Team Penske continues to dominate Talladega as Joey Logano takes the checkered flag for his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of the season.

It's been 36 races since the No. 22 got to park in victory lane, but it made a triumphant return on Sunday as Joey Logano drove across the finish line first at the Geico 500. He led a race-high 70 laps on his way to his third career win at Talladega, the most he has at any track on the NASCAR circuit. Team Penske drivers have now won five out of the last six races at Talladega.

"I’m so proud to get this team back in Victory Lane – it’s been a year!" Logano exulted in Victory Lane. "It feels so good to be back in Victory Lane. There is no feeling like this. It feels so good. It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been getting consistent. We’ve been scoring points, and we knew a win was just around the corner. I don’t have to worry about the whole playoff thing anymore."

It was a big day for the Ford Fusion, six out of the top-seven finishers were Ford drivers.

"What a fast Ford," Logano said. "Teamwork is what did it today. And not just the Team Penske Fords but all of the Fords out there – Kevin (Harvick), Kurt (Busch). We worked really well together. We got a blue oval back in Victory Lane, so proud of that."

One of the secrets to winning at Talladega is avoiding "The Big One", which reared its ugly head with only 23 laps remaining when Jimmie Johnson got loose and triggered a fourteen car pile-up. The top-five was unaffected, but the accident ended the day for pre-race favorite and Logano's Team Penske teammate Brad Keselowski among others.

Kurt Busch finished runner-up, his first top-five finish of the season. He was more than happy with his No. 41 car today.

"It was one of the best Fords I have ever had here, and it was fun to race it and lead some laps and be right there, but I just didn’t get the job done." said Busch. "The 22 outfoxed us, and we didn’t get the push from behind to go on offense at the end – but a top-five day, so I can’t really complain."

Chase Elliott came in third place, his No. 9 Chevrolet lost among a sea of Fords. He couldn't find a drafting partner to make a push for the lead on the final lap.

"It’s tough," Elliott said. "You would think those guys want to win the race around me, but they just ride and ride and ride and they have to know in their minds they are waiting too long, even for themselves. I thought maybe one of them would get greedy and want to win, I certainly did. I knew if I went by myself it wasn’t going to work. For what it was, it worked out pretty good."

Kevin Harvick, who started on the pole, finished in fourth place. He has seven top-five finishes in the season's ten races. Last year's race winner Rickey Stenhouse Jr. followed him across the finish line in fifth place.

David Ragan, Aric Almirola, Alex Bowman, Ryan Newman and Daniel Suarez round out the top-ten. Kyle Busch finished in thirteenth place, snapping his three-race winning streak. He made a strong run to reach the top-five in the latter stages of the race, but a slow pit stop dropped him to eighteenth place and he struggled to gain position at the end.

Brad Keselowski was the stage one segment winner, while Paul Menard was the winner of stage two. Both drivers lost their shot at capturing the checkered flag when they were caught up in "The Big One." Each driver receives a bonus point towards the postseason for winning a stage segment. Menard's segment win was the first of his career.

Click here for full race results.

Kyle Busch continues to lead the NASCAR driver point standings. He is followed by race winner Joey Logano, who cut his deficit behind Busch from 56 to 30 points.

You can see the updated Driver's Points Standings here.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads north to Delaware next Sunday with the AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway.

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_{Author: @chops316
Editor: @liberty-minded}

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