The first win of 2011 for #48-Jimmie Johnson as he takes the checker flag at the “Aaron's 499” Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, and the 54th of his career. The #33-Clint Bowyer, and #24 Jeff Gordon came across the finish line 3 wide, with Johnson .002 seconds ahead of Clint Bowyer and .039 second ahead of Jeff Gordon. The finish ties Ricky Craven's win over Kurt Busch in his 2003 Darlington win as the closest finish since electronic timing was implemented. The #88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 4th, #29 Kevin Harvick, #99 Carl Edwards, #16 Greg Biffle, #5 Mark Martin, #34 David Gilliland, and #20 Joey Logano.
There were 88 lead changes among 26 drivers; 6 cautions for 24 yellow flag laps.
2011 Sprint Cup Driver Championship Points Standings:
[after Talladega, race 8 of 36]:
rank, car#, driver, points, behind
1) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win], 295
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson [1 win], 290, -5
3) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 276, -19
4) #29-Kevin Harvick [2 wins], 268, -27
5) #22-Kurt Busch, 267, -28
6) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win], 257, -38
7) #39-Ryan Newman, 253, -42
8) #17-Matt Kenseth [1 win], 252, -43
9) #42-Juan Montoya, 246, -49
10) #33-Clint Bowyer, 245, -50
11) #27-Paul Menard, 242, -53
12) #14-Tony Stewart, 240, -55
The#18-Kyle Busch wins the “Aaron's 312” at Talladega Superspeedway for his 4th win of the season. The race ended under caution after a wreck on the last lap, during the second attempt at a green-white-checker finish. #20 Joey Logano finished second, followed by #87 Joe Nemecheck finished third (his first top 5 since March 2005), #22 Brad Keselowski in fourth, #2 Elliott Sadler was fifth, #16 Trevor Bayne sixth, #31 Justin Allgaier seventh, #7 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. eighth, #32 Reed Sorenson ninth, and #88 Aric Almirola tenth. #01 Mike Wallace ran up front through much of the race and led late, but was turned on the last lap to bring out the final caution. He flipped upside down, back on his wheels, and drove the car to pit road to finish 18th. There were 11 cautions for 38 laps and a record-setting 56 lead changes among 18 leaders. There were also 2 red flags for track clean up following accidents.
Sprint Cup is off a week, but returns to Richmond International Raceway Saturday April 30th under the lights for the “
Crown Royal 
presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400” at 7:30pm on Fox.
The Nationwide Series will be at Nashville Superspeedway Saturday the 23rd for the “Nashville 300” on ESPN at 3pm.
The Camping World Truck Series will run at Nashville Superspeedway under the lights Friday the 22nd for the “Bully Hill Vineyards 200” on Speed at 8pm.
Catch the WING Racing Show Monday afternoon at 4pm with Brian "BC" Casey, as we recap the last race and set you up for the next. We'll have interviews and your calls at 4pm on the WING Racing Show.
