Let’s Talk: Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 from Talladega

Six races to go.

Talladega can be crossed off the list in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. After yesterday’s wild finish at the 2.66 mile track, I know there are a lot of drivers who are glad to be out of the track in one piece. In case you don’t watch NASCAR, then you missed pure chaos and carnage going into the last lap.  Instead of talking about it, I figured this video would help explain what happened. At the same time, I am sure this video gets NASCAR some more fans, who love to watch just got the wrecks; which is a shame.

In the end, it was Matt Kenserth, who had the dominant car on Sunday, in victory lane. The win at Talladega would be Kenseth’s second win of the season.

When asked about the wreck, Kenseth would said, “As you saw today and you’ve seen a lot of times, there is no safe place.”

With the win on Sunday, Kenseth stayed 12th in points, just 62 points behind Brad Keselowki.

In this weekly segment, Total Sports Blog, will rewind the race from the day before and let you know where all the Chase contenders finished and where they are in the point standings.

Jeff Gordon:  Six-time Cup winner at Talladega would roll off the grid sixth on Sunday and finish second. Gordon would lead laps and get through the big crash on the last lap to take the runner up spot. With the finish, Gordon moved up four spots in the Chase standings to sixth place, just -42 out of first.

Greg Biffle: Biffle started the race in the fifth position and remained in the top 10 for the majority of the race.  He led a total of 16 laps and picked up 39 points and moved up to ninth in points with his sixth-place finish.With the help of his spotter Joel Edmonds, however, Biffle successfully dodged all of the carnage and crossed the finish line practically unscathed.

Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started the race from the 22nd position and finish sixth. Keselowski survived a wild, multi-car wreck at the end of the event to bring home his 19th top-10 finish of 2012. With the result, the Penske Racing driver now leads the series championship standings by 14 points over Jimmie Johnson.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin Harvick drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet to an 11th-place finish in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 after being involved in a final-lap incident at Talladega Superspeedway. Harvick fell to 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings, 49 markers behind the leader.

Kasey Kahne: After winning his first pole position at Talladega Superspeedway, Kasey Kahne led the first seven laps in Sunday’s race at the 2.66-mile restrictor-plate track.  Kahne was collected in a multi-car incident, as Tony Stewart landed on his hood as you can see from the video above. Despite the finish, Kahne moved up two spots in the Chase standings just 36 points below Keselowski.

Martin Truex, Jr:  Truex would start the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 in the ninth spot and race has high as sixth in the early goings. At one point of the race, he would head to the back of the pack until the very end when he was given the green from his crew chief to start driving to the front. Truex, nearly made it through the last lap accident, but finished 13th. He is now eighth in the point standings, trailing the leader by 48 points.

Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota in 23rd and the team made the decision to hang off the back of the lead pack in hopes of avoiding any early big accidents and remain alive for a final run at the checker flag at the end of the day. Somehow he managed to drive his No. 11 Camry though much of the mess to record a 14th-place finish. Although certainly not the finish Hamlin and the FedEx team had hoped for it did allow them to leave Talladega with their championship hopes firmly intact. He remains third in the current point standings 23 points out of first with six races remaining.

Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s strategy at Talladega Supespeedway was to hang in the back of the pack and wait for the right moment to come to the front. After starting the Good Sam Roaadside Assistance 500 in 17th place, Johnson would wait until Lap 115 to make his move up to the front. Johnson would be collected in the multi-car incident on the last lap and would finish 17th. Driver No. 48 is still in second place in the point standings, just 14 under Keselowski.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr: The crowd went crazy as the NASCAR Most Popular driver headed to the front of the pack at Dega. Earnhardt was collected in a multi-car incident that involved most of the field. When he refired his No. 88 Chevy, Earnhardt gave Johnson a lift back to the garage.He would finish 20th, and dropped four spots in the point standings to 11th just 51 points behind Keselowski.

Tony Stewart: Tony Stewart finished 22^nd after enduring a spectacular crash in the final turn of the final lap while vying for the lead. Stewart walked away from accident unhurt. Stewart came into the fourth race of the 10-race Chase in fifth place among the 12 Chase drivers, 32 points behind Chase leader Keselowski. Stewart leaves Talladega seventh in the standings, 46 points behind Keselowski.

Clint Bowyer: While Bowyer was carrying a special paint scheme for Five-Hour Energy and the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Cancer Crusade, it was his finish that is still being talked about. Bowyer started third and would finish in 23rd after being unable to avoid the big one on the final lap. Bowyer would lead three times and looked to be in position to win his third race in a row at the track. With the finish, Bowyer is fifth in the Championship point standings, 40 behind first place.

The next race for the Sprint Cup Series is Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Prepare to see more pink cars as the track pays tribute to Breast Cancer Awareness month.