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Brad Keselowski hangs on for victory in chaotic Talladega race

Penske's Brad Keselowski took a hard-fought NASCAR Sprint Cup win at Talladega ahead of Kyle Busch in was an incident-packed finish around the famous speedway

Keselowski led into the closing stages and held his nerve despite a late spate of cautions, the first of which occurred with just over 20 laps left.

As the frontrunners ran close, Jimmie Johnson was turned around by Kurt Busch, who in turn spun into Paul Menard and triggered an incident involving more than a third of the field.

Once those without terminal damage were fixed up in the pits, the drivers ran for another handful of laps before the next big crash came during the final laps.

Matt Kenseth was pitched skywards and flipped into the infield barrier after contact with Danica Patrick, who took a hard hit into the wall along with Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick.

Kenseth had enjoyed a solid run until then, having set the early pace from his Joe Gibbs Racing team-mates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

The first caution of the day occurred when Dale Earnhardt Jr was spun across into Hendrick team-mate Kasey Kahne, after making adjustments on pit road that made his car loose in the dirty air.

Earnhardt's day went from bad to worse when he brought out the third caution of the race, after he was tipped into the barrier by Carl Edwards.

The crash put both of them out and ended Edwards' run of Cup race wins.

Keselowski was one of a number of drivers to make aggressive moves during the race and, having bided his time in the middle of the pack, got his reward when a run on Kyle Busch on the high part of the track allowed him to slot in ahead.

Polesitter Chase Elliott showed good pace towards the end but was rebuffed by Keselowski and fell back to fifth in the final four-lap sprint.

That handed Keselowski a clear run to the chequered flag and allowing Busch to secure second as chaos ensued behind between Harvick, Martin Truex Jr and Ricky Stenhouse among others - with Stenhouse rolling into the barrier.

Pos Driver Team Car
1 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
2 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
5 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
7 Clint Bowyer HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
8 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
9 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford
10 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford
11 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford
12 Michael Waltrip Premium Motorsports Toyota
13 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota
14 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
15 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
17 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford
18 Cole Whitt Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
19 Bobby Labonte Go FAS Racing Ford
20 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford
21 Michael McDowell Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet
22 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
23 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
24 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet
25 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
26 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
27 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
28 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
29 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
30 Brian Scott Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
31 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
32 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
33 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet
34 David Ragan BK Racing Toyota
35 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
36 Matt DiBenedetto BK Racing Toyota
37 Chris Buescher Front Row Motorsports Ford
38 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet
39 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
40 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
- Ty Dillon Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet

LEADING CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Pos Driver Points
1 Kevin Harvick 351
2 Kyle Busch 342
3 Carl Edwards 337
4 Jimmie Johnson 329
5 Joey Logano 316
6 Kurt Busch 312
7 Brad Keselowski 300
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 279
9 Martin Truex Jr. 274
10 Austin Dillon 272
11 Chase Elliott 271
12 Denny Hamlin 269
13 Jamie McMurray 261
14 A.J. Allmendinger 232
15 Matt Kenseth 231
16 Trevor Bayne 228
17 Kasey Kahne 224
18 Ryan Blaney 219
19 Ryan Newman 219
20 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 218
21 Paul Menard 201
22 Kyle Larson 197
23 Greg Biffle 188
24 Aric Almirola 180
25 Landon Cassill 170
26 Danica Patrick 166
27 Clint Bowyer 160
28 Casey Mears 149
29 Brian Scott 142
30 Matt DiBenedetto 128
31 Regan Smith 127
32 David Ragan 124
33 Michael McDowell 120
34 Chris Buescher 101
35 Michael Annett 90
36 Brian Vickers 86
37 Cole Whitt 86
38 Tony Stewart 57
39 Michael Waltrip 42
40 Jeffrey Earnhardt 36

PROVISIONALLY INTO CHASE SO FAR

Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski (2 wins), Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick (1 win)

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