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Jamie McMurray survived another wild and crazy finish at Talladega Superspeedway to win Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 and snap an 86-race winless streak in the Sprint Cup Series.
McMurray crossed the finish line in the lead when the caution flag was displayed for a multi-car crash that featured Mark Martin’s car flipping on the track during a green-white-checkered finish. McMurray scored his third career Cup victory, but his first since July 2008 at Daytona. MiamiHerald.com
“I made the comment ... it’s just going to be luck,” McMurray said, “whoever can get in the right row and make the moves.”
Carl Edwards’ airborne April crash into the frontstretch fence forced NASCAR to cut down on the dangerous bumping and blocking that usually triggers the big accidents.
NASCAR president Mike Helton ramped it up another notch Sunday in a stern pre-race lecture that banned all bumping in the corners. He was peppered with questions from the drivers, but held firm and warned that a victory could be stripped if it was gained through bump-drafting.
In response, the 43-car field spent much of Sunday in a single-file parade lap that almost looked to be a conscious thumbing of the nose at NASCAR.
They did when it counted, and as always, it got dicey when the racing picked up with about 20 laps remaining.
Ryan Newman’s harrowing crash with five laps to go left him upside down in the grass, and NASCAR needed a stoppage of almost 13 minutes to cut him from the car. Outspoken in the wake of Edwards’ April crash, he was none too pleased to have spent almost 15 minutes trapped inside his car. The Associated Press
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Amp Energy 500 at Talladega - Race Results
“I saw the guys wreck behind me, and I didn’t know if you had to take the white [flag] in order [to win the race]—I wasn’t real sure what the rules were—and the 9 [Kahne] went to the outside because he saw the same issue, but I just moved up and kind of tried to block him,” said McMurray, who won the third Cup race of his career. “As soon as I crossed the start/finish line, I shut the engine off and pushed the clutch in and coasted around as far as I could.” NASCAR
Kasey Kahne finished second, while rookie Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton completed the top-five.
After finishing sixth, Jimmie Johnson is on the cusp of winning his record fourth straight Cup championship. Johnson extended his lead to 184 points over Martin and 192 ahead of Gordon with just three races remaining.
“I feel good about things,” Johnson said. “I hate to see so many tore up cars and the big wreck that took place, but for us what really made the difference, obviously we were conservative all day long.” MiamiHerald.com
