NASCAR at Talladega 2014 Results: Winner, Standings, Highlights and Reaction

Brad Keselowski clinched a spot in the next round of the NASCAR Chase for the Cup by winning the Geico 500 at Talladega, although four other drivers were not as fortunate and saw their championship dreams come to an end.     

Keselowski did not have enough points to advance so he needed a victory to get an automatic bid to the Eliminator Round. It took a second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, but he was the fastest from the restart and came away with a dramatic win.

On the other hand, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson missed the cut for the Eliminator Round after subpar performances over the last three races.

Here is a look at the top finishes Sunday at Talladega:

Pos.	Driver	Car	Behind (Sec.)
1	Brad Keselowski	2	-
2	Matt Kenseth	20	0.141
3	Clint Bowyer	15	0.187
4	Landon Cassill	40	0.202
5	Ryan Newman	31	0.272
6	Travis Kvapil	33	0.358
7	Kurt Busch	41	0.359
8	Marcos Ambrose	9	0.500
9	Kevin Harvick	4	0.526
10	Casey Mears	13	0.558

Brian Vickers earned the pole in qualifying, but this race was truly wide open from the start. There were a number of lead changes throughout the day, including one that excited fans early on, via Dustin Long of Motor Racing Network:

Earnhardt Jr. held the lead through the halfway mark, but he was just one of many drivers in contention:

Johnson, who was trying to avoid elimination with a victory, was soon able to change this with a strong showing throughout a good portion of the race. Jeff Gluck of USA Today was impressed:

While this was going on, though, Kyle Busch crashed and was forced into the garage.

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Jenna Fryer of The Associated Press provided the driver's thoughts over the radio:

Bob Pockrass of Sporting News showed the damage:

Gluck also noted the bizarre situation involved with the new playoff format:

Despite all of this, Kyle Busch returned to the track to attempt to earn as many points as possible. Unfortunately for him, it was not enough to avoid elimination.

At the front of the pack, Johnson was sitting well until Danica Patrick got involved and took over the lead. However, things got much more interesting thanks to a late caution, as described by ESPN's Marty Smith:

NASCAR joked about the excitement in the final few laps:

Before the restart, Johnson was notified of the situation:

Earnhardt, Keselowski and Kahne were all vying to get that spot in the next round.

However, the restart did not last long and another caution led to a final chase with two laps remaining. NASCAR broke down the situation:

This drama just led to aggressive driving and a big crash:

Another attempt at a green-white-checkered saw Keselowski push his way to the front and hold on for the victory almost out of nowhere. Jim Noble of ESPN explained how crazy the performance was at the end:

Meanwhile, this capped off a rough day for Hendrick Motorsports, according to Nate Ryan of USA Today:

Here is a complete look at the standings after the latest round of cuts:

Pos.	Driver	Car	Points
1	Joey Logano	22	4,000
2	Kevin Harvick	4	4,000
3	Ryan Newman	31	4,000
4	Denny Hamlin	11	4,000
5	Matt Kenseth	20	4,000
6	Carl Edwards	99	4,000
7	Jeff Gordon	24	4,000
8	Brad Keselowski	2	4,000
9*	Kyle Busch	18	2,193
11*	Jimmie Johnson	48	2,152
14*	Kasey Kahne	5	2,136
15*	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	2,135

You can be certain the eight remaining drivers will not be upset to see experienced competitors like Johnson or Busch out of the running, but there is no time to celebrate with important events coming up quickly.

The Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway will take place Oct. 26 as the first of three more races before the field is cut in half to four. After that, there will be one final race to decide it all with the remaining drivers.

At this point, any of the eight competitors can come away with a championship, but it will take some strong efforts over the next month to end the year on top.

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