It appears NASCAR can't take the fact that a non-Chase driver can actually beat the rest of the field. Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s Regan Smith clearly crossed the finish line ahead of the No. 20 of Tony Stewart, however NASCAR officials decided that Smith was out of line and out of bounds as he made his last lap pass going through the tri-oval. NASCAR gave the victory to the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in one of the worst calls in recent history.

When the No. 26 of Jamie McMurray cut a tire and got into the outside wall, the field was set for a Green-White-Checkered finish. Stewart lined up ahead of three DEI teammates with only three laps to go.

Staying in single-file for the majority of those three laps, Regan Smith decided to make his move for the win going into the tri-oval on the final lap. Smith looked to the outside of Stewart's No. 20 Subway Toyota Camry, but the two-time champ threw the block. Looking for his first career Cup Series win, Smith made his counter-move to the inside of Stewart and was forced to the apron as Stewart once again threw a block. As the field made their way towards the Start/Finish Line, Smith moved ahead of the No. 20 Toyota Camry and appeared to earn the first win of his career.

However, NASCAR decided the move was unacceptable and gave the win to Stewart.

"Well I knew I was going to get one shot at him," Smith explained as he climbed from his No. 01 Principle Financial Chevrolet, "Paul [Menard] was back there pushing me. I backed it up a little bit there going into three, and I knew where I was going to make my move at. I don't know, I was always told if you get forced down there [below the yellow line] you're the winner of the race. On the last lap anything goes, that's what they say in the drivers meeting and that's what I was going with. I got forced down there," Smith pleaded, "I had a nose inside of him and I could have piled up the whole field, and I guess that would have been a cooler finish."

As the race concluded, NASCAR officials had yet to determine where the No. 01 of Smith was scored in the running order, but to this young driver, he knew exactly where he should have been, "Doing burnouts out there right now."

Despite taking the Checkered Flag in the second-spot, Stewart was the one doing burnouts and celebrating in the Winner's Circle.

"Its one thing to get back to get back to Victory Lane, but to do it at Talladega, this is one of about four places I haven't won a Cup race. I've wanted to win here for so long," an ecstatic Tony Stewart explained. "I've got so many friends down here, Red Farmer, Donnie Allison and all these fans. There's so much orange up there. I know this hasn't been one of my favorite places for me on the fan side, people haven't always liked me here, but this is for those guys up in the stands today.

"I knew with three DEI cars behind me it was going to be tough to hold on," Stewart admitted. "We got a really good push from Regan on the back stretch there. I thought he was able to stay on the bumper and if he stayed there, there wasn't anyone going to get to by us, but it got away from us there and we got a gap and he got a good run. He got a good run and we just had to protect it at the end."

The problem for Stewart was that he was not able to protect the move and actually came home second. Smith clearly crossed the finish line first and should have scored the first win of his career. Try telling Cale Yarborough or Junior Johnson or Dale Earnhardt Sr. that you can't make that move for the win. NASCAR blew this call and should reverse it come Monday morning.

Tony Stewart clearly forced the No. 01 of Regan Smith below the yellow line, blocking Smith's move for the win. Stewart couldn't make the block work and should be forced with the second-place finish he earned. Instead, NASCAR officials decided Stewart deserved the win and gave Smith the 18th-spot. Regan Smith clearly earned this win and should be rewarded for his efforts. So, congratulations goes out to Regan Smith and the entire DEI organization for racing their guts out and proving they have what it takes to beat the best, whether NASCAR likes it or not.