Geico 500 Tag

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell had a stellar third-place result in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Although the day was owned by the big three teams of Penske, Gibbs and Hendrick, McDowell held his own tremendously. As seen with his stage finishes of eighth and third, the Front Row Motorsports veteran had a fast machine. When the race came down to overtime, McDowell had a shot of getting another victory this year. Like at Daytona, he had to deal with a couple Ford driversRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega was déjà vu all over again for Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team. In a repeat of the race last Fall at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, DiBenedetto was leading on the final lap in overtime only to see another driver snatch victory from his grasp, leaving him wondering what else he could have done to turn the tide in his favor to finally break through and win a NASCAR Cup Series race. DiBenedetto was a constant fixture atRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Despite sustaining damage in an early wreck, and despite leading only one lap in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Brad Keselowski nailed down an opportunistic overtime victory in the 10th event of the NASCAR Cup Series season. Surging to the front on the final lap, after fellow Ford driver Matt DiBenedetto abandoned the bottom lane and gave Keselowski a clear run to the front, Keselowski claimed his first victory of the season, the 35th of his career and his sixth at Talladega, tyingRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When the NASCAR Cup Series goes superspeedway racing at Talladega, it’s not a matter of if someone is going to get turned and sent for a ride, it’s just a matter of when. In the closing laps of the first stage of Sunday’s GEICO 500, the inevitable crash broke out, with Joey Logano’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford getting the worst of it with an airborne tumble in Turn 3. Running in third place behind leader Matt DiBenedetto and teammate Ryan Blaney, Logano was biding hisRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a three-race stretch of short tracks, the second quarter of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule begins with a visit to Talladega Superspeedway for Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500. The first nine races of the season have embodied unpredictability, with eight different winners in the first quarter of the season. That trend is likely to continue this weekend as superspeedway racing, especially at Talladega, is all about unpredictability. Since opening its doors in 1969, the 2.66-mile track just off Interstate 20 in Eastern AlabamaRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Since the discovery of a noose hanging in the garage at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, NASCAR has been in the process of conducting its own investigation into the matter, releasing the findings in a Thursday teleconference. As NASCAR President Steve Phelps detailed, the timeline of events between Sunday and the conclusion of the investigation is as follows: The noose is found by a member of the No. 43 team sometime between inspection and pre-race on Sunday. Sunday, 4:30 pm: NASCAR is alerted to the presence ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor The FBI Office in Birmingham, Alabama has wrapped up its investigation into the noose found in the garage area of Bubba Wallace’s No. 43 car at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, concluding there was no hate crime committed. In a statement released by the agency Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and FBI Special Agent in Charge Johnnie Sharp, Jr. summarized the results of the investigation, noting the noose had been present in that garage stall since last year. “On Monday, fifteen FBI special agents conductedRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After an emotional 24 hours, Bubba Wallace was all smiles after climbing out of his Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet at the conclusion of Monday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Not even the heinous act of an unknown person or persons placing a noose in Wallace’s garage stall late Sunday, which shook the sport to its core and made waves far and wide across the sports landscape, could deter Wallace from the path he has been on as of late. Instead of being a deterrent, Sunday’s discoveryRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was just 0.007 seconds shy of capturing his first NASCAR Cup Series win since 2017 while Aric Almirola took a wild slide to cross the line in third during Monday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Both drivers played a pivotal role on the overtime finish, but ultimately ended up tangling each other while fighting for the win. Not only that, but also trying to save fuel. It took a backseat once the field took the white flag, as the new word became charge. KevinRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service An event that began with a massive show of support for Bubba Wallace ended with one of Wallace’s best friends, Ryan Blaney, celebrating in Victory Lane for the second straight race at Talladega Superspeedway. In a frenetic overtime dash, Blaney won Monday’s GEICO 500 by .007 seconds over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as crashing cars bounced of each other and the outside wall behind the top two finishers. The victory was Blaney’s first of the season, second straight at the 2.66-mile track and the fourthRead More