NSCS - Aaron's 399 4/26

Another 1st time winner @ Talladega! Brad Keselowski won his 1st Sprint Cup Series race in a wild, wild finish! Where do we start with this one?! It's definitely worth another watch:



With one lap to go, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr were out in front with Carl Edwards and Keselowski hooked up on the outside and coming quick. On the white flag, Edwards took the lead thanks to a big push from Keselowski. Closing in on the finish line, things went crazy in a split second:
- Edwards tried to block Keselowski
- the 2 cars touch
-Edwards went airborne forcing him to crash into Newman and then a hard hit into the safety fence.
-Keselowski crosses the finish line followed by Dale Jr.
-Edwards gets out of his car and runs across the finish line to 'officially' finish the race
- On the cool down lap, Kyle Busch bumps into Keselowski - spinning him

We're going to be talking about this finish for a long time to come.

It's Keselowski's 1st victory in just 5 Sprint Cup Series races.

"I was here to win and I've got no other reason to be here than to win and put these guys in victory lane. Holding your line was the way to do it, and I'm sorry it caused a wreck and sorry for those that are hurt. But that's just the situation with the rules and the way it is, and either way, it was a great show, and I hope the fans had fun with it. This is NASCAR racing at its finest. This was a great show. I really hope everyone enjoyed it, because I had fun." - Brad Keselowski

Dale Jr finished 2nd followed by Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose, Scott Speed, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Brian Vickers, Joey Logano and Jeff Burton. Carl Edwards is credited with a 24th place finish. 23 cars finished on the lead lap with Edwards scored as the first one lap down.

For the (unofficial) finishing order, click here.

Who would've thought "The Big One" would happen on lap 7?



15 were involved that included: (then) Points Leader Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears, Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Elliott Sadler, Carl Edwards, Scott Riggs, Brian Vickers, Mark Martin, A.J. Allmendinger and David Gilliland. The accident started in the front of the field from contact between Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon as they entered the corner. The bump forced Gordon's car up the track and those behind them had no where to go.

"It's Talladega. You expect it," Gordon said from the garage following the crash. "You just hope to survive it."

Gordon went on to finish 37th. He slipped one in the point standings - 5 points behind new leader Kurt Busch.

With 9 laps to go, there was a 10 car accident triggered by a bump from Denny Hamlin to the polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya that collected Jimmie Johnson, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Martin Truex Jr, Michael Waltrip, David Stremme, Sam Hornish Jr and Robby Gordon, who crashed hard into the inside safer barrier wall.

There were 9 cautions for 33 laps and 57 lead changes among 25 drivers:

J. Montoya 1-4; D. Earnhardt Jr. 5; J. Montoya 6; D. Ragan 7-8; J. Andretti 9; G. Biffle 10; J. Logano # 11-13; M. Truex Jr. 14-17; J. Montoya 18; Kurt Busch 19-20; D. Hamlin 21; J. Burton 22; D. Hamlin 23; J. Burton 24-27; Kurt Busch 28-29; R. Newman 30; Kyle Busch 31-43; S. Speed # 44; Kyle Busch 45-47; D. Earnhardt Jr. 48-49; M. Kenseth 50-52; D. Earnhardt Jr. 53-61; M. Waltrip 62; M. Truex Jr. 63-74; D. Hamlin 75-76; J. Montoya 77; D. Earnhardt Jr. 78-79; J. Johnson 80; D. Hamlin 81-82; S. Hornish Jr. 83-85; J. Nemechek 86; P. Menard 87-88; D. Hamlin 89-91; J. Johnson 92; D. Hamlin 93-110; D. Earnhardt Jr. 111-113; M. Truex Jr. 114-115; J. Logano # 116; M. Truex Jr. 117-120; B. Vickers 121-122; M. Truex Jr. 123-124; C. Edwards 125; Kyle Busch 126-133; E. Sadler 134-136; Kurt Busch 137-139; D. Hamlin 140; C. Mears 141-142; J. Burton 143; D. Earnhardt Jr. 144; Kurt Busch 145; D. Earnhardt Jr. 146-147; J. Mayfield 148; Kurt Busch 149-153; Kyle Busch 154-171; M. Kenseth 172-177; R. Newman 178-186; C. Edwards 187; B. Keselowski 188


Note: Seven fans seated in the grandstands were injured as a result of Edwards' crash. None of the injuries were being reported to be life threatening. Six were treated and released. Two women were taken to Birmingham hospitals. They were airlifted not due to the severity of their injuries, but due to traffic congestion outside of the track. It is believed one broke her jaw and the other was being treated for an existing medical condition.