NASCAR Talladega 2017 results: Brad Keselowski wins Alabama 500

Brad Keselowski staged a late rally and escaped three big wrecks over the final 16 laps to win the Alabama 500 Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Keselowski passed Ryan Newman for the lead on the white flag lap of a three-lap shootout, then held on to score the win in a race where only 14 drivers crossed the finish line. The victory in the second of three Round 2 races automatically advances Keselowski to the semi-finals of the Monster Energy Cup Series playoffs.

“This is still sinking in,” Keselowski said. “It is a special place to get to race and a special place when you win here. It was really a collaborative effort with the team and getting a real fast car and making the right moves as a driver and a lot of help from up above with staying out of those wrecks. It really takes all three and we had them all today.”

Newman finished second, followed by Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola. Denny Hamlin finished sixth, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Gray Gaulding and David Ragan completing the top 10.

Three accidents necessitating red-flag stoppages slowed the closing laps. The biggest was a 16-car pileup that collected seven of 12 playoff drivers, which began when contact between Martin Truex Jr. and David Ragan sent Kurt Busch spinning. Title-eligibles involved were Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Truex Jr., and Keselowski.

All but Harvick, Keselowski, and Kenseth were eliminated from the race.

“I got into (Ragan) a little bit on the right rear and he got squirrely out there and all hell broke loose,” Truex said. “We definitively had nothing to lose today, but at the same time you don’t want to be the person that causes others problems. Even though I feel like I’ve never been that guy here before it looks like today I was, so I hate it for all of those guys and all of their teams. I wish I didn’t make that mistake.”

After the cleanup, another multi-car accident broke out, which included playoff drivers Harvick and Ryan Blaney. Neither Harvick nor Blaney continued.

The carnage wasn’t over, this time seeing Chase Elliott, another playoff driver, clip non- championship-eligible Daniel Suarez as they vied for the lead with six laps remaining. Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher were also involved. Larson, a championship contender, limped to the finish line in 13th.

Playoff driver Jamie McMurray was involved in the first caution of the afternoon on Lap 26. He was trying to make it onto pit road and cut in front of Erik Jones. The contact sent McMurray up the track and into Jeffrey Earnhardt, which lifted McMurray’s Chevrolet briefly off the ground.

Earnhardt started on the pole and was seeking a seventh win at Talladega, the epicenter for his large fan base, and first win of the season, his last as a full-time competitor. NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver announced in April he would retire at the end of the current season and has just five races left before he steps away.

“I know those folks were hoping we could put something together, and I know there’s a lot of folks came here, particularly to see this race because it’s the last one here,” Earnhardt said. “I hate to leave slightly disappointed, but hopefully they enjoyed everything else they saw. I mean, we ran as hard as we could, did the best we could.”

Keselowski previously drove for Earnhardt’s Xfinity Series team and credits Earnhardt for providing the big break that jumpstarted his career. On Sunday, Keselowski’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford paid tribute to Earnhardt with a special message, “#Cheers 2 Dale Jr.”

The crash-marred Alabama 500 jumbled the playoff standings entering next week’s elimination race at Kansas Speedway. Defending Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson holds the eighth and final transfer position by seven points over Busch. Kenseth is eight points back, Stenhouse is 22 points back, and McMurray is 29 points back.

Keselowski and Truex, who won last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, are locked into the semi-finals. A win by of the other 10 playoff drivers at Kansas would guarantee them advancement regardless of their points ranking.