Kenseth survives 25-car crash on final lap, wins Talladega thriller

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The Big One waited until the final corner.

Matt Kenseth escaped a massive pileup in Turn 4 on Lap 189 of Sunday's Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to win the fourth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Jeff Gordon likewise dodged the 25-car wreck, triggered by contact between Tony Stewart's Chevrolet and Michael Waltrip's Toyota, and ran second, followed by Kyle Busch, David Ragan and Regan Smith.

Brad Keselowski finished seventh and extended his championship lead to 14 points over Jimmie Johnson, whose Chevrolet was heavily damaged in the wreck and limped home in 17th.

Jamie McMurray, who had led 39 laps, spun in the tri-oval on lap 183, as he got a push from Kevin Harvick. McMurray brought out the fourth caution, but, miraculously, no other cars were collected in the incident.

Clint Bowyer led the field to the restart on Lap 188, but Stewart quickly took the point. Trying to block Waltrip in the final corner, Stewart turned across the nose of the No. 55 Toyota and triggered the wreck.

The first round of green-flag pit stops proved the undoing -- albeit temporary -- of Earnhardt, Kyle Busch and Trevor Bayne, all of whom were flagged for speeding on pit road. After serving pass-through penalties, all three drivers were lapped by the pack.

Just past the halfway point, Kenseth surged past Kurt Busch into the lead, marking a full recovery from a Lap 42 spin off the bumper of teammate Greg Biffle and subsequent spectacular save.

Bayne got his lap back as the "lucky dog" on Lap 99, when Kurt Busch lost fuel pressure off Turn 2 and spun off the bumper of Jamie McMurray's Chevrolet, slamming the wall and causing the second caution of the afternoon.

Driving James Finch's Phoenix Racing Chevrolet for the final time before debuting for Furniture Row Racing next weekend at Charlotte, Busch --helmet off and out of radio contact with his team and NASCAR -- drove away from the accident scene before NASCAR had cleared him and was parked for his effrontery.

It wasn't until 40 laps later that Earnhardt and Kyle Busch regained their lost laps. Earnhardt paced the field as the last car on the lead lap when NASCAR called a caution for debris on Lap 39. Busch also rejoined the lead lap as the highest-scored lapped car and restarted third on Lap 144 after the vast majority of drivers returned to pit road to top off their fuel tanks on Lap 142.

Caught up in the wreck on the last lap, Earnhardt came home 20th.

Racing

NASCAR Sprint Cup

Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Results

Sunday

At Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, Ala.

Lap Length: 2.66 Miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (15) Matt Kenseth, Ford

2. (6) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet

3. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota

4. (25) David Ragan, Ford

5. (28) Regan Smith, Chevrolet

6. (5) Greg Biffle, Ford

7. (22) Brad Keselowski, Dodge

8. (36) Travis Kvapil, Toyota

9. (2) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet

10. (26) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet

11. (21) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet

12. (1) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet

13. (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

14. (23) Denny Hamlin, Toyota

15. (32) David Gilliland, Ford

16. (31) Terry Labonte, Ford

17. (17) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet

18. (40) Bobby Labonte, Toyota

19. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford

20. (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet

21. (8) Trevor Bayne, Ford

22. (4) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet

23. (3) Clint Bowyer, Toyota

24. (10) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge

25. (11) Michael Waltrip, Toyota

26. (19) Casey Mears, Ford

27. (20) Marcos Ambrose, Ford

28. (16) Paul Menard, Chevrolet

29. (39) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet

30. (38) Landon Cassill, Toyota

31. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford

32. (14) Joey Logano, Toyota

33. (30) David Stremme, Toyota

34. (24) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet

35. (43) Robert Richardson Jr., Toyota

36. (7) Carl Edwards, Ford

37. (41) David Reutimann, Chevrolet

38. (27) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet

39. (29) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet

40. (42) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet

41. (37) Joe Nemechek, Toyota

42. (35) Timmy Hill, Toyota

43. (33) Josh Wise, Ford

Race Statistics

Average speed of race winner: 171.194 mph.

Time of race: 2 hours, 56 minutes, 12 seconds.

Margin of victory: Under Caution.

Caution flags: 5 for 17 laps.

Lead changes: 54 among 18 drivers.

Lap leaders: K.Kahne 1-7; C.Bowyer 8; K.Kahne 9-10; T.Bayne 11; C.Bowyer 12; D.Earnhardt Jr. 13-14; Ky.Busch 15-17; K.Harvick 18; T.Kvapil 19; Ky.Busch 20-22; M.Kenseth 23-32; D.Earnhardt Jr. 33-40; M.Kenseth 41; D.Earnhardt Jr. 42-49; C.Mears 50; J.Burton 51-52; T.Bayne 53-56; C.Mears 57-61; J.Johnson 62-71; J.Gordon 72-78; J.McMurray 79-89; Ku.Busch 90-93; M.Kenseth 94-96; Ku.Busch 97-98; J.Burton 99; J.Johnson 100; D.Ragan 101; M.Ambrose 102-103; M.Kenseth 104-108; K.Harvick 109-116; J.McMurray 117-118; M.Kenseth 119-126; G.Biffle 127; M.Kenseth 128-131; J.McMurray 132-139; T.Kvapil 140-141; C.Mears 142-143; G.Biffle 144-145; K.Harvick 146-147; G.Biffle 148-151; J.McMurray 152; G.Biffle 153-155; J.McMurray 156-160; G.Biffle 161; J.McMurray 162; G.Biffle 163-167; J.McMurray 168; K.Harvick 169; J.McMurray 170; M.Kenseth 171; C.Mears 172-173; J.McMurray 174-181; C.Bowyer 182-187; T.Stewart 188; M.Kenseth 189.

Leaders summary (driver, times led, laps led): J.McMurray, 9 times for 38 laps; M.Kenseth, 8 times for 33 laps; D.Earnhardt Jr., 3 times for 18 laps; G.Biffle, 6 times for 16 laps; K.Harvick, 4 times for 12 laps; J.Johnson, 2 times for 11 laps; C.Mears, 4 times for 10 laps; K.Kahne, 2 times for 9 laps; C.Bowyer, 3 times for 8 laps; J.Gordon, 1 time for 7 laps; Ky.Busch, 2 times for 6 laps; Ku.Busch, 2 times for 6 laps; T.Bayne, 2 times for 5 laps; T.Kvapil, 2 times for 3 laps; J.Burton, 2 times for 3 laps; M.Ambrose, 1 time for 2 laps; D.Ragan, 1 time for 1 lap; T.Stewart, 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 12 in points: 1. B.Keselowski, 2,179; 2. J.Johnson, 2,165; 3. D.Hamlin, 2,156; 4. K.Kahne, 2,143; 5. C.Bowyer, 2,139; 6. J.Gordon, 2,137; 7. T.Stewart, 2,133; 8. M.Truex Jr., 2,131; 9. G.Biffle, 2,130; 10. K.Harvick, 2,130; 11. D.Earnhardt Jr., 2,128; 12. M.Kenseth, 2,117.

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