CupScene.com

(By Sarah Farlee Managing Editor, CupScene.com)

Posted: Sunday,October 31st, 2010

Talladega, Ala., - As the checkered flag waved Richard Childress made the trek to victory lane, but the owner was unaware of which car would be pulling in to celebrate following Sunday’s Amp Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

“I was kind of wondering which one won and if it was real,” said Childress. “The scoreboard never went up to 188, it stayed at 187.”

Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick were both celebrating, although neither knew exactly which one would be named the winner after the field was frozen as the caution came out following the display of the white flag for a multiple car incident that sent AJ Allmendinger tumbling. Allmendinger would crawl out unhurt, and Bowyer would be determined the winner over Harvick by NASCAR’s timing and scoring following an extensive review of scoring loops and video.

TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 31: Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the #33 BB&T Chevrolet, lead the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 31, 2010 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

“I thought we had it for sure,” said Bowyer who remains in the 12th spot in the Chase (-367). “When two cars hook up, they just drive off from them and they were coming on the outside and ran us down and then I quit dragging my brakes and we kind of took off again. Door to door there and all of a sudden Dillon [Mike, spotter] is yelling at me in my ear that the caution was coming out. I looked over to make sure I was ahead of him. I thought I was, but I didn’t know.”

Nobody seemed to know exactly who the winner was, but Harvick was happy to just finish in one piece following contact with Marcos Ambrose that caused some damage to the nose of Harvick’s car. That damage could have been spelled disaster, but the team worked hard to get Harvick back on track – Harvick worked to stay up front.

“I didn’t know when the caution came out, but I thought we beat him to the line,” said Harvick who is only 38 points back from leader Jimmie Johnson. “It was really close. I just have to thank David Reutimann. He pushed me all day and he was really good behind us. Our car was kind of beat up in the front there, but it was just going to be a drag race there to the end. We did what we needed to do and we kept it one-two in the right house there. Just a great day for RCR, a good day in the points.”

Denny Hamlin has the bigger picture in mind when it comes to winning a championship. Hamlin had a rough patch during the race after losing the lead draft, but Hamlin said that losing a few points to Harvick was not “detrimental” and all Hamlin asked for was making it out of Talladega with a chance.

“I asked for nobody to really get killed here this weekend and to let us settle it on the race track where our cars and our teams can make a difference and us drivers can make a difference,” said Hamlin, who finished ninth. “That’s what we got. We’ve got a tight one and I’m looking forward to the last three (races).”

Johnson was only six points ahead of Hamlin coming into Talladega and that lead was extended by a few points. Johnson’s strategy for the day was to hang back to try and avoid any trouble and as the laps clicked down Johnson knew it was time to make a move.

“Our strategy was just to play it smart and make sure we had a race car to race with at the end and Jeff (Gordon) and I got hooked up and got going and got to the front and unfortunately he thought he had an engine failure and he got out of the way and waved me off,” said Johnson, who was scored in the seventh position. “At that point I was kind of left up there without a teammate and really wished that he didn’t have those troubles. In the end I guess he didn’t have any problems. It was a good day.”

Gordon (fourth place, -207) was able to finish eighth. Gordon said the strategy of working with Johnson didn’t seem as though it would unfold, at least not as early as it did. Gordon said that at inside 20 laps to go hooking up with the 48 was the plan, but getting all the way to the front was unexpected. Unfortunately for Gordon running at the front didn’t last as smoke and an oil smell became apparent. Gordon thought the engine was expiring and dropped back.

“I was out there leading, the No. 48 [Johnson] pushed me to the front and all of a sudden it just felt like the engine was blowing,” said Gordon. “I smelled oil and saw a lot of smoke inside the car and I think the No. 48 saw it too so that is why I got shuffled out.”

Tony Stewart (sixth place, -230) was shuffled out of the mix early on following a flat tire and being forced to pit on lap 20. Stewart went two laps down and battled all day until finally getting back on the lead lap, only to be involved in the final lap caution and finished 31st. Crew chief Darian Grubb said Talladega is prone to drama.

“I just don’t know how long we can keep coming to this place, where you can have a one-lap race and have the same drama you have in 188,” said Grubb. “We had a chance to win. We were 11th when we crashed on the last lap. We were moving. I think we could’ve been in the top-four, top-five. We were on fresh tires and started from the back of the pack. But, as is the case here, the way it ended up for us is not really racing. That’s just luck of the draw.”

Matt Kenseth (eighth place, -330), finished 16th and said that although there may not have been a 20 car pileup, the race seemed pretty “normal.” Kenseth added that the racing was similar to every other trip to Talladega and that included success meant being at the right place at the right time.

“Things just didn’t go our way there at the very end,” Kenseth said. “It seemed like we could be pretty competitive in exactly the right spot, but I had a real hard time maneuvering and I’d get stalled out real bad. Paul [Menard] gave me a great push on that last restart and I was really trying to stay to his bumper. I was losing all my speed and all the steam was coming on the top, so I went to block the top and tried to get up there. Of course they just hung me in the middle and I was done.”

Carl Edwards (sixth place, -259), says the plan was beginning to pan out on the last lap. Edwards added that forward progress was being made until the white flag came out and the field froze, however Edwards will take a 17th place finish and a relatively clean racecar.

“It was just plain luck,” said Edwards of the lack of huge multiple car incidents. “But everybody did a pretty good job.”

One driver pleasantly surprised to not be involved in any crashes was Greg Biffle (11th place, -361). Biffle said at the end of the race there was just not enough momentum to gain a better finish than 19th, but overall the day was a success.

“We escaped that,” said Biffle of the late race crash. “But we wanted a better finish than where we ended up.”

Kurt Busch (ninth place, -350) was not surprised by how the day ended up. Busch finished 30th in what the Penske Racing driver described as “typical Talladega.” Busch ran toward the front for much of the race, but never got the chance to make a run as the laps ticked down.

“We were looking to draft to the front with the 56 car [Martin Truex Jr.] before the last caution,” said Busch. “On the restart, we were stuck on the outside. The first two rows broke away, then it got three wide and we got shuffled back because the cars in front of our line just didn’t go anywhere. It’s disappointing.”

Kyle Busch (fifth place, -230) finished 25th following an up and down day. Crew chief Dave Rogers said Talladega is a place where a lot of drivers leave upset and few actually leave happy.

“We could never find that small hole to get up – we got trapped on the bottom and we got freight-trained there,” said Rogers. “One of the rewarding things of this sport is at the end of the day you always have a report card – you know how well you performed. It stinks when your report card says you finished 25th, but you know you were a lot better than that. We’ll lick our wounds and get ready for Texas.”

Jeff Burton (10th place, -352) was the first Chase racer out of the race following a crash on lap 133 involving Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Burton was nudged from behind by Earnhardt causing Burton to slam into the wall before spinning to the bottom of the track, also gathering up Earnhardt. Both drivers had run at the front of the pack, and Burton although disappointed, said the contact was a result of Superspeedway racing.

“It’s just racing. Junior and I work really well today and pushed each other a lot; we just didn’t get lined up that time and I guess he got me in the right-rear quarter panel and got me turned around,” said Burton, who finished 41st. “It wasn’t anything on purpose; we just didn’t get lined up. It’s going to happen some more and things are going to start to get busy right now. It all got started going into Turn three and it got three-wide and it kind of changed everybody’s line a little bit and I think I moved a little different than he thought I was going to. He didn’t do anything wrong; it’s just plain and simple racing.”

The series travels to Texas Motor Speedway next week where Hamlin was the winner in April. The top three Chase drivers are only separated by 38 points, the closest margin in Chase history.