It was a wild Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, which extended six laps beyond it’s scheduled 188, and featured five cautions. In the final quarter, three of those cautions came within 17 laps of the checkered flag, and each involved multiple cars.
The attrition rate was high, with only 24 of a field of 43 entries making it to the finish line. Team Chevy emerged with seven of those finishers; and the Bowtie Brigade was led by Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet who brought his machine home in fourth place, his second consecutive top-five finish and fourth top-10 of the season.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet finished in the ninth place spot; Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet was 10th, and Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/ Tracker Boats Chevy finished 11th.
Other Chevrolet finishers were Paul Menard, No. 27 Menards/Turtle Wax Chevy = 17th, Kurt Busch, No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Inc. Chevy was 20th, and three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart, powered his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobile 1 Chevy to the checkers in 24th.
Team Chevy drivers who were sidelined due to accidents were: Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, Dave Blaney, No. 36 Golden Corral Chevy, Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target/Kraft Chevrolet, and pole winner Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet.
Five time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Ryan Newman, No. 39 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevy, and Regan Smith, No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet were all sidelined early in the event with engine issues.
Next stop on the 38-race NASCAR Sprint Cup tour will be Darlington Raceway on Saturday evening, May 11.