RELATED: Chase Grid after Talladega | Complete race results
TALLADEGA, Ala. – After Sunday's elimination race at Talladega Superspeedway, team owner Joe Gibbs' dream of having all four of his Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the final four at Homestead will have to wait until next season.
Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch's finishes in Sunday's showdown allowed them to advance to the next round, as Busch squeaked in the last remaining spot on the eight-driver Chase Grid with an 11th-place finish. Edwards' strong fifth-place result propelled him to second in the standings and straight into the next round.
Teammates Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin weren't as fortunate, as both battled issues that led to their ultimate elimination.
Hamlin's 'Dega woes began midway through the race, when the roof of his No. 11 Toyota began to break off. Hamlin made an unscheduled pit trip down pit road to fix the damage.
RELATED: Roof issue, wreck on finish knock Hamlin to 37th place
But the repairs proved too brief, as the No. 11 was forced to make a second stop just a few laps later. After getting off the lead lap, Hamlin charged to get back on pace and was caught up in a multi-car melee in the race's final restart that left him with a sour 37th-place result and torn-up race car.
"We had a self-inflicted day, took us four times to get our roof fixed," Hamlin said after the race. "It's unfortunate, I feel like I've done all I could possibly do to advance in a three-race season. I feel like we could have won next week. I really can't spin any positive on it right now."
Hamlin's elimination came as a surprise to teammate Edwards, as the No. 11 driver was second in the Chase standings entering Sunday's race at Talladega.
"Did Denny (Hamlin) get wrecked at the end?" Edwards asked after the race on pit road. "Denny is such a great competitor. He is really -- he has helped me so much and that's frustrating. He deserves to be in it, but, man, it's just so tough, so tough. I'm just very fortunate we made it through."
Edwards' second-place position in the Chase standings was a much more comfortable margin than Busch's, who beat out Ryan Newman by three points for the last remaining slot in the grid.
"That's what we pretty much planned all day today was to just race and whatever happened, happened," Busch said after the race. "… That's what this team needs and what we need -- I guess the farthest I've ever gone before (in the Chase).
"… This is the first time I finished at Talladega without a scratch on the car … I don't know if that's a success or a failure, but either way it was a success for today."
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Unlike Busch, Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota did leave Alabama with plenty of scratches, as he was caught up in the last-wreck that left him limping with a 26th-place finish and without a shot at the championship title. After being spun by Joey Logano last week at Kansas, the driver entered Sunday's race in a win-or-don't-get-in scenario, one that was only made worse when his tension with race winner Logano rose throughout the event.
"The 22 (Joey Logano) last week wrecks us for the win to get in, to keep us out and get him in and then today we've got a chance, he's lined up behind, he's dragging the brakes, he's trying not to go," Kenseth said after the race. "He's doing everything he can to make it worse for you, so he's standing there in Victory Lane and he's happy, but the racing is just -- it's just kind of out of control.
"… Hopefully, we can get back to racing next week and everybody going fast and trying to win."
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