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Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne wins eventful Indianapolis NASCAR race

Hendrick Motorsports' Kasey Kahne has won a crash-filled Indianapolis NASCAR Cup race in twilight conditions, which was delayed three times due to weather and multi-car incidents

Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch dominated for much of the 167-lap race, extended from 160 due to the overtime, which was red flagged for almost two hours due to a passing thunderstorm. He led a total of 87 laps.

But both Busch and second-placed Martin Truex Jr's days came to a premature end on lap 111 immediately after a restart, when Truex lost control of his Toyota Camry at Turn 1 and took Busch out with him. Truex's car was engulfed in flames as a result.

This turned much of the final stage into a strategy game before the late carnage.

The second red flag came out with 10 laps to go, and was due to a large amount of debris on the front straight from the aftermath of a crash involving Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray and Erik Jones.

Rookie Jones was having a strong run, leading 10 laps after working his way to the front due to strategy during the second stage.

Kahne had already pitted at this point - just before the pits closed - and with most other drivers stopping after the red flag, it allowed him to jump to the front of the pack.

He then passed Brad Keselowski on the 13th and final restart and crossed the line before the caution came out for one of many multi-car incidents. Ryan Newman was third.

The third and final red flag came following an eight-car pileup on the front stretch during an overtime restart involving Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin and Aric Almirola. Bayne was running a strong third at the time of the collision.

Jimmie Johnson, who started towards the back of the field following a gear problem on his car, had worked his way up to the very front before crashing out while fighting three-wide for the lead with Kahne and Keselowski.

Polesitter Kyle Busch took the first stage win despite late pressure from points leader Martin Truex Jr, and took the second stage win with a brilliant climb from ninth after a number of cars did not pit following an incident involving JJ Yeley.

But Busch's crash means that he is now on his longest winless streak in his illustrious career, and is still yet to secure a playoff spot this year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr's final appearance at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended prematurely following a collision after a restart at around the half-way point of the race.

RESULT

Pos Driver Team Car Laps
1 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 167
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 167
3 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 167
4 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 167
5 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 167
6 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 167
7 Daniel Suarez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 167
8 Matt DiBenedetto Go FAS Racing Ford 167
9 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 167
10 A.J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 167
11 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 167
12 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 167
13 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 167
14 Timmy Hill MBM Motorsports Chevrolet 167
15 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 167
16 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 167
17 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 166
18 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 166
19 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 165
20 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 162
21 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 162
22 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 162
23 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 162
24 Gray Gaulding Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 162
25 Joey Gase Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 162
26 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport / TMG Chevrolet 162
27 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 158
28 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 154
29 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 149
30 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 148
31 Erik Jones Furniture Row Racing Toyota 148
32 B.J. McLeod Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 135
33 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 110
34 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 110
35 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 106
36 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 76
37 J.J. Yeley Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 70
38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 56
39 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 43
40 Corey LaJoie BK Racing Toyota 9


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