When the dust cleared after the green-white-checker overtime restart and a last-lap crash that consumed most of the field on the Talladega Superspeedway, Kasey Kahne was second.

“The team did a good job with our Budweiser Dodge,” the Enumclaw NASCAR Sprint Cup driver said. “We had a good handling car, but lost the draft a couple of times. We needed to be in the middle of the draft. (Brian) Vickers was pushing me really hard there before the caution. I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Prior to Sunday, Kahne’s best finish at Talladega came in 2006 when he finished second.

“It unfolded well for us at the end. If we got back in the pack, we’d lose the draft. We needed to have cars around us and tried to keep cars behind us mainly. If we were able to do that, we could race pretty decent. The car handled good which I think everybody’s car handled good here. We just kind of shot up through there, had great track position on that restart and ran second. It was good for our Budweiser team.”

It was a day of ups and downs for Kahne, who started near the front of the pack after qualifying was rained out, and then later after a near crash found himself pulling up the rear. At one time, Kahne led a lap picking up five drivers’ bonus points.

After a caution inside the final laps, NASCAR red-flagged the event, while they cut driver Ryan Newman, who was unharmed, from his car. After the two-lap restart, Kahne was sitting in second and getting ready to make a move on the top spot, when a chain-reaction pile up started behind him and the race ended.

Kahne was the top Chase finisher. He moves up to two spots to ninth in the drivers’ standings. Jimmie Johnson continues to lead the chase for the title.

Racing continues from Texas Sunday. Television coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. on ABC.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.