Dale Earnhardt Jr. ends Talladega Cup winless streak

Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the #88 Chevrolet to victory in the GEICO 500 at Talladega on Sunday, leading 67 of 188 laps. Earnhardt, who has enjoyed success at restrictor plate tracks during much of his career, had not won a Talladega race since October of 2004; before that, he had five Sprint Cup wins to his credit at the Alabama superspeedway, a sister track to Daytona, where he and his father Dale Earnhardt (a ten-time Talladega winner) have also both recorded numerous victories.

Earnhardt's teammates Jeff Gordon (#24) and Kasey Kahne (#5) shared the front row and Gordon, Earnhardt and Stewart-Haas Racing driver Tony Stewart led the opening laps.  Fourth Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson (#48) then held the lead during much of the middle of the race. The first caution came out on lap 19 for a crash entering turn 2 caused by Brian Scott blowing the engine of his #33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and hitting Michael Waltrip, driving his own #55 Toyota. The famous Talladega "Big One" struck on lap 47 and took out Trevor Bayne, David Ragan, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Matt DiBenedetto, Greg Biffle and many others. SHR teammates Danica Patrick (#10) and points leader Kevin Harvick (#4) got a piece of the wreck but were able to stay on the lead lap. The wreck brought out a red flag for cleanup.

On lap 92, the RCR-aligned #62 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet of Brendan Gaughan ran into trouble. After pit stops, Johnson retook the lead, followed by Earnhardt again. Late in the race the #3 RCR Chevrolet of Austin Dillon blew its engine approaching the start/finish line, sparking a decent-sized fire. Gordon led some more laps before getting a penalty for speeding during the last set of pit stops. Earnhardt took the lead once again on the lap 163 restart and never looked back. Underdogs like Justin Allgaier, Bobby Labonte, David Gilliland, Josh Wise and Cole Whitt led briefly under caution as the leaders made pit stops. In addition, part-time driver Ryan Blaney took the #21 Wood Brothers Ford to a fourth-place finish. Many of the green-flag runs featured single-file racing.

Kevin Harvick remains the points leader, but Joey Logano has dropped two spots from second to fourth as a result of the big crash. Martin Truex Jr. now has the #78 Furniture Row Chevrolet in second, and Jimmie Johnson third in the standings. Earnhardt has gained three positions, from eighth to fifth. The series is now headed to Kansas City, Kansas for another Saturday night race on May 9.

Race Results:

1. (4) 88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Chevrolet - 188 laps, led 67 laps
2. (5) 48-Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet - 188 laps, led 51 laps
3. (7) 27-Paul Menard - Chevrolet - 188 laps
4. (3) 21-Ryan Blaney - Ford - 188 laps
5. (36) 78-Martin Truex Jr. - Chevrolet - 188 laps
6. (12) 9-Sam Hornish Jr. - Ford - 188 laps
7. (18) 31-Ryan Newman - Chevrolet - 188 laps
8. (24) 4-Kevin Harvick - Chevrolet - 188 laps, led 1 lap
9. (17) 11-Denny Hamlin - Toyota - 188 laps, led 5 laps
10. (34) 98-Josh Wise - Ford - 188 laps, led 1 lap