Elliott Sadler wins disputed Xfinity race after review
Elliott Sadler ended up the winner of a wild, controversial Talladega Xfinity Series race … but he wasn’t the first one. Sadler, riding a 66-race winless streak in the Xfinity Series and racing on his birthday, was named the winner of the race after a last-lap wreck threw the entire field into chaos.
Sadler was trailing leader Joey Logano out of the final turn when Logano attempted a block but lost control. Logano slid up into the wall as the field passed both him and Sadler. Brennan Poole was the first to cross the finish line, but a five-minute review awarded Sadler, the driver who was leading at the time the caution flew, with the race victory.
It was a controversial win, to say the least; Sadler had apparently bump-drafted and dipped below the double yellow line in the course of the final laps, both of which could have disqualified the win. Poole, who had thought he’d nabbed his first series win, was gracious in sudden defeat.
The rest of the race was a characteristic Talladega affair, with flirts at bump-drafting and spectacular wrecks:
How will Saturday’s judgment call affect Sunday’s Cup race? This could be a fascinating Sunday afternoon at Talladega.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
