They waited until the white flag. It was as if someone said “last chance to smack it all silly!”

There were some close calls earlier in the race at Talladega. A touch, a spin, a slide up the track or down to the infield but somehow most checked or got by…

Until the last lap.

The racing had gotten hot. Gordon had made a run up. Earnhardt, Jr. had a run. Johnson was there at some point. Kahne started on pole and ran with it. Kenseth was there at the end but it looked like Stewart could make a run and go.

It was Tony Stewart, he had gone up the track a bit and was coming back towards the inside on the white flag lap. It was a green-white-checkered run following a touch-up with Jamie McMurray being tagged by Harvick.

Stewart, on a dive back to the inside, did not catch the speed that Michael Waltrip had worked up. The left rear of the #14 tagged the right front of the #55…

Proceed with the Talladega “Big One”… Last lap… Last chance to give the fans their mayhem…

Kenseth was able to pull off of the front for the win but behind the #17 it was if someone yelled “squirrel” in a pack of hounds. Stewart’s #14 Chevy went to the apron and slid back while Waltrip and the #55 Toyota went up the track. That put both rows of racing into the mix as Waltrip clipped Harvick and Stewart went for an upside down ride on the #15, the #27 and the #5.

After that it was just all over the place… A few were in the right place and got out of it from the inside or somehow managed to thread it through but for the most part it was a job for the tow trucks, or, in the case of Jimmie Johnson, catching a ride on the damaged but still mobile #88.

Gordon was near the front and was able to get through on the bottom with kyle Busch in tow. Denny Hamlin was near the back and was able to check up and get through as things cleared. Greg Biffle was another “Chase” driver that was able to push through rather unmarked with the #16.

As it was, Kenseth took the win followed by Gordon, Busch, Ragan, Smith and Biffle. Keselowski was caught in the blender but still credited with a 7th place finish and stays on top of the “Chase”. Johnson and Hamlin remain two and three in the points on the way to Charlotte.

There were four cautions before this free-for-all wipeout. The fourth had set up the green-white-spin-crash-flip-checkered…

Leading up to Talladega, “Chase” drivers were concerned about this race and getting caught up in it. As it turned out the scenario was almost a Hollywood script. The “Big One” came on the last lap and was essentially caused by one of those concerned “Chase” drivers, Tony Stewart. The tension built all afternoon. There were a few touches and spins and fans on their feet watching to see if the trigger had been pulled. It hadn’t. Not until the white flag and Stewart made the error on the #55…

Stewart was obviously disappointed afterward. He was in position to make a big “Chase” move and instead moved backward while taking out a shot at a clean Talladega. He did not try to avoid blame, however. He openly said his move to try to get in front of the #55 was poorly made. His error on judging how fast Waltrip was coming up caused the clip that blocked it all up. He did not try to sidestep or throw it off on anyone else. Tony Stewart owned the wreck and owned up to it readily.

More fast tracks are coming up. First is Charlotte then Kansas. The big brakes come out for short track racing at Martinsville in a few weeks followed by three more shots to make a move to the front at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

Talladega down… The “Chase”, however, will not be done until the checkers drop at Homestaed. Let’s pick up the pieces and go racing!