Denny Hamlin survived a series of wrecks that used up several race cars to win the longest 500-mile race ever run at the Talladega Motor Speedway. It took three overtimes before Hamlin finished .00032 of a second ahead of Matt DiBenedetto.
In what might have been a fitting conclusion to a race of such mechanical carnage and strange turns, NASCAR ruled that DiBenedetto had forced fourth-place finisher William Byron below the yellow inside track boundary line during the last lap and ordered his finish be listed behind the last car on the lead lap. A similar penalty was assessed against Chase Elliott, who led 41 laps and was contending for the lead at the end, because Elliott forced Hamlin below the yellow line.
The race was yellow-flagged thirteen times, ten times for crashes that involved 38 cars, some more than once. Two of the crashes were so large that the race was stopped for cleanup.
Clint Bowyer, hoping to improve his points position heading into the last race before the contending field is cut to eight drivers, helped start a ten-car crash that brought out the first red flag, finished 33rd and is now far below the elimination cut line. (That’s Bowyer’s 14 car running under the airborne Kurt Busch) When asked about next week’s race on the Charlotte Roval, he remarked that the only option for advancement is “must win.”