Geico 500 Tag

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

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service Lightning strikes and persistent rain forced postponement of Sunday’s GEICO 500 NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway until Monday afternoon. The 13th race of 2020—marking the halfway point of the Cup Series’ regular season—has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. ET Monday, to be broadcast on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. By the luck of the draw, Joe Gibbs Racing drivers Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch will lead the field to green from the top three spots on the grid.Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When the NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Talladega this weekend for the GEICO 500, it will be a bit of a throwback to the days when the 2.66-mile superspeedway was a mainstay on the summer schedule. Originally scheduled for late April, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the race to June and the heat of the Alabama summer. Since opening its doors in 1969, Talladega 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 Luis Torres, Staff Writer Multi-time Indianapolis 500 starter James Davison’s much talked about NASCAR Cup Series debut will have to wait another time. The Australian confirmed Thursday that he’ll no longer pilot the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports for this Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Instead, the ride will now be piloted by B.J. McLeod, who forgoes his own No. 78 Chevrolet to make the switch possible. Due to this, Garrett Smithley will run McLeod’s own car after getting the okay from Rick Ware Racing. Wow! This wasRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A sense of normalcy will begin to unfold at both Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway as NASCAR announced Tuesday they’ve approved those tracks to bring guests at the races under strict guidelines. Beginning with the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead June 14, invites will be given up to 1,000 South Florida service members as honorary guests who can see the race from the grandstands. Notably, representing the Homestead Air Reserve Base and U.S. Southern Command in Doral, Florida. “The ability to host these esteemed guests forRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Not since the days when the Earnhardt family reigned supreme on the restrictor plate tracks has a cheer from the crowd been as a loud as the one that echoed throughout the Talladega Superspeedway grandstands after Chase Elliott scored his first victory on the 2.66-mile superspeedway in Sunday’s GEICO 500. While Atlanta Motor Speedway is technically Elliott’s home track, being situated near his home town of Dawsonville, Georgia, the fans at Talladega made it clear their track is just as much aRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It was “Damage Inc.” on the final lap of Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama that ended in violent blows for several drivers, putting a damper on what was considered a thrilling 188-lap race. The situation began to unravel once the red-flag was lifted due to a multi-car crash on Lap 182 that ended with Matt DiBenedetto plowing into the back end of Chris Buescher in Turn 2. This led to the race restarting with just four laps to go. The chaos began toRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The ultimate equalizer known as Talladega Superspeedway proved to be an ultimate breakthrough result for two of this year’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders Daniel Hemric and Ryan Preece. Both drivers have shown flashes of brilliance in the first nine races, but luck has hampered their results. Sunday’s GEICO 500 changed all of that as both rookies scored their maiden top-fives in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after surviving the intense competition and violent crashes. After having a heroic Daytona 500 that can beRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent A decision to block one run cost Joey Logano a chance at victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500. In a highly competitive race at Talladega Superspeedway Logano was out front on the final restart in the No. 22 Money Lion Ford Mustang. The Team Penske driver successfully held off runs from Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, and Daniel Suarez without losing the top spot. However, when he blocked a run from Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott squeezed beneath defending series champion. Logano slidRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – After the checkered flag flew in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Brendan Gaughan couldn’t help but smile, noting how much fun he just had driving his way to an eighth-place finish on the day with his underdog team. “I was telling the guys, ‘I don’t know what y’all think is so tough about this. I show up once every three months and drive into the top-10!’ This stuff is easy,” Gaughan said. “I miss this sport. It is a lot ofRead More