Kligerman earns 1st victory with Talladega win

That's when it "all kind of fell apart," Buescher said. "Ty hooked up with me and pushed me up to the front, but I think we got there too early."

Kligerman, with help from Sauter, came charging along and raced into the lead, and Buescher could do nothing as he tried to back up to Dillon so the two could hook bumpers and try to push back into the lead.

Then Buescher said he nearly spun in the trioval, and didn't get another chance as drivers jockeying for position started a multi-truck wreck that brought out the caution.

"A third-place run for us in the thick of the championship battle is a good day at Talladega," Buescher said. "Everybody wants to win here, but third place is a lot better than being caught up in one of the big wrecks."

One of those wrecks collected Nelson Piquet Jr., last week's winner at Las Vegas, who thought his result was more about the nuances of Talladega and his attitude than anything else.

"These superspeedways are just complicated," said the Brazilian. "Maybe it's my fault and I was too pessimistic when I got here. I don't like this place, I don't like the way it happens."