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NASCAR drivers refer to restrictor-plate races as high-speed chess matches, but the grandmaster of the pressurized game came up one move short Sunday afternoon.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. entered the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Speedway needing a victory to advance into the third round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
With textbook high-speed driving, Earnhardt, Jr. accomplished the first part of his mission by leading a race-high 61 laps.

But for the second straight year, NASCAR’s most popular driver was eliminated from title contention on his favorite track.

In a highlight-reel finish jammed with controversy, Earnhardt was credited with second place after NASCAR officials ruled that the Joey Logano car was just ahead of Earnhardt’s when the race concluded after a multi-car crash on the final restart.

Logano heard boos from Earnhardt fans after claiming his third straight win. Meanwhile, Earnhardt somehow managed to put his plight into perspective.

“I just wanted to go out there, and whatever happened, put forth a good account of myself and my team," Earnhardt said. “I'm real proud of what we did today.”

Many Earnhardt supporters were upset about the circumstances involving the race-deciding crash with defending series champion Kevin Harvick.

In fact, several rivals felt that Harvick intentionally triggered the scenario that sent Logano to Victory Lane and put Earnhardt out of the Chase hunt.

The final restart was replayed, reviewed and rehashed among NASCAR officials, team owners and commentators Sunday evening.

Harvick explained that he was simply attempting to get out of the way after experiencing mechanical gremlins with a broken exhaust pipe.

“When the race is over, I can live with the result as long as everyone else is going by the same rules,” Earnhardt said. ''I felt like per the rule book, it sorted out and I finished second.

“We could argue they could have waited another hundred foot to throw the caution, but they didn't have to. They threw it when they needed to. I'm fine with that.”

Earlier this week, NASCAR announced it would allow just one green-white-checker restart at Talladega.
Logano had to steer Team Penske Ford over and around beer cans after the wild finish

“I was aiming for them. It’s kind of a cool explosion when you hit beer cans,” Logan said. said. “It was like it was raining out there. But that's OK. Everyone’s passionate about their driver. That's what makes our sport great.”

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race - CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, Alabama

Sunday, October 25, 2015

               1. (10) Joey Logano, Ford, 196, $283973.

               2. (5) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 196, $197100.

               3. (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 196, $193886.

               4. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 196, $170716.

               5. (15) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 196, $128100.

               6. (13) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 196, $123665.

               7. (43) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 196, $127860.

               8. (29) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 196, $132498.

               9. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 196, $109515.

               10. (14) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 196, $108790.

               11. (16) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 196, $134431.

               12. (18) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 196, $124230.

               13. (33) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 196, $90830.

               14. (26) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 196, $131491.

               15. (7) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 196, $138305.

               16. (25) Aric Almirola, Ford, 196, $129886.

               17. (21) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 196, $113945.

               18. (3) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 196, $132036.

               19. (2) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 196, $102025.

               20. (19) Greg Biffle, Ford, 196, $118233.

               21. (6) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 196, $127350.

               22. (34) Cole Whitt, Ford, 196, $104183.

               23. (35) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 196, $98408.

               24. (23) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 196, $113283.

               25. (12) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 196, $112189.

               26. (4) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 196, $121911.

               27. (20) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 196, $92400.

               28. (27) Michael McDowell, Ford, 195, $81150.

               29. (40) Josh Wise, Ford, 195, $84000.

               30. (22) David Ragan, Toyota, 195, $111539.

               31. (28) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 195, $106328.

               32. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, Accident, 194, $100108.

               33. (37) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Accident, 194, $89847.

               34. (41) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 194, $80100.

               35. (42) Travis Kvapil(i), Chevrolet, 193, $79925.

               36. (31) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 193, $97770.

               37. (8) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, Accident, 192, $97634.

               38. (30) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 192, $74877.

               39. (24) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Engine, 182, $100796.

               40. (36) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 177, $68305.

               41. (32) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, Electrical, 168, $62805.

               42. (39) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, Engine, 130, $66805.

               43. (9) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, Engine, 84, $55305.

Average Speed of Race Winner:  167.311 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 06 Mins, 58 Secs. Margin of Victory:  Caution.

Caution Flags:  3 for 18 laps.

Lead Changes:  30 among 18 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   J. Gordon 1-7; D. Earnhardt Jr. 8-10; D. Hamlin 11-14; D. Earnhardt Jr. 15; D. Hamlin 16; D. Earnhardt Jr. 17; J. Gordon 18; D. Earnhardt Jr. 19-39; M. Waltrip 40-41; J. Johnson 42-63; D. Earnhardt Jr. 64-79; M. Waltrip 80; D. Ragan 81; P. Menard 82; J. Logano 83-94; C. Bowyer 95-96; K. Harvick 97-100; K. Kahne 101-118; R. Stenhouse Jr. 119-120; G. Biffle 121; J. Johnson 122-133; R. Newman 134; Kurt Busch 135; D. Gilliland 136; M. Kenseth 137-139; Kyle Busch 140-150; D. Earnhardt Jr. 151-169; P. Menard 170; D. Gilliland 171; G. Biffle 172-188; J. Logano 189-196.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  D. Earnhardt Jr. 6 times for 61 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 34 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 20 laps; G. Biffle 2 times for 18 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 18 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 11 laps; J. Gordon 2 times for 8 laps; D. Hamlin 2 times for 5 laps; K. Harvick 1 time for 4 laps; M. Kenseth 1 time for 3 laps; M. Waltrip 2 times for 3 laps; C. Bowyer 1 time for 2 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 1 time for 2 laps; P. Menard 2 times for 2 laps; D. Gilliland 2 times for 2 laps; R. Newman 1 time for 1 lap; D. Ragan 1 time for 1 lap; Kurt Busch 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 16 in Points: J. Logano - 3,142; C. Edwards - 3,115; J. Gordon - 3,113; Kurt Busch - 3,112; B. Keselowski - 3,111; M. Truex Jr. - 3,107; K. Harvick - 3,101; Kyle Busch - 3,098; R. Newman - 3,095; D. Hamlin - 3,090; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 3,083; M. Kenseth - 3,054; J. Johnson - 2,161; J. Mcmurray - 2,159; P. Menard - 2,148; C. Bowyer - 2,123.