Geico 500 Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – Uncertainty surrounded the first day of on-track activity at Talladega Superspeedway, with the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series getting their first glimpse at the new post-restrictor plate aero package that will be used at the 2.66-mile facility as well as Daytona for the foreseeable future. The new package features a tapered spacer instead of a restrictor plate, making it the first race since 1987 to feature the horsepower sapping device. To counteract the increase in horsepower, about 100 more than the teamsRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service It was the last question reporters asked Martin Truex Jr. on Friday before opening practice at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and it was the biggest smile they received. How important was it for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion to score his first win of the season – and first since joining Joe Gibbs Racing team – two weeks ago at Richmond, Va.? “It definitely felt good’’ Truex said, adding with a grin. “It was nice to go into an off-weekend with a winRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor TALLADEGA, Ala. – With the first off weekend of the season in the rear-view mirror, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series gets back to business in grand fashion as they get set to take on the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway and Sunday’s running of the GEICO 500. Racing at Talladega has always been crazy from the time the track opened back in 1969. From the driver boycott of the first race that led to unknown driver Richard Brickhouse scoring his one and only win in theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent The first time that Jeffrey Earnhardt will face double-duty in his career comes at the track synonymous with the family name, Talladega Superspeedway. Earnhardt will pilot the No. 18 iK9 Toyota Supra in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Money Lion 300 for Joe Gibbs Racing. In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500, he will drive the No. 81 Xtreme Concepts Toyota Camry for XCI Racing, which is making their premier series debut. Despite 154 combined starts across all of NASCAR’s National Series, Earnhardt hasRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer The perfect birthday gift has been given five days early to Justin Haley as Spire Motorsports announced Tuesday the 19-year-old will make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut at Talladega Superspeedway. Sunday’s GEICO 500 will not only mark Haley’s debut, it’ll also be his 20th birthday as he’ll be strapping in the No. 77 Fraternal Order of Eagles (F.O.E.) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. F.O.E. was Haley’s sponsor during his Gander Outdoors Truck Series career and earned all three of his wins with last season with thatRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Recent winning history on the Talladega Superspeedway high banks has been dominated by a distinctive blue oval. Ford drivers hold a seven-race winning streak as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Alabama for Sunday’s GEICO 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) – the winningest stretch for a manufacturer in more than a decade of competition on what is ironically considered one of the most unpredictable venues. Not only has Ford owned the party inRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer From starting 40th to narrowly dodging cars, Aric Almirola had his work cut out in Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. The No. 10 Smithfield Ford Fusion wound up in seventh after some considered him a superspeedway favorite to win after coming half a lap shy of winning in the Daytona 500. “We had a great Smithfield Ford Fusion the whole weekend. We put ourselves behind in qualifying but that was a nice way to battle back with a solid day for us,” said Almirola.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – Five years after pulling off the upset at Talladega for his last win in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, David Ragan found himself in the hunt once more, scoring a sixth-place finish when the checkered flag flew over Sunday’s GEICO 500. “We had a fast car all weekend,” Ragan said. “We qualified 12th and if it wasn’t for my speeding penalty early I think we could have run in the top-15 all day. Kudos to the Front Row Motorsports guys forRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer With the carnage in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Kevin Harvick was just happy to finish unscathed. Harvick finished just inside the top-five in his No. 4 Busch Beer Flannel Ford Fusion. Over the course of the last run, Harvick held course, following fellow Ford Performance drivers Joey Logano, Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch, and ahead of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. In a strategy seen repeatedly in recent years, nearly all of the Fords worked together to ensure that one would win. In the finalRead More

By: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – Joey Logano led a Ford feast on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, beating Kurt Busch to the checkered flag by .127 seconds to win the GEICO 500, the 10th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season. Logano led the final 42-of-188 laps, a race-high 70 overall, and controlled the action after a 14-car wreck on Lap 166 thinned the field. Logano led the field to the green flag for the final restart on Lap 172 and stayed out front the restRead More