One For The Ages: Kevin Harvick Wins Record-Breaking Talladega Race

In one of the great races in recent memory, Kevin Harvick won a record-setting Talladega race on Sunday afternoon, nipping Jamie McMurray at the finish line to win the Aaron’s 499 by one-hundreth of a second.

It was a remarkable race, notable for many reasons including:

• Drivers demolished the all-time record for lead changes at any track, with 88 total lead changes. The previous record was 75, set at Talladega in May 1984.

• There were the most different leaders in NASCAR history, with 29. The previous record was 28, set at Talladega in October 2008.

• It was the eighth-closest finish since the inception of electronic timing in 1993.

• Harvick won his first Sprint Cup points race since the 2007 Daytona 500, snapping one of the longest active winless streaks.

• The race ended with points leader Jimmie Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon upset with one another again after Gordon wrecked late in the race following a jam-up with Johnson.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued to show strength but faded to 13th over the final laps.

• Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammates Jamie McMurray (who had won the last two restrictor-plate races) and Juan Pablo Montoya finished second and third.

• Mike Bliss recorded a 10th-place finish for Phoenix Racing, which won the race with Brad Keselowski last year.

POINT STANDINGS (Clint Bowyer back in the top 12; Joey Logano out):

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kevin Harvick -26
3. Greg Biffle -86
4. Matt Kenseth -99
5. Kyle Busch -160
6. Mark Martin -169
7. Kurt Busch -177
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -181
9. Denny Hamlin -185
10. Jeff Gordon -193
11. Clint Bowyer -237
12. Jeff Burton -241
13. Carl Edwards -256
14. Tony Stewart -262
15. Martin Truex Jr. -278
16. Joey Logano -322
17. Jamie McMurray -325
18. Ryan Newman -328
19. Paul Menard -325
20. Juan Pablo Montoya -364

Biggest Gainers: Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya (+4 spots each). Biggest Losers: Brian Vickers (-6 spots), Jeff Gordon (-5 spots).