NASCAR Talladega 2017 results: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins Geico 500

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. executed a power pass around Kyle Busch on the final lap to win his first Monster Energy Cup Series race Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Busch was leading the field into Turn 1 on the final lap of the Geico 500 when Stenhouse attempted to pass on the outside, which Busch blocked. Stenhouse then swung his Ford down the banking to the inside of Busch’s Toyota and nosed ahead to grab a lead he would not relinquish.

“I think (Busch) thought I was gonna go to the top and we ended up getting to the bottom,” Stenhouse said. “We were side-drafting each other like crazy, so that was one heck of a race and I’m glad we came out on top.”

Jamie McMurray finished second, with Busch third, Aric Almirola fourth, and Kasey Kahne fifth. Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard, and David Ragan rounded out the top 10.

“(Stenhouse) actually ran into the back of me, and then you’d think that that momentum would propel me forward some, and he just turned left and went right by me,” Busch said. “That was pretty impressive.”

Stenhouse, who started on the pole, scored his first victory in 158 Cup Series starts. It was also the first for team owner Jack Roush since June 22, 2014 at Sonoma Raceway, snapping a 101-race drought.

“It’s been a long time since I pulled into victory lane,” Stenhouse said. “This Monster Energy Cup Series is so fun to race in and just glad to see Jack smiling here in victory lane. I know he’s been wanting this for a long time, so to be up there with Jimmie and Kyle racing as hard as we did, and we beat some good ones today.”

The biggest incident of the afternoon was an 18-car accident that saw Chase Elliott’s car lift off the ground and AJ Allmendinger’s car flip on its roof with 20 laps remaining. Elliott and Allmendinger were running nose-to-tail down the backstretch when Allmendinger contacted Elliott’s left-rear bumper, turning Elliott’s No. 24 car and trigging the pileup that effectively blocked the track.

Among those involved were notables Keselowski, Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., and Matt Kenseth. All drivers involved were uninjured and released from the infield care center after medical evaluation.

NASCAR stopped the race for nearly 27 minutes to clean up the track. Overall, eight cautions slowed the race for 33 laps.

A fortuitous byproduct of the “big one” was that Patrick, Stenhouse’s girlfriend, was able to greet her boyfriend in victory lane where the couple shared a celebratory kiss.

“She supports me through anything I need to do,” Stenhouse said. “She’s been so supportive and knows how hard that I’ve worked, and to have her there was really awesome.

“I thought that I would get pictures with her and I and she’d still be in her driving suit, so it worked out that she wasn’t, but it was really special. I was definitely glad that she was there right when I pulled in.”

Almost not making it to victory lane was Stenhouse’s father, who after watching the race from an RV outside the track attempted to reach the winner’s circle by hopping a fence, and when that failed by going through an access tunnel closed to foot traffic.

After being detained by security, track officials confirmed the identity of the elder Stenhouse. He then received a ride to victory lane.

“My dad has done so much for me in my career,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “Everything that I’ve learned is from him. … Man, he sacrificed a lot for me and my career. Everything that I know about racing I learned from him, and I’m glad that he was able to be here in victory lane.”