Wow. That is typically the first word out of my mouth after a race at Talladega. Rarely if ever have I not been impressed with a race there. And this past weekend’s race was no exception.

Rookie Chase Elliot started on the pole, and Austin Dillon started on his outside. The second the green flag waved Elliot leapt ahead, and he remained up front for a little more than a dozen laps.

The race had been started early due to the threat of rain, but rain never came. However, the constant threat of rain ensured that drivers spent every lap trying to get as many positions as possible. This led to some great racing.

On lap 49, the day’s first wreck happened. Tony Stewart had lost a lap due to a pit road speeding penalty, and as the pack caught up to him, he tucked in line. Unfortunately, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. was battling a loose race car. The airflow over his car was disturbed by Stewart tucking in in front of him, and Jr. went for a spin into the outside wall, collecting Matt Dibenedetto and Dale’s teammate Kasey Kahne.

Ironically, the caution gave Stewart his lap back, and a chance to  turn his car over to relief driver Ty Dillon. Due to a recent injury, Stewart’s doctors said that he should start the race so as to get the points, but then he should hand the car off to a relief driver. Stewart did turn the car over to Dillon, but he was evidently not happy to do so.

Just a few laps after the ensuing restart, Michael Waltrip, a two time winner at Talladega, was tapped by former employee Martin Truex Jr.  The tap sent Waltrip onto the apron, and as he tried to get back on the track, he clipped Aric Almirola. This resulted in a small incident, with just one driver, Casey Mears, being taken to the garage.

For the next 30 laps, Drivers drove like mad men trying to reach the front. There was rain seen in the area, and on lap 94, the race was past the half-way point. This meant that should it start raining, the race would be official. On lap 98, the hard racing turned into hard wrecking.

Austin Dillon was tapped into the outside wall, and several cars were bottled up behind him. Danica Patrick tagged Jimmie Johnson in an effort to avoid the incident, and Johnson went spinning. Just behind them, Michael Annet was sent spinning down the track into rookie Chris Buescher. Chris was sent airborne, and he barrel rolled about half-a dozen times before his car stopped moving. No one was hurt in the incident, but it was terrifying to watch.

After this the drivers continued to race hard, the treat of rain still in the area. On lap 110 another wreck occurred, but this one was smaller. Carl Edwards blew a tire while running near the back of the field, and he flew up the track into Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had returned after his earlier wreck. Both Dale and Carl’s cars were totaled in the accident.

After this, a surprising new leader emerged. Trevor Bayne, the winner of the 2011 Daytona 500, took the lead with about fifty laps to go, and he held it for a while. But he was constantly under fire from drivers such as Brad Keslowski and Matt Kenseth.

On lap 160, the second big wreck of the day occurred. Jimmie Johnson was being pushe by Kurt Busch down the front stretch, and Kurt accidentally hit Johnson’s car at the wrong angle, sending him spinning into the outside wall. Cars began to pile up behind Jimmie, and chaos ensued.

On the following restart teammates Brad Keslowski and Joey Logano had taken the top spots, but they were being stalked by Matt Kenseth, who has a rough history with both drivers. Kenseth tried to make a move and pass Logano, but Logano shoved him down the track onto the apron. Kenseth managed to slide up the track back in line, but he didn’t seem happy. I can’t be sure, but I think there were a few… unfriendly gestures waved towards Logano by Kenseth. Not sure though.

So far the race had 4 hard wrecks. That seems like enough right? Well apparently Talladega disagreed. on lap 181, with just seven laps to go, Danica Patrick, who was running well, was hit in the rear bumper, and sent down the track into Matt Kenseth. Her and Kenseth flew down the track towards the inside wall, going full speed. Kenseth lifted into the air and landed on his roof, and careened off the inside wall upside down. Patrick flew nose first into the wall, and smashed the front of her car. Both Danica and Matt climbed out of their cars unharmed, although Patrick was evidently winded.

The race restarted with just three lap remaining, and Keslowki still had the lead. But on the restart, Kurt Busch blew past him on the inside lane. But, Brad had more momentum coming down the backstretch, and he retook the lead from Kurt. Now Brad had a rear view mirror full of Kyle Busch. Busch pushed Brad until they were coming down the front stretch the final time. Kyle jumped out to try to pass Brad, but the moment Kyle did that, Austin Dillon and Chase Elliot, who were all pushing Kyle, began to scramble around each other, trying to finish as high as possible. Also, just behind them, Kevin Harvick was clipped in the rear bumper, and he was sent into the outside wall, his car on it’s side, not it’s wheels.

Brad won the race, and Kyle was second. This was Brad’s fourth win at Talladega, and this time he wasn’t showered with cans during his burnout. This was Brad’s second win of the year, and he sits fourth in the Chase Grid.

Austin Dillon was third despite being wrecked twice throughout the day. Elliot wound up fifth, a solid showing for his first Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega. Ty Dillon took Tony Stewart’s car to a seventh place finish, and Stewart now sits 38th in the point standings, 71 points behind 30th place, which is were he must be to have a chance to make the post season Chase.

After the race, Matt Kenseth was seen having some words with Joey Logano. The two have had several incidents together as of late, and Kenseth tends to get the worst of them. Kenseth seemed angry at Logano, and when Kenseth is angry, one does well to avoid making him more angry. Unless your name is Joey Logano. Putting it nicely, Joey just carelessly laughs at Matt, until Matt retaliates. Then Joey whines like a little kid. Keep an eye on these two for the next couple weeks.