Jamie McMurray broke an 86-race winless streak on Sunday, taking the win in the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The race ran the spectrum, from uneventful in the middle stages to dramatic in the closing laps.

McMurray took the lead on lap 181, just before Ryan Newman’s machine flipped on its lid, trapping the driver upside down. A prolonged red flag and yet another devastating crash on the last lap wasn’t enough to unseat McMurray, as the Roush Fenway Racing driver went on to score his third career Sprint Cup Series win. 

“I initially tried to move up through the field, they were three-wide, 10-rows deep, and it seemed like a row would advance and then the next lap that row would move to the back and nobody was able to make any ground,” McMurray said. “I even made the comment to the spotter and Donnie [Wingo, crew chief] — I said, ‘It’s just going to be luck of whoever can kind of get in the right row and make the moves.’ Fortunately for me, I shot around a couple of rows and our car was really fast and I was able to get to the front.”
 
Following a pre-race warning from NASCAR to avoid bump-drafting through the corners, the 43 drivers opted to play it safe most of the race, running single-file. The closing laps however, opened the door for a mad dash to the checkered flag, which left two cars upside down.

Four laps after McMurray took the lead the caution flag flew for a wild wreck involving Newman, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Marcos Ambrose on the backstretch. After being clipped, Newman’s No. 39 Chevrolet went airborne and landed on the hood of Harvick’s machine. Newman’s ride wasn’t over, as the car bounced off of the wall before finally coming to a rest on its roof and in the grass.
With the roof of his Chevrolet crushed in and the car stopped on its roof, Newman was trapped in the car. Safety crews got to work, flipped the car over, and after what seemed like eternity to Newman, he was able to climb from the car apparently unhurt.

After a quick check at the infield care center, a disgruntled Newman held nothing back when asked of his wreck and the circumstances leading up to it:

“I had the roll bars down on top of my helmet and (I was) stuck upside down inside my U.S. Army Chevrolet,” Newman explained. “It's just disappointing. I wish NASCAR would do something. It was a boring race for the fans. That's not something anybody wants to see — at least I hope not. If they do, go home because you don't belong here.

"It's just a product of this racing and what NASCAR has put us into with this box and these restrictor plates with these types of cars. You know, with the yellow line, no bump-drafting, no passing ... drivers used to be able to respect each other and race around each other. Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison and all those guys have always done that. I guess they don't think much of us anymore."

Once the aftermath of Newman’s accident was cleared, the field attempted to return to green flag racing, but was delayed for three more laps after cars, including Jeff Gordon, Max Papis and Stremme, ran out of fuel.

The green-white-checker restart finally fell on lap 187. With McMurray maintaining the lead, the field charged toward the white flag, but again the jockeying of positions mixed with restrictor plate racing didn’t mix and a 13-car melee broke out in the tri-oval. Mark Martin’s Chevrolet barrel-rolled while fellow Chasers Gordon and Kurt Busch were also caught up in the wreck.

"It's no surprise to me,” Gordon said. “I think we all know that's what's going to happen when we come to Talladega. You know everybody is pretty patient throughout the day and just waiting to get crazy at the end. You know it's going to happen eventually.

"A little disappointing for us on the DuPont Chevrolet just because we ran out of fuel,” he continued. “I felt like we saved a lot. I certainly didn't think we were going to run out [of fuel] right then, but I guess I'm kind of glad we ran out when we did because we were at least able to get back out there and destroy our car."

The race ended under caution with McMurray, who is leaving Roush at season's end, taking the checkered flag.

The finish allowed Jimmie Johnson to gain more ground in the Chase point standings after he successfully avoided the carnage to grab a top-10 finish after running in the back of the pack all afternoon. He now leads Martin by 184 points with three races remaining.

Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton rode out the storm to finish second through fifth behind McMurray.

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