Talladega NASCAR: Jamie McMurray takes victory

The Earnhardt Ganassi driver hung back for much of a race in which championship rivals Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson and the latter's Hendrick team-mate Dale Earnhardt Jr did most of the leading.

McMurray did not hit the front until lap 172 of 188, easing forward with drafting help from Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Earnhardt and Austin Dillon - driving for Stewart-Haas this weekend - lined up behind McMurray and seemed poised for a last-lap attack.

But before they could make a move, Dillon spun in front of fourth-placed Stenhouse.

Dillon's car slid backwards into the pack but was missed by everyone bar Casey Mears, whose Germain Ford sent the Stewart-Haas Chevrolet flying into the air as they made contact. Both were unhurt.

That brought out an immediate yellow and stymied Earnhardt's hopes, allowing McMurray to win by a second.

Stenhouse took third ahead of Paul Menard.

Kyle Busch recovered from going a lap down early on when he missed his stall in a crowded pitlane then picked up a pit speeding penalty to take fifth.

Front Row could not repeat its shock Talladega one-two from May, but did get sixth and seventh with David Ragan and David Gilliland.

Johnson lost out in the final shuffles and could only manage 13th as the leaders stayed single file and refused to form the usual drafting pack, while Kenseth's handling went off in the second half of the race and he slumped to 20th.

That means Johnson now leads the championship by four points with four rounds to go.

Prior to the last-lap tangle, the only other crash came when Marcos Ambrose spun into the path of Juan Pablo Montoya.

Results - 188 laps:

Pos  Driver                 Team/Car                         Time/Gap
 1.  Jamie McMurray         Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet  2h47m49.000s
 2.  Dale Earnhardt Jr      Hendrick Chevrolet                +1.103s
 3.  Ricky Stenhouse Jr     Roush Fenway Ford                 +2.161s
 4.  Paul Menard            Childress Chevrolet               +2.166s
 5.  Kyle Busch             Joe Gibbs Toyota                  +2.169s
 6.  David Ragan            Front Row Ford                    +3.022s
 7.  David Gilliland        Front Row Ford                    +3.670s
 8.  Martin Truex Jr        Waltrip Toyota                    +4.867s
 9.  Ryan Newman            Stewart-Haas Chevrolet            +5.128s
10.  Clint Bowyer           Waltrip Toyota                    +5.237s
11.  Greg Biffle            Roush Fenway Ford                 +5.287s
12.  Kevin Harvick          Childress Chevrolet               +5.859s
13.  Jimmie Johnson         Hendrick Chevrolet                +6.283s
14.  Jeff Gordon            Hendrick Chevrolet                +6.338s
15.  Michael McDowell       Parsons Ford                      +6.647s
16.  Joey Logano            Penske Ford                       +6.854s
17.  Carl Edwards           Roush Fenway Ford                 +6.971s
18.  Kurt Busch             Furniture Row Chevrolet           +7.195s
19.  Travis Kvapil          BK Toyota                         +7.457s
20.  Matt Kenseth           Roush Fenway Ford                 +8.315s
21.  Jeff Burton            Childress Chevrolet              +10.299s
22.  Aric Almirola          Petty Ford                       +10.604s
23.  Trevor Bayne           Wood Brothers Ford               +38.299s
24.  Justin Allgaier        Phoenix Chevrolet                +38.485s
25.  Dave Blaney            Baldwin Chevrolet              +1m04.283s
26.  Austin Dillon          Stewart-Haas Chevrolet             +1 lap*
27.  Casey Mears            Germain Ford                       +1 lap*
28.  JJ Yeley               Baldwin Chevrolet                  +1 lap
29.  Brad Keselowski        Penske Ford                        +1 lap
30.  Josh Wise              Front Row Ford                     +1 lap
31.  Cole Whitt             Swan Toyota                        +1 lap
32.  Michael Waltrip        Waltrip Toyota                     +1 lap
33.  Danica Patrick         Stewart-Haas Chevrolet             +1 lap
34.  Bobby Labonte          JTG Daugherty Toyota               +1 lap
35.  Terry Labonte          FAS Lane Ford                      +1 lap
36.  Kasey Kahne            Hendrick Chevrolet                +2 laps
37.  Landon Cassill         Circle Sport Chevrolet            +5 laps

* Not running at chequered flag

Retirements:

     Denny Hamlin           Joe Gibbs Toyota                 142 laps
     Marcos Ambrose         Petty Ford                       134 laps**
     David Reutimann        BK Toyota                        119 laps
     Juan Pablo Montoya     Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet       78 laps
     Joe Nemechek           NEMCO Toyota                      60 laps
     Tony Raines            Hillman Chevrolet                  2 laps

** Running again at chequered flag