By Ryan - Posted on November 4, 2009
The ban on bump-drafting, a stipulation, according to NASCAR news agencies, that NASCAR president Mike Helton initiated to try and curb the aggressive nature of the often volatile Talladega Super Speedway, worked according to plan on Sunday—at least for most of the race.
At times, the uneventful nature of the Amp Energy 500 resembled more of a lazy Sunday drive than the 7th leg of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But that soon changed when, with five laps to go, Ryan Newman was involved in a horrific crash from which he would have to be cut from the car. Soon after, with a little more than one lap to go, Mark Martin highlighted a 13-car wreck that sent him through the air and into the wall of the front stretch.
Jamie McMurray, who until Sunday hadn’t won since 2007 at Daytona, took full advantage of the late trouble and cruised to an easy, albeit uncertain victory under caution.
"I saw the guys wreck behind me, and I didn't know if you had to take the white [flag] in order [to win the race]—I wasn't real sure what the rules were—and the 9 [Kahne] went to the outside because he saw the same issue, but I just moved up and kind of tried to block him," said McMurray after the race. "As soon as I crossed the start/finish line, I shut the engine off and pushed the clutch in and coasted around as far as I could.”
But McMurray wasn’t the only beneficiary of the two late pile-ups on Sunday. Jimmie Johnson, who would end up finishing sixth and extend his Chase lead to 184 points, spent much of the race seemingly stuck in the late 20s. But due to the lengthy delay that followed Newman’s wreck, crew chief Chad Knaus decided to call Johnson into pit road to refuel—a decision that likely clinched the championship. As cars ahead of him in the running order began running out of fuel during the red-flag delay, Johnson quickly improved his position.
"From where we were with the red flag to where we finished -- I'm still in shock," said Johnson, who can capture his record fourth consecutive title by finishing 10th or higher in the last three Chase races. "I can't believe that it worked out. I can't believe that that many guys ran out of fuel and put themselves in that position. We almost stayed out.”
Kasey Kahne finished second behind McMurray, with Joy Logano running third.
Following the race, Johnson, who will take his commanding lead into Texas Motor Speedway next weekend, summed up his good fortune.
"I was so concerned about this race," he admitted. "I thought I was going to lose points with about three or four [laps] to go. So to have it turn around and lead with points over the guys, I didn't expect it."
