Bowyer Slingshots Past Burton For Talladega Win

Clint Bowyer celebrates winning the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, his second straight fall win at the track. (Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)by Reid Spencer (Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service)
It was a swan song for a lame duck. Clint Bowyer surged past Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton through the tri-oval on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway to win Sunday’s Good Sam Club 500.

Bowyer, who will leave RCR for Michael Waltrip Racing next season, beat Burton to the finish line by .018 seconds to record his first victory of the season and the fifth of his career.

Dave Blaney, pushed by Brad Keselowski, ran third, with Keselowski taking the flag in fourth in a race that saw only five drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup finish in the top 24.

Red Bull Racing teammates Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne finished fifth and six, followed by Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip and Martin Truex Jr. Carl Edwards came home 11th and extended his lead in the Chase to 14 points over Matt Kenseth, who finished 18th.

A six-car wreck on Lap 104 did major damage to the Chase chances of Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. As the lead pack of cars sped through the tri-oval, a push from Marcos Ambrose turned Richard Petty Motorsports teammate AJ Allmendinger, triggering a crash that crumpled the hood of Harvick’s Chevrolet and knocked in the driver’s side of Busch’s Toyota.

Harvick lost two laps during multiple pit stops to repair his car, and Busch spent 11 laps in the garage before bringing his hobbled car back on track on Lap 118.

Two early incidents broke up potent drafting combinations. On Lap 67, Joey Logano spun off Turn 4 in close quarters with Trevor Bayne, who was trying to get to pit road. Before Logano could complete another lap, his left front tire exploded, destroying the left front fender of his Toyota.

That left Busch, who had been drafting with Logano, to pair up with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Hamlin, a prospect considered so unlikely before the race that the organization hadn’t established radio channels that would allow Busch, Hamlin and their spotters and crew chiefs to communicate freely.

Stewart lost his partner, teammate Ryan Newman, when Newman spun off Stewart’s bumper in the tri-oval. With heavy front-end damage, Newman lost a lap on pit road as his team repaired the car and two more laps on the racetrack before taking his car to the garage after 97 laps.

Coincidentally, Stewart then teamed with Logano, who was driving the No. 20 Home Depot car that carried Stewart to Cup championships in 2002 and 2005. Logano pushed Stewart to the lead on Lap 101, before the pileup in Turn 1 on Lap 104 ended the brief partnership between Hamlin and Busch and changed the complexion of the race and the Chase.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 32
Unofficial Race Results for the 43Rd Annual Good Sam Club 500 - Sunday, October 23, 2011
Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, AL - 2.66 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 188 Laps - 500.08 Miles - Purse: $5,261,714

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 3 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 100 Years Chevrolet 188 47 4 125.0 $260,558 Running 8 25
2 25 31 Jeff Burton Caterpillar Chevrolet 188 43 1 122.3 $170,500 Running 7 26
3 41 36 Dave Blaney Golden Corral Chevrolet 188 42 1 82.6 $160,833 Running 1 1
4 16 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Dodge 188 41 1 79.3 $143,483 Running 1 1
5 30 83 Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota 188 40 1 107.9 $135,964 Running 3 3
6 26 4 Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota 188 39 1 103.9 $122,033 Running 2 4
7 12 14 Tony Stewart El Monterey/Office Depot Chevrolet 188 39 2 107.4 $143,433 Running 5 30
8 31 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota 188 36 65.2 $134,000 Running
9 23 15 Michael Waltrip Aaron's/DarrellWaltripNASCARHallofFame Toyota 188 36 1 61.6 $83,500 Running 1 1
10 37 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 188 34 63.8 $94,825 Running
11 9 99 Carl Edwards Subway Ford 188 34 1 57.2 $128,866 Running 1 1
12 7 27 Paul Menard Serta/Menards Chevrolet 188 32 81.1 $91,775 Running
13 36 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 188 31 60.8 $111,308 Running
14 18 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 188 31 1 54.5 $95,825 Running 1 1
15 4 21 Trevor Bayne(i) Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 188 0 70.1 $81,325 Running
16 38 51 Landon Cassill(i) Phoenix Construction/Thank A Teacher Chevrolet 188 0 86.1 $91,608 Running
17 42 13 Casey Mears GEICO Toyota 188 27 90.6 $79,050 Running
18 11 17 Matt Kenseth Jeremiah Weed Ford 188 27 1 99.6 $121,836 Running 7 21
19 19 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 188 26 1 74.4 $108,366 Running 1 3
20 1 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 188 25 1 64.6 $93,250 Running 2 2
21 17 38 Travis Kvapil(i) Long John Silver's Ford 188 0 75.1 $88,097 Running 1 1
22 40 34 David Gilliland World Hunger Relief/www.fromhungertohope.com Ford 188 22 73.3 $77,175 Running
23 15 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Energizer Chevrolet 188 22 1 83.0 $115,783 Running 2 16
24 35 20 Joey Logano The Home Depot Toyota 188 20 80.5 $84,525 Running
25 6 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. DietMountainDewPaintthe88/NationalGuard Chevrolet 188 20 1 57.6 $84,225 Running 1 2
26 2 48 Jimmie Johnson mylowes Chevrolet 188 19 1 57.7 $127,611 Running 1 1
27 5 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet 188 18 1 59.3 $112,461 Running 1 1
28 8 6 David Ragan UPS My Choice Ford 188 17 1 87.8 $81,250 Running 1 1
29 39 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet 184 16 1 80.3 $111,189 Running 8 12
30 22 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet 180 14 79.1 $98,745 Accident
31 24 43 AJ Allmendinger Best Buy Ford 179 13 53.3 $109,686 Running
32 13 29 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John's Chevrolet 179 13 1 66.9 $121,786 Running 6 13
33 34 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Halloween Toyota 175 12 1 56.0 $121,691 Running 2 5
34 32 32 Terry Labonte C&J Energy Ford 175 10 38.0 $71,700 Running
35 21 47 Bobby Labonte Scott Products Toyota 173 9 48.7 $97,870 Accident
36 14 22 Kurt Busch Shell Pennzoil Dodge 173 9 1 76.4 $115,950 Accident 1 1
37 43 7 Robby Gordon SPEED Energy/MAPEI Dodge 173 8 1 50.9 $71,250 Rear Gear 3 10
38 10 39 Ryan Newman U.S. ARMY Chevrolet 172 7 1 73.1 $113,200 Running 4 5
39 33 71 Andy Lally # TRG Motorsports Ford 162 6 1 36.1 $80,500 Accident 1 1
40 29 66 Michael McDowell HP Racing, LLC Toyota 6 4 30.1 $70,860 Clutch
41 27 87 Joe Nemechek(i) AM/FM Energy Pellet & Wood Stoves Toyota 4 0 28.9 $70,710 Rear Gear
42 28 55 JJ Yeley Front Row Motorsports Ford 3 2 27.9 $70,580 Wheel Bearing
43 20 97 Kevin Conway(i) Extenze Toyota 2 0 26.8 $70,964 Vibration

Race Comments: Before an estimated attendance of 105,000, Clint Bowyer won the Good Sam Club 500, his fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.

Failed to Qualify: (4) 35 Geoffrey Bodine, 46 Scott Speed(i), 77 TJ Bell, 37 Josh Wise(i).

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 29 Mins, 14 Secs. Average Speed: 143.404 MPH Margin of Victory: 0.018 Seconds

Caution Flags: 9 for 38 laps: Laps: 26-28 (Debris Turn 2 [11]); 69-72 (Debris Backstretch [4]); 81-85 (#14, 39 Accident Frontstretch [20]); 105-109 (#1, 9, 18, 29, 42, 43 Accident Frontstretch [20]); 122-125 (Debris Turn 2 [20]); 130-133 (#4 Spin Frontstretch [43]); 164-167 (#32, 48, 71 Accident Turn 3 [1]); 175-178 (#15, 22, 47 Accident Turn 2 [1]); 182-186 (#5, 9, 11, 78, 42 Accident Turn 2 [1]).

Lead Changes: 72 among 26 drivers: M. Martin 0; J. Johnson 1; D. Ragan 2; M. Kenseth 3; J. Burton 4; M. Kenseth 5; J. Burton 6; J. McMurray 7; M. Kenseth 8-13; R. Newman 14-15; K. Harvick 16-18; T. Kvapil(i) 19; K. Harvick 20-23; K. Kahne 24-25; M. Waltrip 26; K. Kahne 27-28; K. Harvick 29; C. Bowyer 30-32; Kyle Busch 33-35; R. Newman 36; K. Harvick 37; R. Newman 38; C. Bowyer 39-44; R. Newman 45; C. Bowyer 46-47; B. Vickers 48; J. Pablo Montoya 49-62; T. Stewart 63; B. Vickers 64; M. Kenseth 65-66; J. Pablo Montoya 67-68; Kurt Busch 69; M. Ambrose 70-72; J. McMurray 73; C. Bowyer 74-75; J. McMurray 76; D. Earnhardt Jr. 77-78; J. McMurray 79-80; B. Keselowski 81; R. Gordon 82; A. Lally # 83; J. Burton 84-85; J. McMurray 86-89; Kyle Busch 90-91; J. McMurray 92; K. Harvick 93; J. McMurray 94; M. Kenseth 95-96; J. McMurray 97; K. Harvick 98-100; T. Stewart 101; J. Burton 102-105; R. Gordon 106; M. Martin 107; C. Bowyer 108-113; M. Kenseth 114-121; M. Martin 122; J. Gordon 123; C. Bowyer 124-126; M. Kenseth 127; R. Gordon 128-135; T. Stewart 136-145; J. Burton 146-148; T. Stewart 149-156; B. Vickers 157; J. Burton 158-163; C. Edwards 164; G. Biffle 165; C. Bowyer 166-167; D. Blaney 168; T. Stewart 169-178; J. Burton 179-187; C. Bowyer 188;