Logano Wins Talladega Race as Four Drivers are Eliminated

AP Photo/Ranier Ehrhardt

TALLADEGA, AL - RIS - Joey Logano took the lead on a green-white-checker finish and stormed to a victory in the Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.  Logano didn't need a win to advance to the field of eight, but the win made it official.  The Penske Fords of Logano and Brad Keselowski dominated the race, leading 135 of the 192 laps run.  In the end, It was Logano vs. the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 44 of Brian Scott and a host of other.  Rookie Scott had the best finish of his career as he followed Logano across the start-finish line just behind Logano.

Keselowski led the most laps, but a blown engine, probably because of overheating his engine (Keselowski ran several laps with debris on his grille), put him out of the race and out of contention for the 2016 championship.  Martin Truex suffered the same fate and was also eliminated.

So the race at the end really came down to Hamlin and Austin Dillon, who were jockeying for the last transfer spot into the round of eight. Hamlin finished third and Dillon was ninth. They ended the round tied in points, and Hamlin advanced on a tiebreaker .

"We're on house money at this point," said Hamlin, who likely would have needed to win Sunday if not for the engine failures to Keselowski and Truex.

Dillon, on a frantic dash over two overtime laps to gain as many spots as possible, called the outcome "heartbreaking."

"It sure stinks to lose it on a tiebreaker," Dillon said.

Also eliminated Sunday was Chase Elliott. Advancing are: Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Logano and Hamlin. There are four Toyotas remaining in the field, all from Joe Gibbs Racing. Stewart-Haas Racing has Kurt Busch and Harvick -- but the two had a heated exchange after the race over alleged contact on the last lap -- while Hendrick Motorsports has Johnson for three Chevrolets in the field. Logano is the only Ford driver.

"Feels good to win on a clutch moment like that with the pressure on," Logano said. "I think we ran like a champ."

The race was very different from the Spring race at the 2.66-mile tri-oval.  Mostly, the drivers behaved themselves except for a harried sequence early in the race in which three championship contenders had uncharacteristic gaffes within minutes of each other. First Logano left pit road with a jack wedged under his Ford, and he had to return to pit road to have it removed. Then Hamlin was flagged for speeding, then Truex lost an engine .

Keselowski's engine went with 43 laps remaining after he'd battled climbing temperatures on his car because of debris on his front grille.

"It is unfortunate for Brad," Logano said. "It happens as a leader picking some (debris up). We picked it up just not as much."

Keselowski was dominant for a huge chunk of the race, even as he battled climbing temperatures on his Ford. Then, with 43 laps remaining, his engine blew and Keselowski was sent to the garage.

Kasey Kahne spun with six laps remaining to bring out the caution for a heart-pounding final restart.

The caution had terrible timing for Hamlin, and was a gift for Dillon. Hamlin was trying to hold off Dillon for the last transfer position and the Kahne spin gave Dillon another chance to gain points that would keep him in contention and bump Hamlin from the playoffs.

The restart was with three laps remaining. Logano was never headed and was in the final eight for the Sprint Cup.

Unofficial Race Results: 48th Annual Hellmann's 500, Talladega Superspeedway

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Lap, Pts, BPts, Status, TLd, LLd
1) 16, Joey Logano (C), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 192, 44, 4, Running, 1, 45
2) 25, Brian Scott #, No. 44 Goody's Ford, 192, 39, , Running, ,
3) 8, Denny Hamlin (C), No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, 192, 39, 1, Running, 4, 12
4) 7, Kurt Busch (C), No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevrolet, 192, 37, , Running, ,
5) 6, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, No. 17 Zest Ford, 192, 37, 1, Running, 1, 6
6) 24, Kyle Larson, No. 42 Energizer Chevrolet, 192, 35, , Running, ,
7) 22, Kevin Harvick (C), No. 4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet, 192, 34, , Running, ,
8) 26, Aric Almirola, No. 43 Smithfield Ford, 192, 33, , Running, ,
9) 9, Austin Dillon (C), No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet, 192, 33, 1, Running, 1, 1
10) 32, AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Kroger/Scott Products Chevrolet, 192, 31, , Running, ,
11) 15, * Ryan Blaney #, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford, 192, 31, 1, Running, 2, 3
12) 4, Chase Elliott # (C), No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 192, 30, 1, Running, 5, 9
13) 10, Paul Menard, No. 27 SYLVANIA/Menards Chevrolet, 192, 28, , Running, ,
14) 20, Ryan Newman, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 192, 27, , Running, ,
15) 5, Greg Biffle, No. 16 Cheez-it Ford, 192, 27, 1, Running, 1, 13
16) 34, Michael McDowell, No. 95 KLOVE Radio Chevrolet, 192, 25, , Running, ,
17) 11, Trevor Bayne, No. 6 AdvoCare Ford, 192, 24, , Running, ,
18) 36, Clint Bowyer, No. 15 5-hour Energy Chevrolet, 192, 23, , Running, ,
19) 23, Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, 192, 22, , Running, ,
20) 30, Danica Patrick, No. 10 Nature's Bakery Chevrolet, 192, 21, , Running, ,
21) 31, Landon Cassill, No. 38 FR8 Auctions Ford, 192, 20, , Running, ,
22) 33, Chris Buescher #, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 192, 19, , Running, ,
23) 17, Jimmie Johnson (C), No. 48 Lowe's Pro Services Chevrolet, 192, 18, , Running, ,
24) 40, David Ragan, No. 23 sweetFrog Toyota, 192, 17, , Running, ,
25) 29, Regan Smith, No. 7 Golden Corral Chevrolet, 192, 16, , Running, ,
26) 18, * Ryan Reed(i), No. 99 Lilly Diabetes/American Diabetes Association Ford, 192, 0, , Running, ,
27) 35, * Matt DiBenedetto, No. 93 Dustless Blasting Toyota, 192, 14, , Running, ,
28) 3, Matt Kenseth (C), No. 20 DeWalt Flexvolt Toyota, 192, 14, 1, Running, 1, 1
29) 13, Carl Edwards (C), No. 19 Subway Toyota, 192, 13, 1, Running, 1, 1
30) 14, Kyle Busch (C), No. 18 Snickers Halloween Toyota, 192, 12, 1, Running, 2, 2
31) 38, Bobby Labonte, No. 32 VisoneRV.com Ford, 192, 10, , Running, ,
32) 21, Tony Stewart, No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, 192, 10, 1, Running, 1, 1
33) 37, Michael Annett, No. 46 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet, 192, 9, 1, Running, 1, 6
34) 39, Jeffrey Earnhardt #, No. 83 Starter Toyota, 192, 7, , Running, ,
35) 27, Kasey Kahne, No. 5 UniFirst Chevrolet, 191, 6, , Running, ,
36) 19, Alex Bowman(i), No. 88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, 191, 0, , Running, ,
37) 12, * Reed Sorenson, No. 55  Toyota, 179, 4, , Running, ,
38) 2, Brad Keselowski (C), No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, 144, 5, 2, Engine, 9, 90
39) 28, Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 113, 2, , Accident, ,
40) 1, Martin Truex Jr (C), No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota, 41, 2, 1, Engine, 1, 2

(C) = Chase team; (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series; # = Rookie; * = non-charter team
Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led.  Time of Race: 03 Hrs, 11 Mins, 38 Secs.
Average Speed: 159.905 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.124 Seconds
Lead Changes: 31 among 14 drivers
Cautions: 6 for 25 laps