Brad Keselowski was able to survive the NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway and capture the win in the Alabama 500 Sunday afternoon (10/15).
Racing at Talladega Superspeedway always has that factor of when will the “Big One” that collects multiple cars as the drivers race at 200 mph in packs that have the cars just inches apart. An indication of what might come happened on lap 27 as five cars were involved in an accident on the track. While this doesn’t qualify as the “Big One,” it did foreshadow the events to come.
There were a total of 11 yellow flags issued during the 188 lap (500 mile) race at the track nicknamed “Dega.” There were also three red-flag periods during those caution periods. The first caution period that also included a red-flag period was on lap 173 when the “Big One” happened. That accident included a total of 16 cars being involved in some way.
Two more cautions for multi-car accidents happened after the “Big One” that also saw the red flag issued. By the end of the race there were only 12 cars on the lead lap with just two more cars being scored as running and one lap down in the race.
Brad Keselowski won stage one of the race and Ryan Blaney claimed the win in stage two.
Brad was able to get back to the front of the cars still running on the last lap of the race and hold the lead to claim the victory in the race. The win was Bard’s fifth “Dega” win in NASCAR’s top division, his third of the 2017 season and his first in the 2017 playoffs.
Ryan Newman claimed the runner up finish with Joey Logano crossing the finish line in third place. Aric Almirola finished the race in fourth place with Denny Hamlin rounding out the top five. See the complete race results for the Alabama 500 here.
Even though he was one of the cars involved in the “Big One,” Martin Truex Jr. was able to hold his place as the leader in the point standings. Brad Keselowski’s win vaulted him up to second place in the standings. Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick slip back a spot each to third and fourth respectively. Denny Hamlin holds steady at fifth place in the standings. See the complete Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
Talladega gave Brad Keselowski his automatic advance to the next round in the playoffs. Martin Truex Jr. earned that bonus winning the previous week’s race. For the rest of the drivers on the Chase Grid in the round of 12, the playoff standings have been shuffled dramatically following the race at “Dega.”
Which drivers will bounce back and which drivers will be eliminated from championship contention will be determined this weekend at Kansas Speedway in the Hollywood Casino 400 Sunday, October 22nd.
By: Buck Stevens
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2017 Alabama 500
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- TALLADEGA, AL - OCTOBER 15: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, and Chase Elliott, driver of the #24 NAPA Chevrolet, lead the field at the star of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Alabama 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 15, 2017 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo courtesy of NASCARmedia.com/by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)
