Bowyer wins under caution at Talladega
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 14 years, 2 months AGO
<p>Clint Bowyer (33) and Kevin Harvick (29) cross the finish line on the final lap of the Amp Energy Juice 500 auto race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., on Sunday. Bowyer was awarded the win after it was determined that he was ahead when a wreck occurred on the final lap, freezing the places of the competitors at the time of the incident.</p>
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) - It was wild, all right, it just wasn't decisive.
NASCAR's three title contenders left Talladega Superspeedway with their championship chances intact, as Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick remained locked at the top of the tightest points fight in seven years after a typically chaotic race.
Clint Bowyer edged Harvick, his Richard Childress Racing teammate, in a photo-finish Sunday. But Harvick was just fine settling for second because it's the big picture that matters now.
Johnson, the four-time defending champion, left Talladega with a 14-point lead over Hamlin and Harvick was 38 back. There are three races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
"We've gone through seven races, and you can throw a blanket over the three of us," Harvick said. "It's really going to just come down to dotting the Is, crossing the Ts, keeping that performance level where it needs to be."
The race was marked by 87 lead changes, second most in NASCAR history, and a multicar accident that sent AJ Allmendinger's car flipping across the track as the leaders roared toward the white flag. NASCAR threw the caution for Allmendinger's accident.
