TALLADEGA, Ala. — Teamwork meant very little in the closing laps Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Unless, of course, you were driving a Ford.
Clint Bowyer bailed on teammate Jeff Burton on the last lap of the race, pulling around him when the checkered flag was in sight to pick up his first win of the season and the 100th in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing.
“You hate that it comes down to that; it is what it is,” Bowyer said with a shrug. “You owe it to your team, to your sponsors to go out and win the race.”
Burton and the RCR bunch understood.
The grumbling was far behind the leaders, where Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne ditched Jeff Gordon because Bayne was part of a pact made by Ford drivers to only push fellow Ford drivers in an effort to help Roush Fenway Racing drivers Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth in the championship race.
Gordon was seventh on the final restart and thought Bayne was committed to pushing him over the last two laps. Instead, Bayne backed off, and Gordon, with no help, faded to 27th. An animated Bayne went immediately to Gordon’s car after the race, then posted his thoughts on Twitter.
“I’m not happy about what this has become,” he posted on Twitter in reference to Talladega’s two-car drafting style and the reliance on partners. “It’s too premeditated. We should be able to go with whoever is around us. I would have rather pulled over and finished last than tell (Gordon) I would work with him and then be strong-armed into bailing.”
Gordon felt deceived.
“The Fords made it very clear about what they were doing in working with one another,” Gordon said. “So I didn’t expect him to commit to me on the radio. I expected him to say, ‘Man, I’m sorry, I can’t.’ And when he said, ‘Yeah, I’m pushing you, we’re good,’ I believed him. I think they had a different plan.”
It made for a shake-up in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship standings. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch were both in accidents, and five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson finished 26th as he and partner Dale Earnhardt Jr. never made their charge to the front.
Edwards, who came into the race up five points over Harvick, finished 11th and saw his lead swell to 14 points over Roush Fenway Racing teammate Kenseth.
Smith falls from 10th
How Regan Smith, racing for Denver’s Furniture Row team, fared Sunday:
• Smith lost his drafting partner in Kurt Busch on lap 176 of 188, as Busch was involved in a race-ending incident. With six laps remaining, Smith was running in 10th when he got into an accident.
• The Furniture Row Racing driver was credited with a 30th-place finish in the Good Sam Club 500.
