[media-credit name=”Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”271″]
[/media-credit]As NASCAR’s fourth fiasco ended, Matt Kenseth and a few other lone cars made it back to the finish line in somewhat one piece.
Kenseth held off, blocked and/or kept himself were he needed to be on Sunday and won the Good Sam 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Kenseth was out in front just enough not to be involved in a huge pileup on the final turn that collected over 20 drivers.
This was Kenseth’s first win at Talladega in his 26th start and his second win of the season. Kenseth has finished third or better in all four restrictor plate races in 2012.
“I just looked in my mirror and saw them coming at me three-wide. I kind of let Tony have his spot there. It didn’t look like he had a big push behind him and lined up with Kevin and we pretty much stayed locked together there until we got to turn three and I thought it was gonna be a drag race to the finish. I didn’t know what was gonna happen and I’m still not sure what happened. Somehow I think Tony got turned and caused a big wreck.” Kenseth said.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. summed it up best after being asked by the media, “I know it sucks for you guys but for the fans it’s awesome to watch.” Earnhardt Jr. replies, “Really? It’s not safe. Wrecking like that is ridiculous. It’s blood-thirsty if that is what people want. It’s ridiculous.”
Chase drivers Jeff Gordon finished second, Greg Biffle sixth and Brad Keselowski finished seventh and managed to make it though NASCAR’s misguided restrictor plate non-racing event to capture decent finishes.
“I didn’t see anything but Kasey Kahne’s rear bumper. That was the craziest, craziest finish I’ve ever experienced here at Talladega. For a change, I finally came out on the good side of it. I had my teammate in front of me which is perfect.” Gordon said. “I got hit by the No. 18 and somehow that turned me down on the apron and I just put it back to the floor and drove by every car, and I came out of that second behind the No. 17 car. That is definitely what we needed to do. That is like a win. I am sure we survived it. We’ll see what we can do with it from here on out.”
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. Unbelievable. I was probably 20th and five-wide up against the wall and then cars started wrecking. A car flew over the top of my car as I turned to the bottom and missed guys by three inches. It was like Days of Thunder coming through the smoke and the grass and just kept it going straight. That’s all I did and once I was clear of all the stuff I kept going to the start-finish line, but it was the craziest thing I’ve ever been involved in, in my life.” Biffle said.
Keselowski’s seventh place finish extends his lead to 14 points over Johnson.
“We made all the right calls today. I tried to run up front but didn’t have any success at it. Everyone on the team did a good job executing with a smart race and we got a good finish.” Keselowski said. “That’s pretty big. I just feel lucky to survive Talladega.”
Kevin Harvick finished 11th, Kasey Kahne 12th, Martin Truex Jr. 13th, Denny Hamlin 14th, Jimmie Johnson 17th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 20th, Tony Stewart 22nd and Clint Bowyer finished 23rd.
Official Chase Standings/Stats
After race 4 of 10
Good Sam 500, Talladega Superspeedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/chase.php
| Pos. | Driver | (+/-) | Wins | Top-5 | Top-10 | Bon. | Avg St | Ave Fin | Laps | Ttl Laps | Points | Bnd |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 3.8 | 1156 | 1156 | 2179 | 0 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 12.3 | 6.3 | 1156 | 1156 | 2165 | -14 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 16 | 9.8 | 1155 | 1156 | 2156 | -23 |
| 4 | Kasey Kahne | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5.5 | 8.8 | 1153 | 1156 | 2143 | -36 |
| 5 | Clint Bowyer | -1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6.5 | 11.5 | 1154 | 1156 | 2139 | -40 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8.3 | 10.5 | 1079 | 1156 | 2137 | -42 |
| 7 | Tony Stewart | -2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 13.8 | 1152 | 1156 | 2133 | -46 |
| 8 | Martin Truex Jr. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9.8 | 11.3 | 1156 | 1156 | 2131 | -48 |
| 9 | Greg Biffle | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11.5 | 13.3 | 1153 | 1156 | 2130 | -49 |
| 10 | Kevin Harvick | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21.3 | 11.8 | 1153 | 1156 | 2130 | -49 |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | -4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13.8 | 13 | 1154 | 1156 | 2128 | -51 |
| 12 | Matt Kenseth | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 13.8 | 17 | 1126 | 1156 | 2117 | -62 |
*Note: These stats consist of only the final 10 chase races.
(http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/chase.php)
Since this is NASCAR’s fourth fiasco of the season, all awards will be off this week.
Biggest loser(s) after race 4: 20+ cars filed up on the frontstretch. But let’s not forget the car owners.
Biggest gainer after race 4: NASCAR! Great job NASCAR!
Biggest movers after race 4 (+/-): Jeff Gordon +4
