Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was setup to be an amazing event given the circumstances. Not only was restrictor plate racing returning to one of NASCAR’s most popular tracks but Talladega also served as the final race in the “Contender Round” of the Chase. With drivers championship hopes on the line, we knew that things would get dicey and for the most part Talladega delivered with an exciting race. However the storylines exiting Sunday’s GEICO 500 may be just as interesting as they were before the checker flag waved on Sunday.
Brad Keselowski entered Sunday’s 500 mile race at Talladega needing a win and a win only in order to advance in the Chase. After two weeks of poor performances, Keselowski appeared to be one of those drivers that needed a miracle win to stay alive. Keselowski received heavily criticism throughout the week for his actions following last week’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte. The driver of the #2 car was fined $50,000 by NASCAR following last Saturday’s race at Charlotte for his post race behavior. Keselowski rattled a few cages after the race in his attempt to take out his frustration with Denny Hamlin, Keselowski got into both Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart on the cool down lap as cars entered pit road. Stewart retaliated by backing up and ramming the #2 car. Kenseth retaliated by nearly tackling Keselowski as he walked by to his hauler. Add to the fact Hamlin had to be restrained from approaching Keselowski after he exited his car and it clearly appeared that “bad Brad” had made a few enemies at Charlotte.
However Keselowski made up for those events and silenced his critics in a big way at Talladega on Sunday. Keseloswki withstood multiple green-white-checker restarts to score a Chase saving victory. On the final restart, Ryan Newman had edged out Keselowski as cars came to receive the white flag from the outside lane and the #31 appeared to have the momentum heading down the backstretch. However Keselowski got a push from an unlikely source in Matt Kenseth which pushed the #2 car out front and “Kes” was able to hold off Kenseth as the cars came to the checkered flag. Ironically, Kenseth’s help on the inside is what ultimately kept Keselowski’s title hopes alive by allowing the 30 year old to capture his 3rd Talladega victory in just 12 starts.
Still, Keselowski’s big victory was just one of the big storylines that surrounded Talladega following the checkered flag. Six-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson and NASCAR’s most popular driver in Dale Earnhardt Jr were both eliminated from the Chase. Both Junior and Johnson led many laps on Sunday and appeared to be a threat for much of the afternoon. However neither driver put their selves in strong position in the closing laps of Sunday’s race will ultimately led to their demise. Junior was actually wrecked on the first green-white-checker restart and Johnson dropped from 4th to a 24th place finish. Both Earnhardt and Johnson entered Talladega needing a win to advance so their exits may not be too surprising.
However two drivers exits that were very surprising included the elimination of both Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch from the Chase. Busch entered Sunday’s GEICO 500 2nd in the standings and appeared to be a lock to advance on points. Busch needed just a 24th place finish to make it on points despite how the race unfolded. Busch and the #18 team appeared to be going for a “safe” strategy and ride around towards the tail end of the field in effort to miss any big multi-car wrecks which Talladega is known for. Well it turned out that playing it “safe” was not the correct strategy. With 85 laps to go, Busch was hit from behind as cars slowed to miss a wreck involving Aric Almirola and JJ Yeley. Busch’s #18 car was punted into the inside wall and was completely destroyed which resulted in an unthinkable 40th place finish.
Even with the accident, Busch appeared as if he would still advance on points but Keselowski’s victory destroyed those hopes. Busch would have finished 8th on points but Keselowski’s win automatically vaulted him into an automatic transfer spot which sent both Busch and Kahne packing. Kahne entered Sunday’s race in the 9th position trailing 8th place Matt Kenseth by just 1 point. Kahne brought home a decent 12th place finish but did not make up any ground on Kenseth which likely would not have mattered anyway considering Keselowski’s win pushed Kahne further back into the standings as well. Now the potent stable from Hendrick Motorsports is down to just 1 driver left in the Chase with the #24 car of Jeff Gordon. For a team that dominated much of the season, that has to be a blow for one of the best teams in the garage.
Now 8 drivers Chase hopes continue to the “Eliminator Round” with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, and Carl Edwards. Three more races remain before 4 drivers go for a one race Championship shootout at Homestead. The format remains the same with wins guaranteeing a spot to the next round followed by the highest points to fill the remaining vacant spots. The race tracks will get a little less hectic with Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix on the horizon. However the Chase for the Sprint Cup is heating up and promises to get even more exciting in the coming weeks.
