NASCAR Talladega: Joey Logano wins to progress in 2016 Chase

The unusually uneventful race picked up in the closing laps when two cautions came out for minor incidents, causing Team Penkse driver Logano to vigorously defend his lead at the restarts and into overtime.

Logano took the spoils despite a penalty for driving an entire lap with a front jack attached to his car after the first set of stops.

Hamlin spent the majority of the race battling with Austin Dillon over the final Chase elimination spot.

His third place finish secured him a place in the next round, eliminating Dillon along with Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr and Brad Keselowski.

Hamlin's Joe Gibbs Racing team-mates - Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch - dropped back early in a strategic move to stay out the way of any potential wrecks, and held those positions all race, ensuring they progressed to the next round of the Chase.

Polesitter Truex, who entered the race with a 13-point buffer to the cut-off, continued a run of bad luck when his engine blew on lap 41 of the planned 188.

Logano's team-mate Keselowski struggled with debris stuck in his car for a significant portion of the race, with his engine temperature rising by 20 degrees before he was able to shake it by sacrificing positions early on.

Later on Ryan Blaney assisted in removing debris again, but it came too late and Keselowski parked his smoking car on lap 145.

Elliott wasn't able to pull off the win he needed to take his Hendrick Chevrolet into the next round of the Chase, despite following an eight car train into the closing stages.

Drivers progressing into the Round of 8 are: Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.

RESULTS - 192 LAPS:

CHASE STANDINGS: