Clint Bowyer overhauled teammate Jeff Burton on the final lap to win Sunday's Good Sam 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway. It is his first win of the 2011 season, the fifth of his career, and his second in a row at the October event at NASCAR's biggest track.
Burton finished second, ahead of Dave Blaney (equalling his career-best, also set at Talladega in October 2007), Brad Keselowski, and Brian Vickers. Kasey Kahne finished sixth, ahead of Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip, and Martin Truex Jr. Carl Edwards, the point leader entering the race, finished 11th. He holds a 14 point edge on teammate Matt Kenseth who finished 18th.
Jimmie Johnson, in need of a rebound, finished 26th, sandwhiched between teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. All three likely saw their Chase hopes finally come to an end with only four races remaining.
The race was marred by a pair of vicious, late-race accidents. Michael Watlrip turned Bobby Labonte entering the first turn on lap 174. Labonte bounced off Landon Cassill and pounded the wall before being slammed by Kurt Busch.
On the restart from that accident, Mark Martin was bumped by Denny Hamlin, turning him down into Regan Smith who pounded the wall head on. Labonte and Smith both walked away from their wrecked cars, while Busch drove to the garage area under power.
Kevin Harvick who entered the day second in the standings, finished 32nd, nine laps off the pace after being collected in the largest wreck of the day at lap 104. Fellow title contender Kyle Busch, involved in the same accident, finished 33rd.
Bowyer's victory is the 100th for car owner Richard Childress. His No. 33 team is likely to be largely scaled back for the 2012 season, with Bowyer moving on to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2011.