Backstretch Motorsports

TALLADEGA, ALA– Tony Stewart survived a couple of huge wrecks and a record number of leaders to win the AMP Energy 500 here Sunday at a track that produces excitement by the barrel.

Stewart held off hard-charging rookie Regan Smith, who made a last-lap daredevil pass below the yellow line in trying to beat the two-time champion.

NASCAR rules prohibit passing below the yellow line that separates the racing track from the apron.

It was Stewart’s first win ever at Talladega Superspeedway and came at the end of a wham-bam day in which many of the top contenders were knocked from contention in a wild and wooly wreck just 14 laps from the end.

The accident was triggered when Carl Edwards’ Ford lost grip, creating a chain reaction that had cars spinning all over the place, including Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship contenders Edwards, teammate Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and a host of others not involved in the Chase.

Sidelined or seriously damaged in the accident also were race contenders Juan Pablo Montoya, Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney, Michael Waltrip, and Reed Sorensen.

The race produced an all-time record number of leaders with 27.

Smith’s teammate Paul Menard was second. Smith was moved back to 18th for his rule violation after officials reviewed the finish.

David Ragan was third, Burton was fourth, Bowyer fifth, Bobby Labonte finished six, Scott Riggs seventh, Robby Gordon eighth, Jimmie Johnson ninth and Elliott Sadler tenth.

Johnson’s finish was unusual since he lost a lap early and was never fully competitive, even though he did lead at one point.

Kyle Busch, another leader, was 15th but never ultra-competitive. Harvick wound up 20th after being a serious contender.

Before a cheering Talladega crowd which typically watches on its tiptoes, NASCAR’s best drivers gave them what they came for, side-by-side, bumper-to-bumper action right from the git-go.

Pole winner Kvapil led a lap, then Vickers led, then Edwards, back and forth, forwards, backwards, race cars jockeying for position like Big Brown down the stretch at the Kentucky Derby.

For example, Montoya was running second on Lap 11 and dropped to 24th by the 13th lap. Rookie Aric Almirola jumped up front to lead lap 15. Just a lap or two later, Ragan took the lead with a shove from Kvapil.

The crowd erupted with cheering and shouting on Lap 25 when Earnhardt took the lead for the first time. “Junior Nation” roared its approval. Johnson’s day was not going nearly so well as he lost a lap when his Chevy had possible engine problems. Kvapil went back in front on Lap 30. The lead was changing so fast, it was hard to keep up with who was leading when. The first caution of the beautiful afternoon fell on Lap 34 with Earnhardt out front. The crowd was still on its feet.

Following pit stops, Gordon was the first car back on track, leader of the snarling pack with 37 of 188 laps complete. Truex, Jr., was second, Burton third, Mike Wallace fourth, Earnhardt fifth and Busch sixth.

Burton quickly went to the front but was passed by Kenseth. Vickers got a huge shove from Johnson, fighting to get his lap back, and the Toyota driver led for a lap. Sadler roared to the front and then Mears led a lap.

Another debris caution slowed the field on Lap 45 with Mears ahead. The crowd was still standing.

Sadler was the leader when the green flag fell at Lap 49. Ryan Newman’s afternoon ended with a sick engine at this point and Kyle Busch streaked to the front with a push from teammate Hamlin.

Kurt Busch went out just before Gordon and David Reutimann spun on the 52nd lap. Jon Wood was also in the accident on the backstretch. Johnson’s luck might have turned better during the accident as he barely missed this one after getting back on the lead lap by virtue of the “lucky dog” award.

During this caution period, Kurt Busch’s crew raised the hood on his car and eventually took the Penske Dodge behind the wall.

Reutimann apparently cut a tire that triggered the accident.

Vickers went back out front on the 59th lap restart with Kvapil, Mike Skinner, Kyle Busch and Sorensen behind.

Kahne went to the front with McMurray in tow, then, lined up three abreast, Sorensen led, then Truex, Jr., tried to lead before Jamie McMurray took the top spot.

All of a sudden it was McMurray all alone before Earnhardt shoved Truex ahead.

If anyone took their eyes off the pack, you ran the risk of missing a lead change. Earnhardt went ahead, then Montoya and before you could blink an eye,

Talladega mayhem took over on Lap 68. Vickers cut a tire, sending his Toyota sideways into McMurray and triggering a domino-effect wreck that damaged several cars besides Vickers’ and McMurray’s. Terry Labonte was involved, as was Almirola, Truex, Skinner, Kahne, Tony Raines and David Gilliland.

NASCAR officials red-flagged the race to clean up the debris.

After a 20-minute delay, action continued with Earnhardt leading, Paul Menard second and Burton third when the green flag waved on Lap 71.

On the next lap, Hamlin took the front spot. Once again, the lead changed hands several times each lap. Johnson led for the first time before Earnhardt returned to the front. Then, it was Johnson again. Stewart went out front on Lap 80 with Mike Wallace in his draft.

Another tire problem, this time for a failure on Mike Wallace’s right rear, brought out the caution on Lap 81. Pieces of Wallace’s tire tore up the front of Michael Waltrip’s NAPA Toyota and his crew had to make repairs before he continued.

When the green waved on Lap 86, it was Kyle Busch ahead of Earnhardt and Montoya up front.

Busch and Stewart maintained the lead. before Earnhardt was pushed to the front by Almirola.

It was probably the best lap-by-lap race in the history of this 2.6-mile superspeedway.

NASCAR Race Number 30
Unofficial Race Results for the Amp Energy 500 - Sunday, October 5, 2008
Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL - 2.66 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 190 Laps - 505.4 Miles - Purse: $5,453,014

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Winnings Status Times Laps
1 34 20 Tony Stewart Subway/Home Depot Toyota 190 195 10 $270,136 Running 4 24
2 5 15 Paul Menard Menards/Johns Manville Chevrolet 190 175 5 $177,400 Running 2 6
3 16 6 David Ragan AAA Travel Ford 190 170 5 $149,200 Running 2 11
4 17 31 Jeff Burton AT&T Mobility Chevrolet 190 165 5 $162,983 Running 3 8
5 35 07 Clint Bowyer Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet 190 155 $125,525 Running
6 32 43 Bobby Labonte Cheerios Racing/Betty Crocker Dodge 190 150 $139,211 Running
7 11 66 Scott Riggs Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet 190 151 5 $117,083 Running 2 4
8 42 7 Robby Gordon Mapei/Menards Dodge 190 142 $123,808 Running
9 20 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet 190 143 5 $137,661 Running 2 3
10 40 19 Elliott Sadler McDonald’s Dodge 190 139 5 $116,370 Running 2 4
11 7 78 Joe Nemechek Furniture Row Chevrolet 190 135 5 $81,875 Running 1 1
12 14 00 Kenny Wallace Champion Mortgage Toyota 190 132 5 $97,758 Running 2 3
13 3 8 Aric Almirola U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 190 129 5 $117,783 Running 1 3
14 2 5 Casey Mears Pop-Tarts/CARQUEST Chevrolet 190 126 5 $95,725 Running 1 2
15 37 18 Kyle Busch Pedigree Toyota 190 123 5 $95,250 Running 4 20
16 43 96 Ken Schrader DLP HDTV Toyota 190 115 $88,300 Running
17 23 45 Terry Labonte Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil Dodge 190 112 $90,858 Running
18 4 01 Regan Smith # DEI/The Principal Financial Group Chevrolet 190 109 $88,650 Running
19 25 55 Michael Waltrip NAPA Toyota 187 111 5 $88,072 Running 1 1
20 39 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet 179 108 5 $129,486 Running 3 22
21 33 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite Dodge 177 105 5 $78,275 Running 1 2
22 29 22 Dave Blaney Caterpillar Toyota 176 97 $77,475 Engine
23 30 41 Reed Sorenson Memorex Dodge 175 99 5 $105,264 Running 1 2
24 22 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 174 96 5 $85,075 Accident 2 2
25 13 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Texaco/Havoline Dodge 173 93 5 $104,708 Accident 2 9
26 31 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 173 90 5 $121,091 Accident 3 5
27 1 28 Travis Kvapil Academy Sports & Outdoors Ford 173 87 5 $109,664 Accident 2 10
28 15 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. AMP Energy Ride With Dale Jr./National Guard 173 84 5 $83,300 Accident 8 19
29 12 99 Carl Edwards Office Depot Ford 173 81 5 $120,075 Accident 2 2
30 6 33 Mike Wallace Realtree Chevrolet 169 73 $72,475 Running
31 21 84 Mike Skinner Red Bull Toyota 160 70 $72,325 Running
32 28 26 Jamie McMurray Benrzomatic Ford 159 72 5 $80,650 Running 2 3
33 27 21 Jon Wood Motorcraft Ford 154 64 $91,295 Running
34 8 70 Tony Raines iQ Drive Chevrolet 148 61 $71,825 Accident
35 9 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 134 63 5 $79,650 Running 3 10
36 38 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Dodge 112 60 5 $101,491 Accident 1 1
37 19 44 David Reutimann UPS Toyota 110 52 $71,375 Engine
38 26 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 104 54 5 $120,186 Engine 1 3
39 36 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 98 51 5 $106,116 Accident 6 9
40 41 38 David Gilliland Ford Drive One Ford 68 43 $70,985 Accident
41 10 1 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet 68 45 5 $101,868 Accident 1 1
42 18 09 Sterling Marlin Miccosukee Resorts Chevrolet 68 37 $70,705 Engine
43 24 12 Ryan Newman alltel/Samsung HDTV Dodge 48 34 $112,653 Engine
Race Comments: In front of an estimated crowd of 145,000 - Tony Stewart won the AMP Energy 500 - his 33rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag the following drivers droppped to the rear for the reasons indicated: #48 Johnson (unapproved impound adjustment); # 6 Ragan, #88 Earnhardt Jr. (engine change). The 28 Lap Leaders set the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record for different leaders in a race.
Failed to Qualify: (2) 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. #, 10 Patrick Carpentier #.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 36 Mins, 10 Secs. Average Speed: 140.281 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.052 Seconds
Caution Flags: 10 for 41 laps: Laps: 35-38 (Debris); 47-49 (Debris); 55-58 (#21,24,44,48 accident backstretch); 69-72 (#1,9,26,38,45,70,83,84 accident tri-oval [Red Flag-17:01 Lap 69]); 82-86 (Debris); 100-104 (#11 accident turn 2); 140-144 (Debris); 166-169 (#29 spun turn 3); 175-178 (#16,17,18,22,28,29,41,42,55,78,88,99 accident turn 3 [RedFlag-12:11 Lap 175]); 186-188 (Debris).
Lead Changes: 64 among 28 drivers: T. Kvapil 1-8; C. Edwards 9; B. Vickers 10-13; A. Almirola 14-16; D. Ragan 17-25; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 26-29; T. Kvapil 30-31; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 32-34; C. Edwards 35; J. Gordon 36-38; J. Burton 39; M. Kenseth 40-42; B. Vickers 43; E. Sadler 44; C. Mears 45-46; K. Harvick 47; E. Sadler 48-50; Kyle Busch 51; Kurt Busch 52-53; J. McMurray 54; B. Vickers 55-59; D. Hamlin 60; K. Kahne 61; R. Sorenson 62-63; J. McMurray 64-65; M. Truex, Jr. 66; K. Harvick 67; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 68-69; S. Riggs 70; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 71-73; D. Hamlin 74-75; J. Johnson 76; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 77; J. Johnson 78-79; T. Stewart 80; J. Montoya 81; G. Biffle 82; Kyle Busch 83-89; D. Hamlin 90; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 91; D. Hamlin 92; M. Kenseth 93; D. Hamlin 94-95; M. Kenseth 96; D. Hamlin 97-98; Kyle Busch 99; K. Wallace 100-101; S. Riggs 102-104; P. Menard 105-106; T. Stewart 107; P. Menard 108-111; T. Stewart 112-116; J. Burton 117-119; K. Harvick 120-139; K. Wallace 140; G. Biffle 141; J. Nemechek 142; Kyle Busch 143-153; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 154-155; J. Burton 156-159; D. Ragan 160-161; D. Earnhardt, Jr. 162-164; M. Waltrip 165; J. Montoya 166-173; T. Stewart 174-190.
Top 12 Driver Points: (1) J. Johnson 5,718;(2) C. Edwards 5,646;(3) G. Biffle 5,641;(4) J. Burton 5,619;(5) C. Bowyer 5,566;(6) K. Harvick 5,547;(7) T. Stewart 5,515;(8) J. Gordon 5,486;(9) M. Kenseth 5,473;(10) D. Earnhardt, Jr. 5,469;(11) Kyle Busch 5,387;(12) D. Hamlin 5,383.
Coors Light Pole Award : Travis Kvapil, #28 (187.364 mph) DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race : Paul Menard, #15
DOW Automotive Strategic Call of the Race : Tony Stewart, #20 EA Sports Move of the Race : Tony Stewart, #20
Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap : Kevin Harvick, #29 (198.261 mph, Lap 132) Mahle Clevite Engine Builder : Tony Stewart, #20
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race : Scott Riggs, #66 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race : Robby Gordon, #7 (.763 seconds)
Raybestos Rookie of the Race : Regan Smith, #01 Sunoco Diamond Performance : Tony Stewart, #20
USG Improving the Finish : Robby Gordon, #7 (34 Places) WIX Lap Leader : Tony Stewart, #20 (24 Laps)
Next Race: Oct. 11, 2008 - Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Charlotte