NASCAR O'Reilly Series Chase still tightly knit at the top after Talladega race

Talladega's postseason race often throws a wrench into the top of the NASCAR standings, no matter the series. But Saturday's tame NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series race at the 2.66-mile superspeedway saw the top 10 littered with Chase drivers — seven of them, including the top six, to be exact — and no major shakeups at the top of the standings.

Top of NASCAR standings still intact after Talladega's postseason race

At seventh in the standings and 108 points back of the lead, race winner Sammy Smith's victory didn't do much for his title hopes, largely because Carson Kvapil (fifth, -59) finished runner-up and defending champion and points leader Jesse Love finished third to stay atop the standings.

Justin Allgaier, who trails Love by 19 points with two races remaining in the season, turned in an exceptionally clutch performance, finishing the race in fourth and scoring 18 stage points, including 10 for his Stage 2 victory. Fellow title contenders Sheldon Creed (fourth, -50) and Corey Day (third, -29) finished Saturday's race fifth and sixth, respectively.

Needless to say, the final two races of the season at Martinsville and Homestead will be pressure-packed for the top five drivers in the standings, all of whom have a shot to win the championship.

"We had a plan going into the race to get the 1, 7 and 17 good stage points," Smith said in his post-race news conference. "Obviously, put myself in a position there at the end to capitalize on the win."

Smith can and should be happy about his win, but Love, Allgaier, Day, Creed and Kvapil will leave Talladega overjoyed that their championships runs remain intact after a trip to NASCAR's most chaotic racetrack.

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.