Talladega, Ala. — During a day that started with NASCAR banning bump-drafting in the corners of Talladega Superspeedway, Ford fans saw Elliott Sadler return to a Ford cockpit and lead Sunday’s race while most drivers coasted until the end.

Sadler finished ninth and was among five Ford drivers in the top-20, including winner Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle’s fourth place finish and David Ragan taking the FR9 to a 17th place finish in its debut.

Former Ford driver, Ryan Newman was sent airborne with five laps remaining in the race, causing a red-flag delay as Newman was cut out of his car. The race restarted, but ended under caution that sent another former Ford driver, Mark Martin, flipping in his car across the track.

Kasey Kahne finished second, followed by rookie Joey Logano. Jeff Burton completed the top-5.

GREG BIFFLE – NO. 16 3M FORD FUSION
“It all depends on where you’re at and where you’re running. We got our track position at the end and we knew they were all gonna wreck, so we just played it smart and got through that stuff. I’m excited for Jamie McMurray. Those guys ran good. Our restrictor plate program has been getting better and better. We had a good car, but we just lost our track position there that one time and we were fighting to get it back, but it was a good run. I’m glad we avoided the big wreck.”

WHAT WAS YOUR TAKE ON THE PRE-RACE DRIVER’S MEETING? DID THAT AFFECT THE KIND OF RACING WE SAW?
“Yeah, I think so. I think the guys were a little more cautious. I think that’s why you didn’t see some of those big wrecks. The guys kept it a little more cool and up in three and four they ran into each other pretty hard up there. They tried to wreck three or four times and it just didn’t happen.”

SOME SAID THE DRIVERS MAY HAVE RUN SINGLE-FILE AS SOME SORT OF PROTEST. IS THERE ANY WAY THAT COULD HAPPEN?
“No, if you look back at the races in the past, we’ve done the same thing. Three years ago, I was running fourth and we were all lined up on the top. I think Reutimann was right in front of me and blew up or something, so we’ve done that here a lot.”

ELLIOTT SADLER – NO. 19 STANLEY FORD FUSION
WHAT IS THE FIX FOR THIS KIND OF RACING?
“I don’t know. I really don’t. I think NASCAR and all the drivers should sit in a private room, lock the doors and have a discussion and try to fix this together. That’s what I’d like to see.”

WHAT HAPPENED?
“I didn’t see what happened. All I saw out of the corner of my eye was the 14 car hit me on the right side. I don’t know what happened. I’ve got to look at the replay. It’s just tough. I was really proud of my car today. We led some laps and could push to the front. I was trying to hang out in the back and hang out as late as I could until it was time to go, and about the time I went the wreck happened. It was just a tough race for us, but we got a top 10. We got some momentum on our side and we’ll take that with us to Texas.”

DAVID RAGAN – NO. 6 UPS FORD FUSION
“Our UPS Ford was pretty fast, but we were just at the mercy of everyone around us. It was just kind of a terrible race today in general. There was a lot of single-file racing. I know it’s exciting there at the end, but what happens is NASCAR slows these cars down. They’re too easy to drive and everyone just gets kind of crazy. It’s a shame to tear up a lot of good race cars like that for kind of being stupid, but that’s restrictor plate racing. I’m glad we only have to do it three or four times a year.”

HOW WAS THE NEW ENGINE?
“The new engine performed great. We didn’t have any issues. We ran cool all day and had good power with great fuel mileage. It’ll be interesting to see when those guys get back to North Carolina. They’ll look at the valvetrain and the inside, but from where I was sitting it was pretty good.”

PAUL MENARD – NO. 98 MENARDS FORD FUSION
“I was just trying to go to the back and ride for a little bit and the left rear or right rear popped. The car wiggled going into one, I corrected it, and then it just caught and went straight into the fence. We had a really fast race car. I was really happy with it in the draft on Friday. The first lap or two today I was just trying to see what I had and it felt good, so I was just bailing to the back. The guys worked really hard, but now we’ve got a destroyed race car.”