Geico 500 Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Kyle Busch found himself in the right place at the right time Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, scoring his second win of the season after a crash in overtime brought the GEICO 500 to an early end. The driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was running third in double overtime when Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney, who were running first and second, made contact, sending Wallace spinning and allowing Busch to ascend to the lead. As Wallace’s Toyota spun back throughRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – It appears the days of just riding around at superspeedways and biding your time until the end of the race are over. In the Next Gen era, track position has become even more important at the majority of the tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, especially on superspeedways, where it now takes an aggressive, concerted team-based effort to move forward in the pack instead of a driver being able to take the race into his own hands and power to the frontRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Denny Hamlin will have the best seat in the house when the green flag waves on Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega after scoring the pole. The two-time winner at the 2.66-mile superspeedway propelled his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to the top of the scoring pylon with a lap of 52.979 seconds, 180.751 mph to capture the first superspeedway pole of his NASCAR Cup Series career. “This was the first one for sure. I was well aware this was my first speedwayRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. — From the smallest track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule to the largest. Following last weekend’s race on the flat half-mile of Martinsville, it’s on to the biggest and baddest track on the circuit – the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway and Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500. Since opening its doors in 1969, the track just off Interstate 20 in Eastern Alabama has been a wild card on the schedule with the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing on full display over the past half-century,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – For the second day in a row, it was déjà vu for the No. 3 car. After Jeffrey Earnhardt piloted a Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet to second-place in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Austin Dillon was dealt the same outcome when he climbed behind the wheel of his RCR No. 3 car in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega. Coming down to the checkered flag, Dillon appeared to be well on his way to a top-10 result, running fourth on the bottomRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Erik Jones had the checkered flag in sight Sunday at Talladega only to see it snatched from his grasp in the waning moments of the GEICO 500. Starting the day in 16th place, Jones worked his way to the front of the field and seemed to be in the catbird seat to score his first win since 2019 and the first win for Petty GMS Motorsports since Aric Almirola won at Daytona in 2014. Jones was the most consistent driver throughout the race,Read More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service One lap. That’s all it took for Ross Chastain to drop a watermelon and raise a trophy in celebration. The 29-year old Floridian led only the last – typically frantic – lap in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Sunday to take his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory. Chastain was running third behind Erik Jones and Kyle Larson with one lap remaining. Larson pulled out of line to the outside poised to make a pass for the lead. But, Jones pulledRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – With no practice and only qualifying ahead of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega, the NASCAR Cup Series drivers had a light day on Saturday. Meeting with the media on Saturday morning, here are some of the storylines that came out of the session with the top-30 in points. RFK Racing Leaning on Keselowski’s Superspeedway Success at Talladega When it comes to superspeedway racing, RFK Racing has an ace in the hole with co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski in the fold. With six winsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – A pair of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas will lead the field to the green in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega after flexing their muscles in qualifying on the 2.66-mile superspeedway. Christopher Bell led the way with a lap of 52.927 seconds (180.928 mph) to clinch his second career NASCAR Cup Series pole, edging out teammate Martin Truex Jr by .081 seconds. “There is not much to say about the lap, just a lot to say about Toyota, TRD, the engine package they broughtRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Bubba Wallace started the 2022 season on a high note, finishing second in the Daytona 500, but since then he and 23XI Racing have been on a downward trajectory. As the NASCAR Cup Series heads into Talladega, where Wallace was victorious last fall, the 28-year-old is hoping Sunday’s GEICO 500 will get the No. 23 team pointed back in the right direction. Wallace is no slouch on the superspeedways, with four top-five finishes at Daytona, including two runner-up finishes in the last twoRead More