Background entered the race as the Driver's Championship leader. , the venue where the race was held.
Talladega Superspeedway is one of six
superspeedways to hold
NASCAR races; the others are
Daytona International Speedway,
Auto Club Speedway,
Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
Pocono Raceway and
Michigan International Speedway. The standard track at the speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at thirty-three degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 16.5 degrees. The back stretch has a two-degree banking. Before the race,
Brad Keselowski led the
Drivers' Championship with 2,142 points, and
Jimmie Johnson stood in second with 2,137 points.
Denny Hamlin followed in third with 2,126 points, nine points ahead of
Clint Bowyer and sixteen ahead of
Tony Stewart in fourth and fifth.
Ford, with 138 points, was seven points ahead of
Dodge in the battle for third.
Qualifying results Race scored the pole position. To begin pre-race ceremonies, Billy Irvin, a volunteer with Alabama Raceway Ministries and director of ministry relations with FAITH Radio in Montgomery, Alabama, delivered the invocation. Then, singer Raelynn performed the
National anthem. At 2:11 PM, actor
Kevin James gave the command to start engines. At the drop of the green flag,
Kasey Kahne led, and continued to lead for the first ten laps. On lap 11,
Trevor Bayne took the lead with drafting help from
Clint Bowyer. Three laps later,
Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the lead. Earnhardt Jr. led for two laps before being passed by
Kyle Busch. On lap 17, the first caution came out for a three car crash in turn 4 that eliminated
Carl Edwards and
Cole Whitt from contention, and also gave some heavy damage to
Joey Logano. Both Edwards and Logano decided to continue racing, while Whitt retired from the event. Kyle Busch continued to lead the field when the green flag waved on lap 22. Two laps later,
Matt Kenseth passed Busch to lead. Kenseth led for ten laps, before Earnhardt Jr. passed him. On lap 35,
Denny Hamlin reported a loose rearview mirror in his car. ==Results==