Race Recap
The big one happened on lap 68, when Brian Vickers cut a tire and tapped Martin Truex Jr. into the middle of the field. The second occurred with 16 laps to go. Carl Edwards bumped Greg Biffle into Matt Kenseth. Edwards appeared to have gotten through, but Biffle and Kenseth came back up the track, tapped Edwards, and Edwards crashed into Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick. 18 cars were involved. When the race was extended due to the green-white-checker finish rule, it appeared that Regan Smith had won the race. However, Smith had made an illegal pass below the yellow out-of-bounds line, an off-limits area at restrictor plate tracks Talladega and Daytona, and NASCAR awarded Stewart the win, his first in 43 races, and his first win in 20 attempts at Talladega. Smith was placed 18th by NASCAR, last on the lead lap. In addition, the lead changed hands a new series record 65 times officially among 28 drivers, and many more times unofficially during each lap.
| Top Ten Finishers |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Car # | Driver | Car Make | Team | ||||
| 1 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||||
| 2 | 15 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | ||||
| 3 | 6 | David Ragan | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | ||||
| 4 | 31 | Jeff Burton | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | ||||
| 5 | 07 | Clint Bowyer | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | ||||
| 6 | 43 | Bobby Labonte | Dodge | Petty Enterprises | ||||
| 7 | 66 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | Haas CNC Racing | ||||
| 8 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Dodge | Robby Gordon Motorsports | ||||
| 9 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | ||||
| 10 | 19 | Elliott Sadler | Dodge | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | ||||
Failed to qualify: Sam Hornish, Jr.(#77), Patrick Carpentier (#10).
Notes: 1. The #08 car, to have been driven by Boris Said was withdrawn earlier in the week.
2. Race extended two laps due to green-white-checker finish rule.
Read more about this topic: 2008 AMP Energy 500
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—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)