NASCAR results at Talladega: Brad Keselowski avoids carnage, wins on last-lap pass

Just six undamaged cars were running toward the checkered flag at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday after multiple wrecks at the restrictor-plate track left one pack remaining with three laps left in the Alabama 500.

Brad Keselowski was the last man standing after 16 caution flags and three red flags as he out-raced Ryan Newman, and Denny Hamlin for the win.

A wreck involving Daniel Suarez, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher brought out the red flag with six laps remaining, setting up a sprint to the finish. Newman led down the backstretch on the final lap but Keselowski used a neat crossover move to pass Newman on the high side and with the help of teammate Joey Logano, was able to hold on for the finish to punch his ticket to the Round of 8.

Newman was second, followed by Trevor Bayne, Logano, and Aric Almirola.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his final race at the Talladega — his top track — was in position for his first win in his final season in NASCAR but was pushed to fifth on the final lap and was unable to find a partner to push toward the front. He finished seventh.

In restrictor-plate racing, a simple slip can cause a wreck as cars are separated in the draft literally by inches. That's what happened when the "Big One" occured with just 17 laps remaining, the first of three red-flag wrecks. Martin Truex Jr. was trying to create space in Turn 3 and hit the rear of Kevin Harvick, who turned teammate Kurt Busch igniting a huge wreck that collected out playoff drivers Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Matt Kenseth and others.

Another huge wreck occured just five laps later as Joey Logano appeared to get into Trevor Bayne, triggering a red-flag crash that collected Ryan Blaney and Harvick.

Playoff contender Jamie McMurray saw his playoff hopes go up in smoke just 26 laps into the race during green-flag pit stops. McMurray slowed near Kyle Busch and was hit from behind by Erik Jones, which turned McMurray up the track and into Jeffrey Earnhardt.

"You assume everyone is working as a group," McMurray told NBC Sports. "It was my fault. I assumed that they said the 18 was going to let me in, so I thought we were all going to pit. I didn’t even know where the 77 was. When I got on the brakes, I thought we were all coming to pit road as a group. I’ll take the blame for that. I just kind of assumed we were coming to pit road right there. Obviously not everyone was."

The Cup Series will be back in action next Sunday at Kansas, where the bottom four drivers in the playoff standings will be eliminated from contention as the Round of 8 will be finalized.

NASCAR Cup Series results from the Alabama 500 at Talladega

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Ryan Newman
3. Trevor Bayne
4. Joey Logano
5. Aric Almirola
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Gray Gaulding
10. David Ragan
11. Ty Dillon
12. Paul Menard
13. Kyle Larson
14. Matt Kenseth
15. Daniel Suarez
16. Chase Elliott
17. Chris Buescher
18. Ryan Blaney
19. Brendan Gaughan
20. Kevin Harvick
21. Danica Patrick
22. AJ Allmendinger
23. Martin Truex Jr.
24. Jimmie Johnson
25. Kurt Busch
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
27. Kyle Busch
28. Landon Cassill
29. Austin Dillon
30. Michael McDowell
31. Matt DiBenedetto
32. Joey Gase
33. DJ Kennington
34. Cole Whitt
35. Clint Bowyer
36. Erik Jones
37. Jamie McMurray
38. Jeffrey Earnhardt
39. Mark Thompson
40. Justin Marks

Stage 1 winner: Keselowski

Stage 2 winner: Blaney