NASCAR officials had to go to the videotape in order to determine the winner as the caution flew on the last lap with Clint Bowyer and Hevin Harvick side-by-side for the win. After NASCAR reviewed the tapes Clint Bowyer was declared the winner.
Qualifying
Chevrolet drivers had the right combination in qualifying and swept the front row with Juan Montoya on the pole and Clint Bowyer in second.
The second row featured a mix of brands as Kurt Busch started third in his Dodge and Joe Nemechek had an excellent run for Toyota. Jeff Burton rounded out the top five in his Chevrolet.
Ford drivers struggled in qualifying. The best Ford was Carl Edwards who started way back in 23rd.
Drop Of The Green
When the green flag dropped Joe Nemechek made his way into the lead for lap one but the shuffle was on.
This was restrictor plate racing as we have come to know it recently. The lead changed hands nearly every lap in the early going but thankfully safe racing was the order of the day for the first 69 laps.
Many of The Chasers were choosing to stay out of the mess. Six Chase drivers, including leader Jimmie Johnson, were running 35th place or worse by lap five.
Storylines
Shortly before the halfway point there was Chase news as Denny Hamlin lost the draft. Without a drafting partner Hamlin could only pray for a caution. Hamlin was lapped as the field reached 90 laps to go.
With 48 laps to go third in points Kevin Harvick was involved in a multi-car wreck and suffered some damage to the front end of his Childress Chevy.
That same incident proved to be key in the Chase since Harvick's bad luck was Denny Hamlin's good luck. Hamlin received the "Lucky Dog" for that caution and got back on the lead lap.
During that same caution Jimmie Johnson's team spent a few extra moments in the pits patching up the back bumper of his car with some 200 MPH tape.
Chasing The Checkers
NASCAR threw an unneccesary caution for debris with eight laps to go to set up a thrilling Talladega finish like restrictor plate fans love.
The green flag flew with four laps to go and all politeness went out the window. Clint Bowyer lead a three and four wide mess behind him.
Kevin Harvick inched past Bowyer for the lead as the white flag flew and then "The Big One" unfolded behind them. There was uncertainty on the track and in the stands as no one knew for sure who was leading the instant the yellow flag flew to end the race.
Clint Bowyer did the burnout before NASCAR annnounced the actual winner. When the final word came down from the officials it was Clint Bowyer who was granted the win.
Top Ten
- Clint Bowyer
- Kevin Harvick
- Juan Montoya
- David Reutimann
- Joey Logano
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Denny Hamlin
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jeff Gordon
- Mark Martin
The Points
This was the closest Chase in history coming into Talladega. After today's race the 2010 Chase for the Cup standings are even closer. The top three are separated by just 19 points with three races remaining in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.
The top twelve are:
- Jimmie Johnson
- Denny Hamlin -2
- Kevin Harvick -19
- Jeff Gordon -207
- Kyle Busch -235
- Carl Edwards -255
- Tony Stewart -268
- Matt Kenseth -326
- Kurt Busch -331
- Jeff Burton -348
- Clint Bowyer -378
- Greg Biffle -381
