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(AP Photo/Glenn Smith)
NASCAR drivers Mark Martin, left, and Jeff Gordon speak during a news conference Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009 in Talladega, Ala. Qualifying for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., was canceled due to rain.
TALLADEGA, Ala.— NASCAR stopped the bumping, at least for a while.
There was nothing that could be done about the blocking.
In the end, Sunday looked like most every other event at Talladega Superspeedway: There was a surprise winner, two harrowing accidents, angry drivers and a frustrated fans over a vanilla race at NASCAR's most spectacular track.
And oh, by the way, Jimmie Johnson likely sealed his record fourth-consecutive championship.
"I was so concerned about this race," the three-time defending champion admitted.
With good reason.
Racing at Talladega comes with a ton of unpredictability because of the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates used to curb speeds at the 2.66-mile speedway. It creates tight packs of racing and drivers need to use aggressive measures to move through the field.
That usually leads to multi-car accidents known as "the Big One" _ and most everyone believes the final finishing order is akin to playing the lottery.
"For the most part, you're at the mercy of the whole field," said five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. "You come here, you just sit in the bus, wait for the damn race to start and see what your number is at the end of the deal."
McMurray wound up at the top of the board, snapping an 86-race winless streak dating to July 2007 at Daytona by hanging on when the racing heated up.
