Matt Kenseth wins, Tony Stewart wrecks field on last lap

• Tony Stewart causes multi-car crash while leading on final lap
• Dale Earnhardt Jr: 'It's bloodthirsty, if that's what people want.'
• Brad Keselowski extends points lead to 14 over Jimmie Johnson

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Matt Kenseth won the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 as mayhem exploded behind his No. 17 Ford on the final lap Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Kenseth took the lead off the final corner from Tony Stewart, who spun into traffic while trying to pull down in front of the No. 55 Toyota of Michael Waltrip. The contact briefly sent Stewart's No. 14 Chevrolet airborne and collected several Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders, including Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.

In all 25 cars were involved in the crash, cementing Talladega's legacy for "The Big One."

"It's my fault," Stewart said. "I take 100 percent of the blame. I was trying to win the race and stay ahead and Michael got a big head of a steam. I turned down across the front of his car. It was a mistake on my part, but it made for a bad day for a lot of other guys."

Points leader Brad Keselowski managed to skid through the mess unscathed on the apron and finished seventh, extending his margin in the Chase over Johnson by 14 points with six races remaining in the season.

Jeff Gordon finished second, followed by Kyle Busch, David Ragan and Greg Biffle. Regan Smith, Keselowski, Travis Kvapil, Ryan Newman and Jeff Burton rounded out the top 10.

Stewart, who talked to media after being checked out at the infield care center, took a stab at humor before admitted fault when asked if he was ok.

"I'm a finely tuned athlete. I have a good workout regimen," he said with a smile. Then he quickly took responsibility for the move that started the chain reaction.

Kenseth, like many drivers who either crossed the finish line or limped to the garage, said he didn't see much of what happened — or how.

Gordon said it was the craziest finish he'd ever seen at this race track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who gave teammate Jimmie Johnson a ride back to the infield as a fire in Johnson's car was being extinguished, has won five races at Talladega.

"If this was what we did every week, I wouldn't be doing it. I'll just put it to you that way. If this was how we raced every week, I would find another job," he said.

While fans like to watch restrictor-plate racing for these types of wrecks, Earnhardt Jr. said: "It's not safe. I mean, it's not ... It's bloodthirsty, if that's what people want. That's ridiculous."

The Hendrick Motorsports driver, whose father died in 2001 on the final lap of the Daytona 500 -- another restrictor-plate race -- explained that the car setup leads to how drivers handle the track.

"Thats what the package is doing. It's really not racing. It's a little disappointing. It cost a lot of money right there. It's just a lot of wasted ... If this is how we're going to race, and this is how we're going to continue to race and nothing is going to change, how about NASCAR build the cars. It'll save us a lot of money."

It's clear his attitude toward the track, where he's won five times, has changed.

"You just can't get away from each other out here. It's obvious. It's not a race. How many cars were in that wreck?" he said. "That's crazy. And that's OK with everybody? That's all right?"

The first 188 laps of the race (which was extended a lap past its scheduled distance in a green-white-checkered finish because of a spin by Jamie McMurray) were relatively tame, featuring only three crashes involving a handful of drivers.

One of them was Kurt Busch, whose tenure at Phoenix Racing ended in a bizarre way. After leading six
laps in his No. 51 Chevrolet, Busch ran out of fuel while in the lead pack and spun down the backstretch.
As safety workers tried to tend to the stalled car, Busch refired it and drove away without wearing his
helmet. That rendered him unable to heed the demands of NASCAR officials to stop as a safety worker's bag fell off his car and onto the track.

Busch, who was scheduled to drive the final six races of the season for Furniture Row Racing starting next week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was parked for the remainder of the race and could face further discipline from NASCAR.

"I guess they were telling me to stop," said Busch, who was suspended for a race earlier this season after berating a reporter and left Penske Racing after 2011 following several altercations with the media. "That's the competitor in me and the desire I have to stay in a race and keep going. I was hoping to get it back in the garage to work on it, and NASCAR started yelling at me and I didn't have my helmet on and couldn't hear them.

"Now I'm in worse trouble. This is the story of my life. Kurt Busch leads the race, runs out of gas, gets yelled at by NASCAR, and now I have a storm of media around me, and I don't know what to do or what to say next."