Late wrecks overshadow McMurray's victory

TALLADEGA - Jamie McMurray hoped that he would miss the Big One at Talladega on Sunday by riding in the back. It turns out, he missed it by being out front.

McMurray made his charge late and was ahead when a pair of frightening crashes sent two cars airborne on his way to a victory in the AMP Energy 500, the third victory of his career and his first in 87 races.

"It's been a long time since I've won," McMurray said. "I just can't believe it's here again."

McMurray last took his Roush-Fenway Ford to victory lane in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July 2007.

"I talked to (crew chief) Donnie Wingo last night, and a little this morning about just riding around," McMurray said. "We rode around in the back until just a little bit after lap 100. Our car was really fast, and I was able to get to the front."

McMurray took the lead on lap 181 and led the rest of the way without looking back, which was a good thing considering what was going on behind him.

On lap 184, Ryan Newman was the victim of a chain-reaction incident that saw him check up in an attempt to avoid his car owner and teammate, Tony Stewart, who also had slowed to avoid another car.

Newman tapped Stewart and was then hit from behind by Marcos Ambrose. Newman's car veered sharply to the left into Kevin Harvick, and the U.S. Army Chevrolet turned backward. Newman's rear wheels lifted off the ground, and the entire car turned a complete flip, landing on Harvick's hood.

Newman's car slid on its roof into the outside wall, then slid back down the track, where it was again sent into the air when it hit the area where the track apron hits the grass. The car spun several times before coming to rest on its roof.

Rescue crews worked for several minutes to flip the car back on its wheels and then to cut away the car's smashed roof. Newman climbed from the mangled car unharmed, but visibly shaken.

"I'm pretty sore, and just really disappointed," Newman said. "We had this race back here in the spring, and complained about cars getting airborne, and now, ironically, I'm the guy that gets upside down."

For all of the violence involved in Newman's wreck, it involved only five cars. After a lengthy red flag period for track cleanup, NASCAR attempted a green-white-checker finish. That three-lap sprint - predictably - produced the Big One.

On lap 189, Brad Keselowski - who also was involved in the last-lap incident here in April that sent Carl Edwards flying into the catchfence - got into his future teammate Kurt Busch, and cars began piling into one another. Mark Martin, who came into Sunday's race second in Sprint Cup Series points, was turned and went flipping down the backstretch, barrel rolling his No. 5 Chevrolet several times.

In all, 13 cars were involved in the melee, including Jeff Gordon (third in points) and Juan Pablo Montoya (fourth in points).

The only points contender who managed to avoid trouble was Jimmie Johnson, who rode in the back most of the day and managed to avoid the late-race carnage. The three-time defending Cup champion finished sixth and increased his lead over Martin to a near-insurmountable 184 points with three races remaining in the Chase.

Kasey Kahne overcame starting in the back because of an engine change to finish second, while rookie Joey Logano placed third.