When the schedule for the Chase is put together, it consists of 10 races. But, many of the drivers in NASCAR don’t see it that way. The quote used when looking at the Chase is often “It consists of nine races, plus Talladega.”
That saying became a reality as, on a weekend known for fear, ghosts, ghouls and evil, NASCAR descended on the 2.66-mile tri-oval that has the greatest risk of all the Chase races. It was almost appropriate to have this track be run on Halloween as it’s a track that brings out the fear and concern of every driver, crew member, and media personality. But, there was no sense in avoiding the fear for the 43 drivers that made the field. Instead, they were ready to face that fear head on as the seventh race in the 2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup was ready to go.
Nearly 110,000 fans were in the stands as Juan Pablo Montoya would bring the field to green in the Amp Energy Juice 500.
Unfortunately for Montoya, he would fail to lead the first lap. In fact, for the first 30 laps, not one driver held the lead for more than three consecutive laps. By lap 30, 11 different drivers had their chance to lead at least one lap. Even after the first round of green-flag pit stops, the lead just kept going back and forth between drivers.
It would not be until lap 70 that the field got a breather as the caution flag came out. Coming out of the fourth turn, Brad Keselowski got into A.J. Allmendinger, sending him sliding into the entrance to pit road.
This gave teams a chance to work on their cars while the action was slow, and many teams decided to just take right-side tires while some went with four new ones. The leader coming off pit lane was Matt Kenseth, and he brought the field to the green flag on lap 73.
But, just like Talladega is known for, the lead swapped quickly and at the line it was Kyle Busch bringing the Halloween M&M’s Toyota to the front. As the next 60 laps would ensue, it would be almost a repeat of prior to the caution as 11 drivers swapped the lead. It would nearly be a record-setting afternoon, just like it was in the spring. In April, 29 different drivers led a lap, and swapped the lead 88 times. Both of those were NASCAR records, but at the pace the field was setting on this afternoon, those records were in jeopardy.
By the time the race was at halfway, there had been 46 lead changes, which was well on pace for a new record. Even with green-flag stops, the field was close and could swap the lead almost like it was a video game. But, as the laps began winding down, things began to change.
On lap 135 is when things took a major change. In the third turn, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was pushing Jeff Burton, but got a bit too close and the two made contact. Burton bounced off Jamie McMurray and then went into the wall. The front end of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet was destroyed, and Junior took the Amp Energy/Legend of Hallowdega Chevrolet behind the wall for repairs. Both cars were strong runners, whether out front or pushing someone in the draft.
Now, they were non-factors. Junior would finish 39th following repairs, while Burton and crew loaded up to head home, being credited with finishing 41st.
At this point, the lead was still wide open as it was Montoya out front, but he found himself in a good battle with Sam Hornish Jr. and Joey Logano. But, just as this battle was getting good, the action behind them got more intense. Exiting the second turn, Bill Elliott got loose and got tagged by Kevin Harvick, who had seen a lot of time out front to that point. In the aftermath, Clint Bowyer, Montoya and Marcos Ambrose.
With points on the line, the No. 29 team had to get together and make major repairs to the car, and that they did…to the best they could. The nose still was caved in a bit, so it put Harvick in a tough spot because he now needed major drafting help to even get back to the front as he couldn’t break out to make passes.
But, following a debris caution on lap 153, things began to get interesting. All race long, the top two championship contenders, Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, had not led a lap at any point.
That all changed on lap 159 when Hamlin finally led his lap after falling one lap down early in the race. But, his attempt to keep Johnson from leading a lap was botched on lap 178. By that point, it was go-time for every driver in the field and now it became a race to find the best guy to follow. No teammates anymore, everyone’s best friend was the car in front.
That was working out very well for Clint Bowyer as he got the biggest push and found the lead on lap 179, but his momentum was slowed when debris was spotted on the track at lap 182, forcing NASCAR to wave the caution.
No leaders came in for service, electing to put everything on the line for the final run to the finish.
The green came out on lap 185, and Bowyer got the needed push to jump out to the lead. But, the car on the move was Harvick, despite having a destroyed race car. When the white flag came out, Harvick found himself in the lead, and looking to make the most improbable comeback this season. Meanwhile, Bowyer was on his inside and looking to get back to victory lane after the debacle following his victory in New Hampshire.
But, behind him, the action got a bit spooky. A wreck involving five cars, plus sending Allmendinger in a tumble right at the start/finish line, would force the caution flag. Because the leaders already took the white flag, the race was considered official.
But who won?
NASCAR would spend the next few minutes reviewing both video of the race and gathering data from the scoring loops. They were looking for when the caution lights came on and who had the lead at the time. Video made better use at this point.
After looking at the broadcast video, and gathering all the data, the officials in the booth finally made the call, and declared that it was Clint Bowyer who was barely in the lead when the caution came out, giving him the victory in the Amp Energy Juice 500 at Talladega.
Not all was lost with Harvick’s second-place finish. With him being the highest-running championship contender, his gap to Johnson shrank from 62 points to 38. Meanwhile, Hamlin finished ninth, while Johnson finished seventh. Leaving Talladega, the gap is just 14 points.
The Chase is still wide open between Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick, and now the series heads to the Lone Star State for a clash in cowboy country.
Next Sunday it is the AAA Texas 500 from Texas Motor Speedway, with coverage set for 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
RESULTS: 1-Bowyer 2-Harvick 3-Montoya 4-Reutimann 5-Logano 6-Truex Jr. 7-Johnson 8-Gordon 9-Hamlin 10-Keselowski
NOTABLE FINISHES: 16-Kenseth 17-Edwards 19-Biffle 25-Kyle Busch 30-Kurt Busch 31-Stewart 39-Earnhardt Jr. 41-Burton
CAUTIONS: 6 for 19 laps. Lap 70-73 (No. 12, 43 accident-trioval), 135-138 (No. 1, 31, 88 accident-T4), 142-145 (No. 26, 29, 33, 34, 42, 47 accident-T2), 153-155 (debris), 182-184 (Debris), 188-188 (No. 14, 37, 43, 82, 83 accident-FS).
LEAD CHANGES: 87 among 26 drivers. Montoya-POLE, Nemachek 1, Harvick 2, Earnhardt Jr. 3, Montoya 4, Kahne 5, Earnhardt Jr. 6, Burton 7, Bowyer 8, Keselowski 9, Hornish 10-11, Waltrip 12-13, Hornish 14, Kenseth 15-16, Burton 17-19, Kenseth 20-21, Burton 22-24, Kenseth 25-27, Burton 28, Keselowski 29-30, Waltrip 31, Keselowski 32-35, Bowyer 36-39, Harvick 40, Truex Jr. 41, Reutimann 42-47, Martin 48, Hamlin 49-50, Martin 51, Hamlin 52, Earnhardt Jr. 53-61, McMurray 62, Harvick 63-64, Kyle Busch 65, Kurt Busch 66-67, Reutimann 68, Harvick 69-71, Kenseth 72-73, Kyle Busch 74-75, Reutimann 76-77, Kyle Busch 78, Kahne 79-80, Earnhardt Jr. 81, Montoya 82, Truex Jr. 83-84, Montoya 85-91, Earnhardt Jr. 92-101, Edwards 102, Reutimann 103-104, Harvick 105, Montoya 106-107, Kenseth 108, Harvick 109, Bowyer 110, Montoya 111, Earnhardt Jr. 112-113, Bowyer 114, Reutimann 115-116, Almirola 117-118, Sadler 119, Ambrose 120, McMurray 121, Harvick 122-123, McMurray 124, Burton 125, Bowyer 126, Burton 127-128, Bowyer 129, Montoya 130-131, McMurray 132, Montoya 133, Bowyer 134, Johnson 135, Montoya 136-138, Reutimann 139, Logano 140, Hornish 141-142, Logano 143-149, Truex Jr. 150-155, Kenseth 156-158, Hamlin 159, Kyle Busch 160-175, Menard 176, Gordon 177, Johnson 178, Bowyer 179-186, Harvick 187, Bowyer 188.
TIME OF RACE: 3 Hrs, 3 Mins, 23 Secs.
AVERAGE SPEED: 163.618 MPH
MARGIN OF VICTORY: Under Caution
2010 Chase for the Sprint Cup: 1-Johnson, 6149 points; 2-Hamlin, -14; 3-Harvick, -38; 4-Gordon, -207; 5-Kyle Busch, -230; 6-Edwards, -247; 7-Stewart, -317; 8-Kenseth, -324; 9-Kurt Busch, -350; 10-Burton, -352; 11-Biffle, -361; 12-Bowyer, -367