Talladega NASCAR: Denny Hamlin wins under yellow

A green-white-chequered finish was not possible as the yellow - caused by incidents for Alex Bowman and Justin Allgaier - was called after the leaders had taken the white flag to begin the last lap.

Initially officials looked content to let the field race back to the chequered flag, but with debris from Allgaier's car landing before the finish line, the yellows came out and Joe Gibbs Toyota driver Hamlin had a relaxed final half-lap.

Greg Biffle took second ahead of Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers and AJ Allmendinger.

Biffle was one of several drivers who spent long stints at the head of the often three-abreast pack during the relatively cagey early part of the race, with Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr also enjoying spells in control.

Kevin Harvick and Hamlin were the main contenders in the closing stages, but the low-on-fuel Harvick fell back to seventh over the two laps after a late caution for an incident triggered by Carl Edwards spinning into the path of Ryan Newman.

The race featured two of Talladega's traditional multi-car shunts.

Brad Keselowski, who had earlier caught a wild slide onto the infield after turning across the front of brief race leader Danica Patrick, prompted the first when he lost control mid-pack, eliminating polesitter Brian Scott, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth among others.

A spin for Jimmie Johnson led to the second pile-up 13 laps from the end, with Logano the most significant casualty on that occasion.

After Front Row's shock one-two in this event last year, underdogs Josh Wise and Allgaier hinted at similar giantkilling results as they emerged near the head of the pack late on.

In the end the best-placed driver from a small team was Hillman's Landon Cassill in 11th.

Results - 188 laps:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car                     Time/Gap
 1.  Denny Hamlin        Joe Gibbs Toyota         3h17m16.000s
 2.  Greg Biffle         Roush Fenway Ford             +1.611s
 3.  Clint Bowyer        Waltrip Toyota                +2.068s
 4.  Brian Vickers       Waltrip Toyota                +2.429s
 5.  AJ Allmendinger     JTG Daugherty Chevrolet       +2.570s
 6.  Paul Menard         Childress Chevrolet           +2.665s
 7.  Kevin Harvick       Stewart-Haas Chevrolet        +2.878s
 8.  Kasey Kahne         Hendrick Chevrolet            +2.985s
 9.  Kyle Larson         Ganassi Chevrolet             +3.079s
10.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr  Roush Fenway Ford             +3.178s
11.  Landon Cassill      Hillman Chevrolet             +3.315s
12.  Kyle Busch          Joe Gibbs Toyota              +3.477s
13.  Aric Almirola       Petty Ford                    +3.526s
14.  Casey Mears         Germain Chevrolet             +3.724s
15.  Austin Dillon       Childress Chevrolet           +3.784s
16.  Michael Annett      Baldwin Chevrolet             +4.241s
17.  Martin Truex Jr     Furniture Row Chevrolet       +4.258s
18.  Ryan Newman         Childress Chevrolet           +4.562s
19.  Marcos Ambrose      Petty Ford                    +4.593s
20.  Josh Wise           Parsons Ford                  +5.454s
21.  Cole Whitt          BK Toyota                     +5.906s
22.  Danica Patrick      Stewart-Haas Chevrolet        +7.981s
23.  Jimmie Johnson      Hendrick Chevrolet            +9.547s
24.  Terry Labonte       Go FAS Ford                   +9.747s
25.  Michael Waltrip     Waltrip Toyota               +12.598s
26.  Dale Earnhardt Jr   Hendrick Chevrolet           +14.064s
27.  Justin Allgaier     HScott Chevrolet             +48.205s
28.  Alex Bowman         BK Toyota                      +1 lap*
29.  Jamie McMurray      Ganassi Chevrolet              +1 lap

* Not running at finish

Retirements:

     Carl Edwards        Roush Fenway Ford            182 laps
     Ryan Truex          BK Toyota                    182 laps
     Joey Logano         Penske Ford                  174 laps
     Kurt Busch          Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       174 laps
     Reed Sorenson       Baldwin Chevrolet            174 laps
     David Ragan         Front Row Ford               174 laps
     Michael McDowell    Leavine Ford                 174 laps
     Matt Kenseth        Joe Gibbs Toyota             171 laps**
     Brad Keselowski     Penske Ford                  160 laps**
     Jeff Gordon         Hendrick Chevrolet           156 laps**
     David Gilliland     Front Row Ford               150 laps
     Trevor Bayne        Wood Brothers                136 laps
     Brian Scott         Circle Sport Chevrolet       136 laps
     Tony Stewart        Stewart-Haas Chevrolet       136 laps

** Running again at finish