Aaron's 499 Race Review

The words Talladega and unpredictable typically go hand in hand, and Sunday's race was no exception.

In fact, "predictably unpredictable" might be the best description for Talladega, where wild action and topsy-turvy results seem to be the rule rather than the exception.

For example, the list of names at the top of the finishing order Sunday was just as surprising as some of the notable drivers who finished in back.
Among the top-10 finishers were Juan Pablo Montoya (2), Brian Vickers (5), and Travis Kvapil (6), each posting their best finish of the year thus far.

Also having season-high finishes were Paul Menard (14), Scott Riggs (16), Sterling Marlin (21), and Joe Nemechek (25). Casey Mears (7) and Michael McDowell (26) matched their previous best finishes of the year.

On the other hand, drivers in the bottom ten included Martin Truex Jr. (37), Tony Stewart (38), and Kurt Busch (39) - all involved in crashes - and Carl Edwards (40) and Matt Kenseth (41), who had tire issues that sent them into the wall in separate incidents.

Another predictable outcome at Talladega is the fact that the eventual race winner, Kyle Busch, did not lead the most laps. Tony Stewart was the overall lap leader, running up front for 61 laps before being involved in a multi-car wreck late in the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 46 laps and finished 10th, while Denny Hamlin led 37 and finished third. Busch was fourth on the list with just 12 laps led.

Even the race finish was controversial, again a fairly regular occurrence at 'Dega. Many felt that Busch improved his position by dipping below the yellow line to pass Jimmie Johnson for the lead late in the race - a rule violation that could have resulted in an immediate penalty by NASCAR. Others felt that Busch was forced below the yellow line and apparently NASCAR agreed, since no penalty was issued and Busch was allowed to keep his position.

Busch himself seemed a bit perplexed by the way things happened at the end - understandable with cars running 200 miles per hour and wrecks taking place in his rear-view mirror in a race that saw a remarkable 52 lead changes. "About ten to go, things got crazy, so really my memory is a little scratchy," he said. Busch credited Juan Pablo Montoya among others for pushing him to the front.

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