Chase Race Seven: The Amp Energy Juice 500 at Talladeega superspeedway was a significan race for the 3 chase leaders but in the end, Clint Bowyer returned to chase victories edging Kevin Harvick when the white flag was waved just seconds after the final "big one".
Bowyer was officially declared the winner of Amp Energy Juice 500 after the NASCAR officials checked for several minutes the videotape frame-by-frame to determine when the caution light was displayed after A.J. Allmendinger flipped and triggered a multi-car accident just seconds after the leaders had crossed under the white flag.
Bowyer and Kevin Harvick were side-by-side for the lead, and both believed they had a rightful claim to the crown as the cars slowed back to the start/finish stripe. The two teammates then pulled down onto the apron in Turn 1, with Harvick sitting and watching Bowyer's burnout.
Harvick commented:
"You know, it was so close because we didn't know where the caution had come out. I was pretty confident that I beat him to the start/finish line. But you just never know where the caution flew. Heck, I honestly didn't even know the caution was out until halfway through Turns 1 and 2. They probably told me on the radio. But at that point you're so in tune with what's going on, trying to focus on when you got a guy behind you pushing you. You got to hold the wheel straight."
Talladega Chase race truly came to push in the closing laps, as all the drivers, especially the chase ones tried to find an assistance for a bit of push by their co-competitors. For Jimmie Johnson it was "charity driver" Jeff gordon who pushed him in the lead but Gordon blew up leaving his teammate withoput any other track assistance for the victory, for Hamlin it was Kyle Busch as they both tried to rebounce at Talladega. But that push didn't prove enough for Hamlin either.
For Bowyer, it was Juan Montoya. When the race restarted with four laps remaining following a debris caution, Bowyer was boosted into the lead by Montoya, who had his own plans to occupy the top spot with some good fortune.
Montoya commented:
"You know you've got to hook two cars up. At that point, I was the pusher. I couldn't really wait for the guy behind me to push me. It makes sense to try and win the race. The best chance I had to win the race was to push Bowyer up front and then when we got to the front of the line, try to make a move."
Harvick, on the other hand, restarted back in the pack. But with Martin Truex Jr. clearing a path and David Reutimann right on his back bumper, Harvick and Reutimann grabbed the lead away one lap later.
"I just attached myself to the back bumper of [Truex Jr.]. As we were shoving our way through there, we knocked a couple of them out of the way and wound up in our lane. We backed up to [Reutimann] and we were able to get a good run there. Typical Talladega day, with a few dents here and there."
Having worked well with Harvick earlier in the day, Reutimann knew he had the equipment to push the No. 29 to the lead, and committed himself to that task.
"I just said, 'Get with [Harvick's] spotter and find out what he wants to do here. We were going to line up behind him and those guys were really good about going back and forth. Kevin said he was ready, so once I got to him and locked on his back bumper, I flipped the fan on and held it wide-open."
In a way, it was a wonder that either RCR teammates were dtill competing for the victory as both Chevrolets wound up with front-end damage when Bowyer bumped Marcos Ambrose coming out of Turn 2 and sending him into a helpless Harvick on Lap 141.
Harvick's car suffered a V-shaped dent in the front valance just under the hood, and the team made a lengthy stop to apply large tape patches on the nose of the car in an effort to improve the aerodynamics. However, even though much of the "bear bond" came loose during the remaining laps, Harvick's car remained strong in the draft.
Bowyer's good deed eventually paid off with a victory. Harvick, for his part, was satisfied with the result as he approached Johnson and Hamlin in the chase when they finished 8th and 9 th respectivelly.
Harvick commented:
"We've won some that way and we've lost some that way. When you come here and your car is still rolling, we're definitely not going to complain about finishing second. Sure, it would be nice to win. But it's a great day for RCR."
Johnson increased his chase gap from Hamlin to 14 points after taking an extra 5 points for the most laps leading the race and Harvick approached him to a 38 points gap with 3 chase races remaining.
