Denny Hamlin claimed the checkered flag in a third overtime period in the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
Hamlin held off Matt DiBenedetto in a frantic photo finish.
There was some initial question as to the result because Hamlin was well below the double yellow line as he moved to the inside of DiBenedetto and Erik Jones during overtime. That would normally warrant a penalty, but NASCAR officials deemed that Hamlin was forced into the position and thus didn't require any punishment.
It wasn't a good day to be working on pit road. The YellaWood 500 saw 13 cautions, a record for a NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega. By the time all was said and done, duct tape was probably a scarce commodity.
The drivers were unable to complete the first overtime period because this happened before the white flag arrived.
Kyle Busch spun out into Joey Logano, and they caused enough damage to force track officials to bring out the red flag.
The pileup came shortly after Logano surrendered first place to Chase Elliott. Once the drivers were allowed to begin moving, Logano went straight for pit road because of an oil leak in the No. 22 car. Even without that, he had to serve a penalty after forcing Elliott to go below the double yellow line while passing on the inside.
Before two laps of the second overtime were completed, Bubba Wallace spun into the wall and took Ryan Blaney with him.
During regulation, Wallace was a few laps from claiming his first NASCAR Cup Series win.
Logano was pushing Wallace hard from second place and got to the inside of the No. 43 car. Wallace, running on the outside, fell back further after contact from Ryan Preece.
A caution allowed Wallace to make a trip to pit road, yet his hopes of contention were extinguished. The red flag at least afforded him the chance to climb back into eighth before the final caution.
Fans typically expect to see "The Big One" during any race at Talladega, and Sunday's installment was no different.
With 11 laps left in Stage 2, Kurt Busch was briefly airborne after Clint Bowyer bumped Jimmie Johnson to set off a chain reaction. Johnson slammed into the side of Busch, who hit the wall and was helpless to prevent the No. 1 car from lifting off the track.
Busch already punched his ticket to the next round thanks to a win in the South Point 400. Bowyer is on the bubble, however, sitting 10th with 3,032 points entering Sunday's race. He was unable to continue after the wreck and wound up in 32nd.
Austin Dillon was collateral damage. He returned to the race but needed some work in order to make the No. 3 car suitable to drive.
As with Bowyer, Dillon's hopes of advancing are hanging by a thread following a 12th-place showing.
Aric Almirola avoided the crash because he had already been taken out well before that. Alex Bowman clipped the right rear of the No. 10 car, sending Almirola into the wall.
Kyle Busch also suffered the consequences but returned. He had to settle for 27th after the second Big One. Busch's car was in danger of disintegrating entirely if he had somehow managed to come back again.
The playoff field will dwindle from 12 to eight following next week's Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Kurt Busch and Hamlin have claimed the only guaranteed slots so far, so plenty will be up for grabs this time next week.
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