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Joey Logano wins Talladega; Truex, Keselowski, Elliott, Dillon eliminated

Joey Logano is currently 8th in the points standings. (Getty)
Joey Logano wins at Talladega to advance to the next round of the Chase. (Getty)

TALLADEGA, Ala.—There are three ways to race at Talladega:

-Run in the front.
-Run in the pack.
-Run far behind the pack.

No matter which option you pick, one of the other two was probably a better choice.

Joey Logano won the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega, punching a guaranteed ticket through to the next round of the Chase. Drivers whose Chase hopes ended on Sunday included Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, and Austin Dillon.

Sunday’s race demonstrated just how tricky restrictor-plate racing can be, particularly when such a valuable prize as advancement is at stake. Keselowski and Truex lost out on their bids to advance when their engines failed them. Elliott wasn’t able to work his way through the pack, and Dillon lost out on a tiebreaker with Hamlin.

The tiebreaker goes to the driver with the best finish in a round. Hamlin finished third Sunday, higher than any finish Dillon had in the second round.

Three Joe Gibbs Racing cars pursued a counterintuitive racing strategy: running strong by running in the rear. Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth spent most of their afternoon far behind the lead pack, clocking laps within sight of the field but far enough back to, in theory, avoid any devastating wrecks. It worked out well enough, advancing all three drivers into the next round, but it wasn’t quite the most thrilling strategy.

During the race, the difference between the first driver and the last in the Chase narrowed to as little as 19 points—less than half of the field—meaning literally everyone in the Chase field had a chance to advance, and a chance to fall out. But as the day wore on, the field spread out. Keselowski and Truex took eight combined wins to the sideline with them, robbing the Chase of two top contenders but easing the path into the next round for the remaining drivers.

Eight drivers now remain in the Chase: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Logano, Kenseth, Edwards, Hamlin, and Kyle Busch. Everyone who’s advanced can breathe a short sigh of relief … and then prep for next week’s race at Martinsville.

[Podcast: Why Talladega is an American sports legend]

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.