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Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins Talladega: 5 takeaways

By Charles Rahrig V

May 3, 2015; Talladega, AL, USA; Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates his victory in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2015; Talladega, AL, USA; Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrates his victory in the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up his first win of the season and a spot in the chase at the super speedway on Sunday.

It was an emotional day for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as he picked up his first win of the season, holding held off everyone for a wild finish at Talladega.

Talladega might be the most exciting track in NASCAR. With high speeds and big wrecks, only the strongest survive each year, and on Sunday, NASCAR’s top drivers hung toward the top of the standings.

Hendrick Motorsports ran another strong day at the track with Jeff Gordon leading several laps early, until Jimmie Johnson passed him by and led several laps of his own. Finally, it was Earnhardt Jr. who passed by his teammate and held on until the very end.

It was also a big day for some of the non big name drivers as Ryan Blaney finished No. 4 and Josh Wise, Cole Whitt and J.J. Yeley all finished Top-15.

At the end, it looked like Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard were going to make a move on Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. but they couldn’t quite get the run that they needed without risking falling back to pass for the win.

With Earnhardt Jr. picking up the big win, here are five takeaways from Sunday.

1. The chase for the Sprint Cup is absolutely loaded

As more drivers win races, the field for the chase grows. There have now been eight different winners this season and eight different drivers to earn a spot in the chase. If the chase were to begin today, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch would all be in.

It’s no secret that those are eight of the best drivers in the sport. With those eight consistently at the top of the standings each week, it will be interesting to see how many other drivers pick up a win before the rest of the spots are decided by points.

It’s been a great year for racing thus far and it’s all because the best are putting on top performances each week.

2. Talladega had another big wreck

Talladega is always known for the big one, and by big one that means a monster wreck that absolutely shakes the foundation of the race. Sunday, the big one captured 15 victims on lap 47.

Trevor Bayne went sideways and several cars spun out crashed and slammed into walls.

Several big name drivers were involved in the wreck, including Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano.

Most of the cars were able to get back out on the track, but two saw their day come to an end. Talladega always provides an obstacle for its drivers and Sunday, it claimed 15 in its wake.

3. Jimmie Johnson is a true bro to his teammate

Jimmie Johnson earned the good teammate award on Sunday. Just when it looked like he or the drivers behind him could have had a run on Earnhardt Jr., who had a hot engine, Johnson dropped to the bottom of the track to block the other drivers, making aggressive moves to try and get past Earnhardt Jr.

Johnson said after the race that he didn’t have the run to get past Earnhardt Jr. but with him having two wins and a spot in the chase already, it’s probably no coincidence that he helped out his teammate have a big day on the track.

After all, that’s what teammates are for.

4. Jeff Gordon still can’t put it together

Every week this season has looked like the week that Jeff Gordon is finally going to put it all together and pick up his first win of the year, then something happens.

Well the something this week was speeding down the pits. With Gordon pitting toward the end of the race, he went just a little too fast in the pits and as a result, was penalized. Gordon would restart in the 30’s and would have to work his way back up to a 21st finish.

Once again it started off as a promising week for Gordon, who won yet another pole. He started strong and looked like he was going to have a shot as the end drew near, yet another thing happened to derail his day.

He’s had fast cars all season, when is he finally going to turn it around and pick up that first win and a spot in the chase?

5. Another fire in the pits

There’s been a lot of fires in the pits lately.

First it was the Xfinity Series where two of Brendan Guaghan’s crew members were sent to the hospital after a dangerous fire.

Today the fire wasn’t as dangerous, but another one broke out in the pits.

As Ryan Newman pulled into his pit stall, it appeared that the back end of his car caught on fire.

Luckily no one was holding any ethanol or down by the back tire this time to get hurt.

With track temps over 120 degrees, it had to be even hotter in the pits with those flames. Austin Dillon’s car would also catch on fire later in the race as well. It’s been a hot few weeks on the track.

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