NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega 2015 Results: Winner, Standings and … – Bleacher Report

After 113 chaotic and frenetic laps, Joey Logano took the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Xfinity Series Winn-Dixie 300 at Talladega Superspeedway Saturday.

The Sprint Cup star held off a number of hard-charging opponents in the closing laps, including Brian Scott and Austin Dillon, who ran out of time in their pursuit of the No. 22 car.

According to Nick DeGroot of Motorsport.com, Saturday’s victory allowed Logano to add to an already-impressive career total on the Xfinity Series:

They run it to the finish without wrecking and Joey Logano wins it, his 24th career Xfinity win. #NASCAR

— Nick DeGroot (@ndegroot89) May 2, 2015

Here is a rundown of the top 10 finishers, with full results available at NASCAR.com:

While several drivers who weren’t racing for points registered strong finishes Saturday, the Xfinity Series standings were still shaken up a bit. Ty Dillon managed a top-10 finish despite being involved in several crashes to maintain his spot atop the standings, but others weren’t so lucky. Here is a look at the current top 10, courtesy of NASCAR.com:

Talladega is known for its unpredictability and penchant for ruining the days of some great drivers, and that was on full display during the Winn-Dixie 300.

It didn’t take long for an accident to happen, as Elliott Sadler, Darrell Wallace Jr., Brendan Gaughan and Mike Bliss were involved in a dust-up on the third lap, as seen in this GIF courtesy of Fox Sports NASCAR:

Working the first caution of the day (lap 1) at @TalladegaSuperS. That could have been A LOT worse. Lap 4 of 113. pic.twitter.com/33mM7g0VwX

— FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 2, 2015

While Sadler and Wallace were able to rebound, that wreck led to Gaughan and Bliss having to settle for less-than-ideal finishes.

Another big name ran into trouble on the 38th lap when Chase Elliott’s tire went down, which resulted in the reigning Xfinity Series champion hitting the wall. He didn’t take anyone with him, but Elliott ended up doing plenty of damage to his own car.

He returned to the race after spending several laps in the garage, but he had to settle for a 37th-place finish, and his No. 9 Chevrolet was heavily damaged on the right side, according to NASCAR Xfinity on Twitter:

Not a fun day for @chaseelliott.

#WinnDixie300 pic.twitter.com/8m8ofWnGj2

— NASCAR XFINITY (@NASCAR_XFINITY) May 2, 2015

Sprint Cup star Logano and Dillon were in control for much of the race as leaders, but things got interesting with just 40 laps remaining when much of the field got swept up into the biggest wreck of the race.

Talladega Superspeedway is a track that is conducive to race-changing crashes, and one occurred in the latter stages when several drivers were attempting to pit, per Fox Sports:

There they go…

The Big One at @TalladegaSuperS. 3rd caution of the day with 40 laps to go. #NASCAR on @FOXTV. pic.twitter.com/PgKJR38JiF

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) May 2, 2015

All told, 10 cars were involved in the accident, including Dillon, Daniel Suarez and Daytona winner Ryan Reed. That led to the field being red-flagged and halted for nearly eight minutes while the track crew attempted to clean up the debris that was created.

Sprint Cup superstar Jeff Gordon, who was on commentary for the race, was quite critical of the manner in which the crash occurred, according to Alan Cavanna of Fox Sports:

“It doesn’t take rocket science to get to pit road,” @JeffGordonWeb says on the @FOXSports1 broadcast. He’s adding some great info today

— Alan Cavanna (@CopaCavanna) May 2, 2015

As part of the incident, Gaughan’s car ended up hurling onto pit road and into the wall, which subsequently injured two members of Aric Almirola’s No. 98 pit crew team. Per Cavanna, one of the crew members was hit by a tire, but he was alert when transported for medical attention:

Two members of the 98 went to the care center, NASCAR says. One was treated and released, another has gone to the hospital @NASCARONFOX

— Alan Cavanna (@CopaCavanna) May 2, 2015

Team owner Bill DenBeste says crewman was behind the wall, tires were on the wall prepped for a stop. car hit,knocked tire and crewman over

— Alan Cavanna (@CopaCavanna) May 2, 2015

Team rep says crewman was alert as he went to the care center. 98 is the pit near where Gaughan hit the pit wall @NASCARONFOX

— Alan Cavanna (@CopaCavanna) May 2, 2015

When racing got back underway, there was an interesting group of drivers up front due to the crash, including 47-year-old veteran David Starr, who was in the lead with less than 30 laps remaining in the race.

Starr’s time at the front of the field was short-lived, though, as he was quickly surpassed after the restart by the likes of Sadler, Scott and Almirola.

With the race nearing its conclusion, Logano, Sadler, Almirola and J.J. Yeley pushed each other and traded positioning for several laps until another yellow flag came out with 15 laps to go.

Chad Boat got clipped, which set off a chain reaction in the middle of the field that swallowed up Dillon, Wallace Jr. and Sprint Cup regular Kasey Kahne.

Despite being involved in several accidents, Dillon was able to return to the track once again, which led to an amusing suggestion from NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman:

If the 3 car finishes this race. @TeamChevy should take it back to examine/study it’s durability. It’s been hit like 20 times

#NASCAR

— Parker Kligerman (@pkligerman) May 2, 2015

Too much damage had been done to Dillon’s car to contend for the win, but that didn’t make things any less interesting when the green flag waved with eight laps remaining.

With several cars attempting to work together, there was no shortage of contenders to come out on top as the final laps wound down. In the end, though, it was Logano who prevailed for the third time this season on the Xfinity Series.

Logano continued his dominance over the Xfinity regulars with the win, and he also built up some momentum for himself ahead of Sunday’s Sprint Cup event.

There is no question that Logano will need some luck on his side to avoid the big crashes, just as he did Saturday, but he has to be considered among the top contenders to win Sunday after such a masterful showing. 

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