Background , the track where the race was held.
Talladega Superspeedway is a four turn
tri-oval track that is long. The track's turns are
banked at 33
degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is 18 degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, is at only two degrees. Before the race,
Jimmie Johnson was leading the
Drivers' Championship with 343 points, while
Carl Edwards stood in second with 300 points.
Kasey Kahne and
Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed in the third and fourth position with 297 points each, seven ahead of
Clint Bowyer in fifth. Keselowski, with 284, was in sixth; six points ahead of
Kyle Busch. Eighth-placed
Greg Biffle was one point ahead of
Kevin Harvick and
Paul Menard in ninth and tenth, and fourteen ahead of
Aric Almirola in eleventh.
Jamie McMurray completed the first twelve positions with 245 points. In the
Manufacturers' Championship,
Chevrolet was leading with 64 points, five points ahead of
Toyota.
Ford was third after recording only 43 points during the first nine races. There were 45 cars on the initial entry list, though it was reduced to 44 after
Mike Bliss withdrew. All but four teams had entered the first nine races of the season;
Elliott Sadler was attempting his second race of the season,
Trevor Bayne was attempting his third, while
Scott Speed (six) and
Michael McDowell (eight) were also part-timers attempting the race. Sadler had to qualify for the race on speed due to being too low in owners points.
Entry list (R) - Denotes rookie driver.
(i) - Denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice and qualifying after rain showers cancelled qualifying. Two practice sessions were held in preparation for the race; both on Friday, May 3. The first session lasted for 45 minutes, while second session was 60 minutes long. During the first practice session, Edwards, for the
Roush Fenway Racing team, was quickest ahead of Truex Jr. in second and
Marcos Ambrose in third.
Joey Logano was scored fourth, and
Ryan Newman managed fifth. Almirola was fourth quickest, and
Travis Kvapil took fifth. Edwards, after finishing the first practice in first, was rewarded the
pole position. after
Trevor Bayne had blown an engine. During pit stops, Denny Hamlin climbed out of his car to surrender the rest of his day to Brian Vickers. Under NASCAR rules, Hamlin started the race and was credited with any results earned. The second caution flew on lap 43 for
the Big One: Matt Kenseth continued to lead most of this stretch, with Jimmie Johnson close behind in second. On lap 124, the third caution flew for rain. Just before the caution, Kenseth and Johnson had been shuffled back by
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his teammate
Carl Edwards. Edwards made a move for the lead and beat Stenhouse by one-half-an-inch for the lead when the third yellow came out. As the rain quickly intensified over the speedway, the red flag flew for 3 hours and 36 minutes as the track was dried. The initial shower was brief, but just as the track was almost dried, a heavier thunderstorm soaked the speedway. won the race for Front Row Motorsports. Hours later after the track was dried, the restart began and Kenseth regained the lead. The race ran green through a round of green-flag pit stops. Johnson took the lead after pit stops, hoping to become the first driver since himself in 2006 to win the Daytona 500 and the spring Talladega race in the same year. Kenseth, who had the best car, was in the mix as well, along with Edwards, Kurt Busch,
Michael Waltrip, and Bowyer in a six-car breakaway. The fourth caution then came out on lap 175 when Michael McDowell hit the wall in turn 2. With two laps to go and with darkness imminent, NASCAR cancelled the three
green-white-checker rule for the race and announced a decision to only have one attempt to finish under green, which it had also done the night before in the Nationwide race. On the restart, Kenseth, Johnson, and Edwards battled for the lead and their struggle allowed Front Row Motorsports drivers
David Ragan and
David Gilliland to slip by on the final lap. Ragan cleared the leaders in turn 3 and held off both Johnson, Gilliland, Edwards, and
Michael Waltrip to take his second career win, his first since winning the
2011 Coke Zero 400. It was the first win in NASCAR for FRM. With Ragan's teammate Gilliland finishing 2nd, Front Row Motorsports earned a surprising 1–2 finish. There were five cautions for 31 laps and 30 lead changes between 17 different drivers throughout the course of the race. The race took seven hours to complete. ==Results==