Road America makes upgrades ahead of 2015 slate

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Staff Report

Wisconsin road course adds fresh asphalt, video displays

Road America announced a repaving project and other major improvements for fans ahead of its motorsports season, including the return of the NASCAR XFINITY Series on Aug. 29 (3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).

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Track officials announced Monday that the historic 14-turn, 4.048-mile road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, would have fresh asphalt in Turns 5, 6, 8 and 14 in time for a vintage sports car event May 15-17. Officials also said the repaving did not include any changes to the width of the racing surface.

"We take great pride in not only improving the facility for fans, but for competitors as well," George Bruggenthies, Road America president and general manager, said in a press release provided by the track. "We have many club events, schools, vehicle tests and private events at Road America and the integrity of the racing surface is just as important as our amenities, concessions, programs and many entertainment offerings.

"This new resurfacing project wasn’t immediately necessary but we wanted to make the improvements now to keep up with the demands that our 4-mile road course endures throughout the season and we guarantee the track will be ready for our first event."

Road America also announced the addition of four high-definition video displays, permanently installed in Turns 1, 3, 12 and the area between Turns 7 and 8. The networked LED displays supplement the track’s existing video board in Turn 5.

The 2015 season will mark the sixth consecutive year of racing for the XFINITY Series at Road America, but also a shift from its customary mid-June race date to late August. Last year, Brendan Gaughan became the fifth winner in five XFINITY events on the Wisconsin road course.

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Zack Albert

O’Donnell: Potential for youth and diversity initiatives to merge

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, was among the sanctioning body’s presenters during Tuesday’s debut of the NASCAR Next 2015-16 roster of young drivers. If the process for identifying new up-and-comers for driving opportunities continues to grow, the group’s composition could evolve in the years ahead.

The newest NASCAR Next class of 12 drivers — five returning members and seven first-time participants — made their grand introduction Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Two members — Nicole Behar and Ruben Garcia Jr. — were also participants in last fall’s NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine, a proving ground for multicultural drivers and women hoping to make their mark in the sport.

The NASCAR Next campaign is in its fifth season; the D4D initiative has been in effect since 2004. O’Donnell said each program has momentum, but that there is potential for a merged program in the future that combines the best of both.

"I think it’s part and parcel," O’Donnell said. "I think eventually the hope is that it could grow just to one, but I think the D4D program is still running strong, still provides us with an opportunity those who may have not been in a car at 4 and 5 years old, didn’t have that opportunity and then were able to do that through the Rev Racing program, so we’ve seen some success and we’re still seeing that.

"I think this is an opportunity to recognize some drivers who are in the Late Models and have had some success and continue to grow and we can work with them as well. So, two successful programs, but eventually we’d love to see it just be one."

Since the Next program began under the moniker of NASCAR’s Next 9 in 2011, several notable alumni — Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Alex Bowman among them — have found regular rides in one of the three NASCAR national series. O’Donnell said the movement to identify and promote the new wave of stock-car driving talent has been a collaborative effort, drawing on the recommendations of former drivers, track owners and other racing officials.

Though O’Donnell hinted at the program’s evolution, five years later the objective for NASCAR Next remains the same.

"The goal of it is to graduate a driver from the touring to the national series level," O’Donnell said. "As we’ve seen, that’s always been a struggle of getting names out there about their talent. They’re so difficult in this day and age, so I think this has been a help to just get some drivers who may not have been recognized that, hey, let’s get an owner to take look at a driver and advance them to the next level as well."

Among other topics O’Donnell fielded Tuesday in an open Q&A with reporters:

— On the criticisms lobbed by defending series champion Kevin Harvick last weekend, stating that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule was "stagnant": "We’re happy with the schedule we have. We certainly look at what’s available to us, but the scheduled that we have in place, I think that the tracks are doing a tremendous job of helping to promote the sport. Talladega was a great success for us this weekend, and we’ll roll into Kansas and Charlotte. We certainly have dialogue with Kevin and everyone’s got an opinion on the schedule, but we’re happy with where we’re at right now."

— On why the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race won’t be run as a high-profile test of next year’s rules package: "I think we’re still developing what the 2016 package could be. It could very well be the 2015 package, so to go down a path that we felt potentially needed testing, we didn’t think was the right thing to do, and put essentially a test out there for a big race on our schedule. So we elected to stay where we’re at and continue to monitor the racing under this package right now."

— O’Donnell also indicated that NASCAR competition officials are targeting August 1 as a deadline for settling on a 2016 rules package. He also said that he expects national series schedules to be released on a similar time frame to last year as well.

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Zack Albert

Cousin of Jeff Gordon part of NASCAR Next class

At age 17, James Bickford hasn’t had to do much waiting for success in NASCAR’s developmental ranks to come his way. But even his first taste of triumph in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West had an unintended test of his patience.

A first-time win would be memorable enough on its own merit, but oh, what the Victory Lane photos could have been. Shortly after Bickford flashed under the checkered flag first last July at State Line Speedway in Post Falls, Idaho, he felt a trickle of blood from his nose just before the post-race ceremonies were about to start.

WATCH: NASCAR Next class introduced

"As long as I’m in a race car, I’m happy"

— James Bickford

"I don’t know what it was from — it was either yelling or I hit myself on something when I was getting out, but I had to wait inside the car," said Bickford, who also contended with the complicating matter of losing his voice. "People were like, ‘What’s going on?’ I’m holding it and am just, ‘I’ve got a bloody nose and I can’t get out of the car right now.’ We had to wait and everybody’s standing around the car and they all have their cameras ready. That’s a story a lot of people don’t know.

"It was definitely very exciting. It was unbelievable, definitely one of the biggest wins I’ve had in my career so far. It was definitely an eye-opening experience, for sure."

Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, after another holding pattern that he described as "nerve-wracking," Bickford made another major step forward in his racing career as one of the 12 members unveiled for the NASCAR Next youth initiative. Again, the wait — which spanned months after his initial application for the program — was a tough one to take, but a gratifying one in the end.

"I knew everybody knew, but it was just waiting to see the e-mail whether I was in it or not," Bickford said of the long days that followed the committee’s voting process. "When I got the e-mail, I was just so happy because this is just such a great opportunity to be a part of a program like this."

Bickford has already been afforded the luxury of plenty of great opportunities, including his top-flight ride in the K&N Pro Series West with the Bob Bruncati-owned No. 6 Ford team. But he also has a connection to stock-car royalty, owing to family ties with his cousin, Jeff Gordon.

Bickford’s uncle is John Bickford, Gordon’s stepfather and a guiding force behind the four-time NASCAR champion’s racing career. While the younger Bickford says the bond with Gordon is a special one, he’s also eager to make his name stand out on its own.

"Definitely carve my own niche," James Bickford said. "It’s an asset in terms of advice. He’s been to some of the tracks that we race at, like Phoenix and Sonoma, so when we go to those tracks, he’s definitely a huge help with advice and connections, with him being able to introduce me to people that are important to my success. It definitely helps a ton."

Bickford is already balancing the rigors of his K&N racing schedule with online studies as a junior in high school, while delving into the realm of business ownership. His involvement as part of the NASCAR Next 2015-16 roster will only increase his obligations, but his visibility in the racing industry should take a similar spike.

And while the racing schedule is still in the early stages, well into the heart of springtime, Bickford said it’s not too early to start thinking about 2016. A handful of his NASCAR Next classmates — Cole Custer, Austin Hill and John Hunter Nemechek among them — have already embarked on part-time duty in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the first rung of the national series ladder. A similar career arc would suit Bickford just fine.

"We’re always searching," Bickford said. "Most likely, when we’re putting efforts in, we’re putting them toward next year. But if the opportunity arose, then I would be willing to step into a truck just like anybody else. Honestly, I’d be willing to race anything and everything. As long as I’m in a race car, I’m happy."

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Zack Albert

Team had been hit with P5 penalty for Auto Club infraction

When the penalties assessed to the Richard Childress Racing No. 31 team were left unchanged in severity but diminished only slightly in cost after an initial appeal, crew chief Luke Lambert made a statement that clocked in at a tidy 100 words — 102, if you were to count the "thank you" at the end.

One word kept coming up — "facts." Lambert said it four times.

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Whether or not the repetition was a gesture of special emphasis or an unintentional echo, Lambert and his RCR crew will have their last chance to prove their case Wednesday in the final appeal of P5 penalties against the No. 31 Chevrolet team and driver Ryan Newman. The team’s last attempt to have the punishment either reduced or rescinded will be heard at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina by National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer Bryan Moss.

Richard Childress Racing was first assessed the P5 penalties — the second-harshest in NASCAR’s deterrence system — on March 31, nine days after the Sprint Cup Series’ race at Auto Club Speedway in California. During the race, NASCAR officials confiscated tires from the No. 31 organization, later subjecting them to an off-site tire audit. The move came after weeks of swirling suspicion about teams illegally altering or "bleeding" tires to better regulate air pressures over the course of a green-flag run.

NASCAR handed down a six-race suspension and probation to Lambert and two RCR crew members, a $125,000 fine, and a deduction of 75 championship points in both the driver and team owner standings. The punishment hit the upper reaches of the NASCAR Rule Book’s deterrence scale because the infraction fell under one of three so-called "no man’s land" technical areas — tires, engine and fuel.

Childress appealed the decision to the three-member National Motorsports Appeals Panel on April 16, rolling in tires and lugging thick binders and placards into the R&D Center as supporting evidence. After a hearing that lasted several hours, the panel opted to lessen the fine to $75,000 and cut the deduction in the standings to 50 points. The ruling, however, kept the penalty’s severity at a P5 grade, leaving the six-race suspensions and probation through Dec. 31 intact for all three RCR personnel.

WATCH: Luke Lambert responds to appeal decision

The Childress operation indicated the next day that it would seek a final appeal, deferring Lambert’s suspension and keeping him atop the pit box.

The final appeal will be the second one heard by Moss, the former president of Gulfstream Aerospace who accepted the role in NASCAR’s appeals process last season. In February, Moss heard the final appeal of a behavioral penalty assessed to Kurt Busch and ultimately decided to uphold NASCAR’s ruling.

Unlike the No. 31 team’s previous appeal, the burden of proof now shifts to Richard Childress Racing‘s responsibility. In the earlier hearing, the burden of proof rested on NASCAR’s shoulders.

If Childress’ appeal is successful and the team’s points are restored, Newman — who has four top-five finishes in 10 races this year — would rise in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver standings from 14th place to fifth. Such a move would slot Newman below fourth-place Joey Logano, the Daytona 500 winner, and would bump Dale Earnhardt Jr., last weekend’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway, down to sixth.

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Nascar

No. 48 driver says he did all he could to catch the 88 at Talladega

CONCORD, N.C. – Asked to pick a winner for this year’s Sprint All-Star race, Jimmie Johnson was quick with his response.

“Since I let Junior win last week,” the six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion joked Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of this year’s non-points race.

Former All-Star race winners Michael Waltrip and Rusty Wallace, crew chief Chad Knaus, Charlotte Motor Speedway president Marcus Smith and Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR’s Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, joined Johnson at CMS for the press event. Each spent time on stage surrounded by $1 million, the winner’s take for this year’s race.

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Johnson has heard the comments this week and seen the chatter on social media. He didn’t pull out and try to pass Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the end of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, some have said, because his teammate pushed him to a win years ago.

It was a favor returned.

Or was it?

Johnson has two victories and a spot in this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup in his pocket. Until Sunday, Earnhardt had been winless through this year’s first nine races.

Make no mistake, Johnson said. Those facts had nothing to do with Sunday’s outcome.

"Absolutely not. That’s the most ridiculous thing ever," he said.

"If I didn’t win, absolutely I’’d want it to be the 88 or the 24 (of teammate Jeff Gordon) or the 5 (of teammate Kasey Kahne)."

The four are teammates at Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson’s cars are prepped in the same shop as Earnhardt’s. Kahne and Gordon’s cars reside in another building. The teams share information and resources. But when a win is on the line?

"On that side I’m stoked for him and stoked for the shop," Johnson said. "But man I was doing everything within my power to set up a pass for the win. I didn’t know that he had debris on the grille … that’s only going to speed his car up. Then we had such a small group of guys in line there just wasn’t any energy. I drug the brake a few times and backed up to the cars behind me; I just got this small run off of their push. Junior was easily able to defend that."

There was no three- or four-wide, last lap battle for the lead after the leaders took the white flag in Sunday’s race. Instead, for much of the final lap, most stayed in line, waiting until the finish line and checkered flag was in sight before attempting to make a pass.

By then, it was too late.

Running second to Earnhardt, Johnson’s strategy was to wait only until the field came off the fourth turn. Previous lessons taught him as much.

"I have pulled out in second going down the back straightaway and I’ve finished 15th. Every time. Or worse" he said.

"So I’m like ‘OK, I’m going to be patient; this is Talladega, the finish line is further around the race track than Daytona so you need to wait longer … everybody stayed in line and I tried … and man I didn’t even get to his bumper with the energy that happened behind me.

"I gave it my all but it just wasn’t in the cards. He did a great job, too, of controlling the race and taking to the top like that. If enough guys got frustrated … if enough cars went to the bottom, the bottom is a lot faster. But everybody’s afraid to pull out of line because their spot would get filled.

"Junior played it perfectly. Having that small six- or seven-car breakaway played into his hands as well."

WATCH: Johnson’s postrace comments | Junior on the fans, his dad, the win

Sunday’s race featured just 27 lead changes, far fewer than what fans have come to expect at the 2.66-mile track. The last time a Sprint Cup race there had fewer was in 2002 when the top spot was swapped only 26 times.

Johnson said he thinks it’s what restrictor-plate racing has become in recent years. What was thought to be a rarity now appears to be a trend.

"Inside the car at Daytona and Talladega, there’s so much frustration created by the restrictor plate,” he said. "I’ve really put the uneventful finish in the hands of restrictor plate racing. It’s a necessary evil, we need it on the cars but it promotes a certain style of racing.

"If the leader decides to go up top and there isn’t a long enough line that’s willing to go to the bottom and find their way to the front and be committed to it, it’s going to finish like that. There’s no way around it; we’ve seen it a couple of times now. I blame it on plate racing."

The idea that it was a payback of some sort might have a certain charm he said, but that wasn’t the case.

"That’s what Junior Nation thinks," he said, grinning. "If it makes them happy, that’s cool. I’m afraid to have them on my side because they’ve hated me forever, so I don’t know if I really want all this."

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Nascar

O’Donnell on Talladega’s green finish; qualifying change gets good reviews

NASCAR officials chose not to throw a caution flag on the last lap of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Carl Edwards, involved in a crash shortly after the leaders took the white flag, felt the situation called for a yellow flag.

Teammate Matt Kenseth, not involved in the Edwards incident, agreed.

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"I had to lift so I didn’t send Carl to the hospital," Kenseth, the 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion, said afterward. "I’m just dumbfounded that NASCAR didn’t throw a caution. We were driving past wrecked cars for half a lap at 180 mph; it was a crazy ending."

Edwards, running seventh, spun going into the first turn after contact from behind. His orange No. 19 Toyota spun down off the track twice, and back up onto the racing surface two times.

With less than a lap remaining and no caution flying, cars zoomed past Edwards.

On Monday, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said it initially appeared that Edwards’ Toyota "was under control down on the apron."

"We elected to keep racing. Unfortunately … really under green or yellow we never want to see a car go back across traffic on the race track. That was a call we made, we’ll certainly talk to the competitors and see what, if any, adjustments we can make going forward.

"We were happy, though, to be able to finish under green. That’s what the fans came to see. But obviously we always say that we don’t want to compromise safety."

O’Donnell said Sunday’s finish differed from this year’s first restrictor-plate race at Daytona, which ended under yellow when Kyle Larson hit the wall after being involved in a multi-car crash on the final lap, thus the different late-race call.

The need to "dispatch emergency equipment quickly" was the reason for the yellow at Daytona, according to O’Donnell, who added "that wasn’t the case, as we observed the situation, at Talladega."

Edwards finished 32nd.

"NASCAR does such a great job making these cars safe and these tracks safe that the biggest cause of injury is going to be one of us not checking up when there’s a guy sideways," Edwards said. "I mean, I have my door facing the field and the 51 (of driver Justin Allgaier), I think it was, went by at about 160 or 180 mph. That’s just not the way I try to race these guys when there’s a wreck."

Edwards’ crash wasn’t the only one that took place on the last lap — shortly after his car spun, an eight-car incident occurred coming out of Turn 2 with several cars getting into the outside wall.

Meanwhile up front, the leaders raced on toward the finish under green.

Qualifying format change gets positive reviews

The return to single-car qualifying (or a modified version of it, at least) at Talladega went over well in the garage, and NASCAR officials gave it a thumbs-up as well.

"I think it’s a format that we believe we’ve settled on at least through the remainder of this year," O’Donnell said. "We’ll certainly have some conversations with the race teams post-event like we usually do but we’re very pleased with the results that we saw at Talladega."

Multi-car qualifying had been put in place for Daytona and Talladega, but on-track issues at Daytona, and complaints from competitors about the risk involved simply to determine the starting lineup, led to the latest change.

"We tried to make it more exciting with group drafting and that had some issues," six-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said. "I think it’s a good balance. It’s an efficient way … not necessarily the most exciting thing but still far better than the old single-car, three lap deal. I think it’s a good blend of the two worlds."

Goodyear shortens upcoming Darlington test

Goodyear officials have changed next month’s tire test at Darlington Raceway from a two-day to a single-day tire test, a move that will also change the date of the open team test.

The Goodyear portion of the test, originally slated for Tuesday and Wednesday, June 9-10, has been shortened to a single-day test on June 9. The open team test will now be held Wednesday, June 10. Each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series organization may have one team on hand to participate in the open test.

Organizations scheduled to participate in the Goodyear portion of the test are Richard Childress Racing, Roush Fenway Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

Only one Goodyear tire test and open team test is scheduled for this month, May 11-13 at Dover International Speedway. Organizations participating in the Goodyear portion, set for May 11-12, are Stewart-Haas Racing, JTG Daugherty Racing, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing.

Talladega penalty roundup

Teams were penalized for 37 violations that occurred on pit road during Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. There were 17 instances of teams pitting before pit road was open, most of any infraction. For the first time this season, no teams incurred pre-race penalties that resulted in a driver dropping to the rear of the field prior to the start of the race.

Rear jack bolts taken

NASCAR officials took the rear jack bolts from the No. 98 Biagi DenBeste Racing Ford with driver Aric Almirola following Saturday’s Winn Dixie 300 XFINITY Series race at Talladega. Almirola finished 10th in the race.

Kansas tire update

Sprint Cup Series teams will have a new right-side tire for this weekend’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1). The construction change brings the tire in line with those already run at Las Vegas and Talladega this season.

Teams competing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will have the same build of tires as Sprint Cup for Friday’s Toyota Tundra 250 (Friday, 8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1) at Kansas. In ’14 the two series competed with series-specific right-side tires.

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Staff Report

Chat with race fans as NASCAR heads to 2.66-mile Alabama track

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Staff Report

Chat with race fans as NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Pat DeCola

Kevinharvick

Harvick’s starting position of 24th was his worst of the season, but it didn’t matter. The reigning champ still managed a top-10 finish, making it nine of 10 to start the year.

JimmieJohnson

Part of the Hendrick trio that led 164 of 188 laps (167 if you add Kasey Kahne’s three on top), Johnson was able to parlay his time out front into a runner-up finish and another spot in the standings.

Joeylogano

RELATED: No. 48 had no real chance at the win

Martintruex jr

Logano had a good day on Saturday, winning the XFINITY race. It likely wasn’t enough to ease his Sunday pain, however, as an early wreck put him down and he finished 33rd despite his best efforts to make a late comeback.

DaleEarnhardt Jr.

RELATED: Logano in XFINITY Victory Lane

Kurtbusch

Truex rode his second top-five finish of the season to second in the overall standings, continuing to be the most pleasant surprise of 2015.

BradKeselowski

-2

An Earnhardt winning at Talladega just feels right, doesn’t it? Junior’s Daytona win last year really set the tone for the rest of the regular season, so it’ll be interesting to see how this win rubs off on the somewhat revamped No. 88 team.

Jeffgordon

-4

RELATED: Junior Nation rewarded

Ryannewman

Over the past two weeks, Busch has earned a win and risen seven spots in the standings. It’s easy to think that trend will continue.

Mattkenseth

-2

Keselowski started 15th, led no laps and finished 22nd. Not a typical race from the 2012 champion, who came in as the most recent winner at Talladega, but he’ll recover.

DennyHamlin

Gordon likely had the best car out there on Sunday, but cost himself dearly with a late pit road speeding penalty. Win No. 1 of the season continues to evade him. That said, care to guess who the defending winner of the spring Kansas race is?
RELATED: Gordon’s run undone

Jamiemcmurray

Remove Newman’s finish of 38th in the season-opening Daytona 500 and he’s got an average finish of 9.22, which would put him fourth in the series behind Kevin Harvick (6.6), Martin Truex Jr. (9.0) and Kurt Busch (9.1).

Kaseykahne

-3

Kenseth won back-to-back Kansas races from 2012-2013, but has finished in the top 10 just once with 22 laps led since then.

Carledwards

Hamlin has only four top-10 finishes in 10 races this season, but No. 4 came Sunday at ‘Dega. Still, he’s fifth in the series in laps led, so he’ll be adding to his good finishes plenty over the coming months.

Paulmenard

Fun with stats: McMurray, who has close to double the amount of points as Tony Stewart, has led an equal amount of laps (14) as ‘Smoke’. McMurray averages a finish of 14.6, Stewart at 26.8. Laps led counts are interesting, but not a tell-all.

Kylelarson

-1

While Kahne didn’t lead as many laps as his Hendrick cohorts, his three circuits out front marked just the third time this season he’s led any at all.

DanicaPatrick

Edwards was the unlucky recipient of a shove from Casey Mears on the last lap that really crushed the hopes of the No. 19 squad on Sunday, but it’s clear that the team is gaining momentum.

ClintBowyer

-1

RELATED: Kansas is coming up; Edwards ‘loves that place’

Aricalmirola

No, Menard didn’t use the Dark Side to ‘force’ his way into a third-place finish at Talladega. Childress cars typically run well there when they don’t catch on fire, and Menard now has two top-fives at superspeedways this year.

Ajallmendinger

Larson’s average start (11.7) to average finish (21.1) ratio is glaring, and you have to think that at some point his solid starting spots will even out with some solid finishes.

Posted on May 4, 2015 by

News and notes for the entire 43-car field from the GEICO 500

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt led a race-high 67 laps to earn his sixth career Talladega victory and tie teammate Jeff Gordon for second on the Superspeedway’s all-time wins list. It was an emotional win for Earnhardt, who needs four more wins at the Alabama track to catch his Daddy, the legendary Dale Earnhardt. | Watch: Junior adds to the family legacy

2. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson led 50 laps, but stuck behind his teammate in the closing laps. He improves to third in the points on the strength of his fourth straight top-three finish. | Watch: Johnson discusses finish

3. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard, whose entire pit crew opted to wear full-face helmets during stops, recorded his best finish this season after spending the majority of Sunday’s race running inside the top 15.

4. Ryan Blaney, No. 21 Ford, Wood Brothers Racing. In his third career restrictor-plate outing, Blaney notched his first career top-five result. | More: Blaney proves tough under Talladega pressure

5. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. Truex managed his ninth top-10 result of the season despite dealing with a vibration for a majority of Sunday’s 188-lap event.

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6. Sam Hornish Jr., No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Hornish, who was on pit road when the final caution flag was waved, restarted fourth with 25 laps to go and held on to record his best 2015 finish.

7. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Despite an early flare-up while pitting under caution, Newman ticked off 11 places in the final 19 laps to record his first top-10 finish in the spring Talladega event since 2009.

8. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick led one lap en route to his ninth top-10 finish this season. He has paced the field in all but one race this season and needs to lead 47 more laps to reach 1,000 total for the second time in his career.

9. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin led five laps and was running fourth when he attempted to make a run on leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming to the checkered flag.

10. Josh Wise, No. 98 Ford, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise mostly flew under the radar on Sunday and led Lap 93 en route to his best career Cup finish.

11. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The two-time Talladega victor picked up 12 spots in the closing 19 laps and narrowly missed his fifth top-10 of the year.

12. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch led a lap during the second caution period and overcame an alternator issue to close 20 positions in the final 19 laps to be the best closer of the race.

13. Cole Whitt, No. 35 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Whitt didn’t pit during the sixth caution flag so he led the field to green on the Lap 162 restart, and he held on to snag his best career finish.

14. J.J. Yeley, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. Yeley was briefly knocked off the lead lap after being penalized for a fallen window net and subsequently speeding on pit road. He rallied to improve 13 places in the final 19 laps.

15. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola guided his car across the finish line despite receiving contact on the last lap to his left-front fender.

16. Alex Bowman, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Bowman wasn’t terribly impacted after being involved in the Lap 47 crash and held on to record his best Talladega finish.

17. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger’s team resolved a severe vibration mid-race as he attempted the strategy of laying back until the final laps of the race.

18. Matt DiBenedetto, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. DiBenedetto, in his restrictor-plate debut in the Sprint Cup Series, rebounded from the Lap 47 incident to earn his highest 2015 result.

19. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart led six laps on Sunday, but couldn’t get enough help down the stretch when he attempted to break out of the long parade running the top line.

20. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Running 28th, Gilliland attempted to help Tony Stewart run the bottom line and challenge the leaders in the closing laps.

21. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick reported a transmission issue around the Lap 115 caution for debris and spent the final third of the race running in fourth gear due to a broken shifter.

22. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski restarted fifth with 26 laps to go and was eyeing his fourth Talladega victory until he was shuffled back.

23. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier was one of 15 cars impacted by the first big crash of the day on Lap 47, and he lost a support pit member, who handled a fuel can without a helmet or head sock.

24. Chris Buescher, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Buescher started the race 38th and showed great patience and poise during his restrictor-plate debut in the top series.

25. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. With fewer than 20 laps to go, Kenseth tried to join Jeff Gordon as the duo fell out of the top line and unsuccessfully tried to run the bottom.

26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17, Roush Fenway Racing. Stenhouse was the beneficiary of the free pass on a Lap 56 caution after being knocked off the lead lap as a result of the Lap 47 wreck and caution.

27. Bobby Labonte, No. 32 Ford, Go FAS Racing. Labonte made his second start of the year on Sunday (both have been at restrictor-plate tracks) and led the 22nd lap while the field was under the first caution flag.

28. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, Germain Racing. Mears was one of 15 drivers to lead Sunday’s race and paced Lap 116 when the leaders hit pit road during a caution for debris.

29. Michael Annett, No. 46 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Annett rolled off the grid 40th and ran as high as third during his third Talladega outing.

30. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Bowyer, running ninth with 15 laps to go, predicted chaos in the final laps and he was one of several drivers to sustain contact on the last lap.

31. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The pole winner led 47 laps but was mired in traffic during the closing laps after being penalized for speeding on pit road just prior to the Lap 158 caution. | More: Gordon’s day ruined by penalty, late damage

32. Carl Edwards, No. 19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards posted the fastest lap of the race (Lap 46 at 204.801 mph) and was one of the few drivers willing to attempt to run the bottom in the closing laps. He spun on the final lap as the competition sped by. | Watch: Edwards discusses what happened to him late in the race

33. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Logano had minor damage after the Lap 47 dust-up, but earned the beneficiary of the free pass twice, including when the final caution flag was waved.

34. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne, the outside pole sitter, paced the field briefly before becoming collateral damage in the Lap 47 incident.

35. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Dillon was running 16th when the right-front of his car erupted into flames, likely due to an engine issue, to bring out the sixth and final caution flag of the day. | Watch: Dillon’s car catches fire

36. Michael Waltrip, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. The team owner and former Talladega victor was in the wrong place at the wrong time on Sunday when he ran into a spinning Brian Scott on Lap 19.

37. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing. Biffle, involved in the Lap 47 multi-car mashup, spent quite a bit of time in the garage for repairs before returning around Lap 90. | Watch: See the 15-car incident

38. David Ragan, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Ragan’s 300th Cup start was derailed when he was collected in the multi-car incident on Lap 47. Next week, Ragan will take the wheel of Michael Waltrip Racing‘s No. 55 as a permanent substitute for Brian Vickers.

39. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Smith Motorsports. Cassill started 30th and was running inside the top 15 when he was involved in the 15-car accident on Lap 47.

40. Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports. Gaughan, making his first Talladega start since 2004, made hard contact with the Turn 2 wall on Lap 91.

41. Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Bayne ran as high as third on Sunday before losing the handle on his Ford in traffic and triggering the "Big One" on Lap 47. | Watch: See the 15-car pileup Bayne was involved in

42. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Larson lined up for the race 13th – his best Talladega start – but was sidelined after being collected in the Lap 47 multi-car crash.

43. Brian Scott, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport. Scott spun shortly after his Chevy started smoking and he inadvertently collected Michael Waltrip in the accident.