McMurray takes victory at Talladega

Jamie McMurray took his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory in three years as he led the final 16 laps in a tense finish at Talladega.

The Earnhardt Ganassi driver hung back for much of a race in which championship rivals Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson and the latter's Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. did most of the leading.

McMurray did not hit the front until lap 172 of 188, easing forward with drafting help from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Earnhardt and Austin Dillon " driving for Stewart-Haas this weekend " lined up behind McMurray and seemed poised for a last-lap attack. But before they could make a move, Dillon spun in front of fourth-placed Stenhouse.

Dillon's car slid backward into the pack but was missed by everyone bar Casey Mears, whose Germain Ford sent the Stewart-Haas Chevrolet flying into the air as they made contact. Both were unhurt. That brought out an immediate yellow and stymied Earnhardt's hopes, allowing McMurray to win by a second.

Stenhouse took third ahead of Paul Menard. Kyle Busch recovered from going a lap down early on when he missed his stall in a crowded pitlane then picked up a pit speeding penalty to take fifth.

Front Row could not repeat its shock Talladega 1-2 from May, but did get sixth and seventh with David Ragan and David Gilliland.

Johnson lost out in the final shuffles and could only manage 13th as the leaders stayed single file and refused to form the usual drafting pack, while Kenseth's handling went off in the second half of the race and he slumped to 20th. That means Johnson now leads the championship by four points with four rounds to go.

Prior to the last-lap tangle, the only other crash came when Marcos Ambrose spun into the path of Juan Pablo Montoya.