TALLADEGA, Ala. _ Joey Logano won in overtime at Talladega on Sunday to advance among the final eight drivers competing for a Chase championship.
Brian Scott was second, followed by Denny Hamlin, who squeezed by Austin Dillon in a tiebreaker to also advance in the Chase. Chase Elliott also was eliminated from Chase contention, as were Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski.
Logano _ who drives for Penske Racing _ very likely needed a victory to advance at Talladega, an elimination race.
"It feels good to win at a clutch moment like that," Logano said. "What a great day. You never know you have it until the end."
Others were not so fortunate.
Truex and Keselowski began the day as a Chase contenders. They both left as odd men out after engine trouble crippled their chances at making a championship run.
Truex went out on Lap 41 as Talladega wiped him off the Chase grid of drivers advancing to the elite eight. On Lap 144, Keselowski was forced off the track with engine problems.
"Something let go," Keselowski said of his Miller Lite Ford. "I'm not sure exactly what, but it's unfortunate. ... It was a lot of fun to be leading at Talladega.
"I really like this track. It's been good to us and there are a lot of great fans here today. We were doing the best we could to make a show of it and have some fun and lead some laps and just happy and proud to have a fast car."
Keselowski and Truex were among the most dominant drivers on the track this season, each with four victories.
"Definitely disappointed. What else can you say?" Truex said outside the garage, his dysfunctional No. 78 Toyota behind him. "We have a team capable of competing for the championship. Unfortunately we're not going to be able to show that."
Truex began the day up front as the pole-sitter and ranked sixth among the Chase drivers competing to advance.
It all ended in a cloud of smoke, literally.
"There's still a chance of a miracle, but I don't see that happening," Truex said. "We will hold our heads high."
It's been a newsy weekend for Truex, who began the race under added intrigue when NASCAR announced it was confiscating a jack bolt off his car prior to qualifying. Any points deduction would have been crippling for Truex.
It's now a moot point.
