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 "Just real emotional, man," Earnhardt said in victory lane.
"Everything is just so good for me now -- my personal life, my
racing, the team I am with. I don't know why. I don't feel like I
deserve it. I just feel overcome with a lot of emotion. It has been
a long time since I won here. I've run so good here, and not to win
here in so many races has bothered me."
Jimmie Johnson finished second to give Hendrick Motorsports a
one-two finish. Earnhardt and Johnson also wound up first and second
in the laps-led category, with Earnhardt leading 67 laps and Johnson
50. In all, Hendrick Motorsports drivers combined to lead 167 laps
of the 188-lap race.
"I tried (to get by Earnhardt for the win)," Johnson said. "I was
waiting for guys to really spread out with maybe three to go, but it
didn't happen."
Paul Menard finished third. Ryan Blaney ran third with two laps to
go before Denny Hamlin pulled out of line and temporarily took the
spot. Hamlin dropped back to ninth by the end, while Blaney was able
to hold on to fourth. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five.
"We didn't have any (help)," Hamlin said. "The 4 (Kevin Harvick)
helped us at the end, but we just didn't have enough help. I knew
the 48 (Johnson) would be content to push the 88 (Earnhardt), so
just in a tough spot, there. The odds were very stacked against us.
The Hendrick cars and engines were just extremely tough today and,
really, I did my best just to kind of hang with those guys, but
they're definitely in a league of their own right now, for sure."
After leading 47 laps, Jeff Gordon was among the drivers caught up
in the last-lap wreck. Other drivers involved included Carl Edwards,
Casey Mears and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Throughout the closing laps, Earnhardt faced challenges from
Edwards, Tony Stewart and Blaney but was able to maintain his
position at the point, primarily with Johnson behind him.
"I didn't know what he had up his sleeve," Earnhardt said of
Johnson. "Maybe they got busy behind him, and he couldn't form a
charge (in the closing laps). We had a real strong car. I didn't
know if the engine was going to last."
After leading laps early, Gordon was back up front at the halfway
point of the race and ran in or near the lead until Earnhardt took
the top spot with 65 laps to go in the 188-lap race. Gordon dropped
outside the top-20 over the course of the remaining laps, while
Johnson kept Earnhardt company up front.
Hendrick Motorsports showed itself as the class of the field on
Saturday by claiming four of the top-five starting spots of the
race. Gordon led the HMS brigade by claiming the pole. He led 33
laps early in the race before the yellow flag waved for a 14-car
crash on lap 47.
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Johnson, Earnhardt, Kasey Kahne and Stewart also led laps early.
Gordon and his teammates, Earnhardt, Johnson and Kahne were all
mainstays at or near the front throughout the early stages, but
Kahne's car was among those collected in the lap 47 crash. Other
drivers involved included David Ragan, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano,
Kevin Harvick and all three Roush Fenway a Racing teammates Greg
Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne, who set off the
chain-reaction wreck when his car broke loose.
"It felt like the 27 (Paul Menard) was really tight on our door and
sucked us around," Bayne said. "Our car was loose, but we had a fast
race car today. I hate that a lot of cars got torn up, but
especially our AdvoCare Ford."
After another quick caution for debris, Johnson took over where
teammate Gordon left off, maintaining the lead with Earnhardt in
tow. Gordon, though, drifted to the back of the top-10.
Finishing sixth through 10th were Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr.,
Harvick, Hamlin and Josh Wise.
NOTES: Hendrick Motorsports has 23 restrictor plate wins, more than
any other team. ... Joey Logano won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race
at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday. ... Logano won the most
recent restrictor plate race, winning the Daytona 500 in February.
... Denny Hamlin won the 2014 Geico 500. Brad Keselowski won the
last time the Sprint Cup Series raced at Talladega in October 2014.
... Ryan Blaney was the only non-Hendrick Motorsports driver to
start the race in the top-five, starting third. ... Kurt Busch's
crew chief Tony Gibson was atop the No. 41 pit box less than a week
after kidney stone surgery. ... The Geico 500 was the final race in
the No. 18 before moving over to the No. 55 for the rest of the
season.
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