Series:             NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location:        Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (2.66-mile oval)
Winner:           Matt Kenseth of Roush Fenway Racing in a green-white-checkered finish (Ford)
SHR Finish:    Ryan Newman (Started 2nd, Finished 9th / Running, completed 189 of 189 laps)
Tony Stewart (Started 4th, Finished 22nd / Accident, completed 188 of 189 laps)
SHR Points:    Tony Stewart (7th with 2,133 points, 46 out of first)
                        Ryan Newman (14th with 865 points, 47 behind 13th)

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, led the two-car Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) contingent Sunday at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway by finishing ninth in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. It was Newman’s 12th top-10 finish of 2012 and his eighth top-10 in 22 career Sprint Cup starts at the 2.66-mile oval.

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet for SHR, finished 22nd after enduring a spectacular crash in the final turn of the final lap while vying for the lead. Stewart walked away from accident unhurt.

Matt Kenseth won the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 to score his 23rd career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his first at Talladega.

Jeff Gordon finished behind Kenseth in the runner-up spot as the race ended under caution. Kyle Busch, David Ragan and Regan Smith rounded out the top-five. Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, Travis Kvapil, Newman and Jeff Burton comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were five caution periods for 17 laps, with 17 drivers failing to finish the 189-lap race, which was extended one lap by a green-white-checkered finish.

Stewart is representing SHR in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and came into the fourth race of the 10-race Chase in fifth place among the 12 Chase drivers, 32 points behind Chase leader Keselowski. Stewart leaves Talladega seventh in the standings, 46 points behind Keselowski.

Newman climbed one spot to 14th in the standings with 865 points, 47 back of 13th-place Busch.

With six races remaining before a champion is crowned following the season finale Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the top-12 drivers competing for the title rank as follows:

1.      Brad Keselowski (2,179 points) +/-0 positions
2.      Jimmie Johnson (2,165 points, -14) +/-0
3.      Denny Hamlin (2,156 points, -23) +/-0
4.      Kasey Kahne (2,143 points, -36) +2
5.      Clint Bowyer (2,139 points -40) -1
6.      Jeff Gordon (2,137 points, -42) +4
7.      Tony Stewart (2,133 points, -46) -2
8.      Martin Truex Jr. (2,131 points, -48) +/-0
9.      Greg Biffle (2,130 points, -49) +2
10.  Kevin Harvick (2,130 points, -49) -1
11.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2,128 points, -51) -4
12.  Matt Kenseth (2,117 points, -62) +/-0

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the fifth race of the 10-race Chase – is the Charlotte 500 on Oct. 13 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with a pre-race show at 7 p.m.