 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 51 | David Reutimann | 37 | -3963 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Boris Said | 28 | -3972 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | Nelson Piquet Jr | 18 | -3982 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54 | Eddie MacDonald | 9 | -3991 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 55 | Tomy Drissi | 6 | -3994 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 56 | Clay Rogers | 1 | -3999 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 57 | Landon Cassill | 0 | -4000 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 58 | Sam Hornish Jr | 0 | -4000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 59 | Trevor Bayne | 0 | -4000 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 60 | Ryan Blaney | 0 | -4000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 61 | Brian Scott | 0 | -4000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 62 | Ty Dillon | 0 | -4000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 63 | J.J. Yeley | 0 | -4000 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 64 | Joe Nemechek | 0 | -4000 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 65 | Blake Koch | 0 | -4000 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 66 | Mike Wallace | 0 | -4000 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 67 | Mike Bliss | 0 | -4000 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 68 | Corey Lajoie | 0 | -4000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 69 | Joey Gase | 0 | -4000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | Regan Smith | 0 | -4000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 71 | Morgan Shepherd | 0 | -4000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 72 | Johnny Sauter | 0 | -4000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 73 | Eric McClure | 0 | -4000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 74 | Matt Crafton | 0 | -4000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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