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While Talladega remains
a fan favorite facility
for its high banked,
action packed racing,
the final flip by Carl
Edwards has overshadowed
the weekend’s special
moments.
Saturday’s impound
qualifying efforts put
Juan Pablo Montoya on
top the speed charts. In
his third year of
competition, the former
open-wheeler now adds a
pole award to his
resume. Driving for
Earnhardt-Ganassi
Racing, Montoya clocked
a lap of 188.17 mph in
his Tums Target
Chevrolet.
Roush-k-ateer David
Ragan earned his first
major NASCAR hat dance
in Saturday’s Nationwide
Series race. Ragan’s
final lap dash moved him
from fifth to first on
the final lap.
Sunday’s race, well
controversial, earned
rookie Brad Keselowski
his first Sprint Cup
trophy. The win, which
came as a surprise to
car owner James Finch
was twice as special.
Finch, who has been in
racing since the passing
of Neil Bonnett was
overwhelmed with the
results. “This win is
the best thing to ever
happen to me,” said
Finch.
For Crew Chief Marc
Reno, this moment goes
well beyond surprise.
“I’m actually still a
little bit in shock
here. We knew we could
run in the top 10 in
these races, done it at
Daytona a couple of
times.” Reno continued,
“It’s pretty neat. I’m
excited for James
because he’s been in the
sport for a lot of
years, more so than the
owners around here and
spent his own money and
excited to get him the
Sprint Cup win.”
Keselowski, who was
shaking when he pulled
into victory lane said
“Wow, pinch me. We had a
lot of fun today. Man
was that fun,” he
continued. “I hope the
fans did too because
this is NASCAR racing
and this is too cool.”
Keselowski becomes the
eighth driver to earn
their first and only
victory at the Talladega
Superspeedway. The only
other active driver on
the list is Brian
Vickers.
Fellow rookie Scott
Speed earned a fifth
place finish in his
first visit to the
track. “It’s a crazy
race, everyone is
beating each other so
much. I think for 90
percent of the race. I
was just happy standing
in the back of the pack
because they are so
aggressive,” said Speed.
The former Formula One
Competitor received a
late race push to the
front from Kyle Busch.,
and credits his finish
as luck.
In comparison to his
former Formula One
career, Speed believes
NASCAR is safer.
“Because we are going so
fast in such close
quarters, especially in
a track like this. To me
this is definitely on
edge. This is the most
intense thing that I’ve
experienced in my racing
career for sure.”
Australian wheeler
Marcos Ambrose also took
home top-5 honors for
the first time this
season in a Michael
Waltrip owned machine.
Rookie hot shoe Joey
Logano claimed a top -10
finishing position in
Sunday’s big race. For
the rookie replacement,
this is his best finish
to date. Logano was the
highest finishing Joe
Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Following the late race
crash, Carl Edwards
climbed from his
battered machine and
jogged down the track
across the start finish
line to complete his
race. The laughter
erupted in the infield
media center following
the race after the
runner-up drivers were
briefed on Edwards
finish. It was compared
to a Ricky Bobby moment. |
