Clint Bowyer, No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet, powered his way to the front of the field and ahead of his teammate Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Realtree Chevrolet, as the white flag flew. As the Richard Childress Racing drivers prepared to do battle on the last lap, the caution flew for an accident behind them. It took several moments for NASCAR to review video tapes before declaring Bowyer the victor by less than a front bumper of their Chevrolet race cars.
For team owner Richard Childress, Bowyer’s win holds sentimental value as it was 10 years ago at the fall Talladega that the legendary Dale Earnhardt, Sr. won his last race behind the wheel of the No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet.
Bowyer led nine times for a total of 19 of the 188 laps on the way to the fourth victory of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career. It is his second victory of the season but his first on a superspeedway. He remains 12th in the standings but moved with 15 points of 10th place in points.
Harvick remains third in the standings but is only 24 points out of second and 38 points behind the leader with three races remaining. He led eight times today for a total of 12 laps.
Pushing Bowyer on the inside line was Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet, who garnered the third finishing position at the finish to give Team Chevy a one-two-three finish. After starting on the pole, Montoya led eight times for a total of 18 laps.
With a seventh place finish, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, extended his points lead to 14 points over second place Denny Hamlin. The four-time defending NSCS champion led twice for two laps.
Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet, finished eighth in the 500-mile race after leading once for one lap. He moved up one position in the standings to fourth place.
David Reutimann (Toyota) and Joey Logano (Toyota) completed the top-five finishers.
FIN CAR DRIVER MAKE 1 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 2 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 3 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 4 0 David Reutimann Toyota 5 20 Joey Logano Toyota 6 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 9 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 10 12 Brad Keselowski Dodge 11 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 12 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 13 98 Paul Menard Ford 14 19 Elliott Sadler Ford 15 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 16 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 17 99 Carl Edwards Ford 18 7 Robby Gordon Toyota 19 16 Greg Biffle Ford 20 9 Aric Almirola Ford 21 6 David Ragan Ford 22 71 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet 23 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 24 13 Casey Mears Toyota 25 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 26 83 Kasey Kahne Toyota 27 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 28 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota 29 82 Scott Speed Toyota 30 2 Kurt Busch Dodge 31 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 32 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 33 37 David Gilliland Ford 34 47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota 35 46 Michael McDowell Chevrolet 36 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 37 34 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford 38 9 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 39 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 40 26 Bill Elliott Ford 41 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 42 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 43 197 Jeff Fuller Toyota
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