Dale Earnhardt Jr. punched his ticket into this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship with a victory in Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Earnhardt, who led the most laps with 67, won a Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega for the sixth time, but it was his first victory here since October 2004. He is now tied with Jeff Gordon for second most wins at this 2.66-mile track. Earnhardt's late father, Dale Earnhardt, holds the record with 10 victories here.
Jimmie Johnson, the six-time Sprint Cup champion, ran second to Earnhardt, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, in the closing laps, but Johnson could not make a pass on him for the lead. He crossed the finish line 0.16 seconds behind Earnhardt.
Paul Menard finished third, while Ryan Blaney, running a partial schedule for The Wood Brothers in Sprint Cup this season, took the fourth spot. It was Blaney's sixth career start in the series. Martin Truex Jr. was fifth.
Earnhardt became the eighth different driver to win a race this season and therefore virtually guarantee himself a spot in the Chase.
[SportsNetwork.com]
