Geico 500 Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – Over the past year, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has been a force to be reckoned with on the restrictor plate tracks, with his two wins from last season coming at the races that employ the horsepower sapping device. A year after breaking through for his first career win at Talladega, Stenhouse had the win in Sunday’s GEICO 500 in his grasp, but ran out of time to make it happen, bringing home a top-five finish instead. “It was a lot of fun outRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer A late charge for the win fell through for Kurt Busch, as he tired catching race winner Joey Logano in the tri-oval. With little drafting help, Busch had to settle for second in Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, leading five of 188 laps. It’s Busch’s first top-five since Kansas last October, and his eighth at the 2.66-mile circuit. “We just needed the assistance from behind,” said Busch The 17 car (Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.) was strong. All the Fords were great today. I was hopingRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer Handling and patience was key in the GEICO 500, but it left many, including Chase Elliott without enough time to make a run at the win. Elliott finished inside the top-five at Talladega Superspeedway for the first time since 2016 after staying ahead of the carnage. Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ran inside the top-five for much of the final run to the finish. He tried to work both the inside and outside lines to find the energy to move forward. Elliott workedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – There are three constants in life: death, taxes, and multi-car crashes in restrictor plate races. On Sunday, the latter came just 71 laps into the GEICO 500 at Talladega, ending the day for a handful of cars. Throughout the first two stages, handling issues were prevalent throughout the field, with drivers complaints being heard up and down pit road. As they came off of Turn 2 and entered the backstretch, the inevitable crash happened. Erik Jones clipped the apron, causing his No.Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – Stewart-Haas Racing has served notice that they will be contenders when it comes to Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega after teammates Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch laid down the fastest times in qualifying to secure the front row. Harvick was fastest in the first round and backed it up in the final round with a lap of 49.247 seconds, 194.448 mph to put his Ford at the top of the board. The fast laps weren’t without issue though as Harvick had startedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – If there’s one thing that is always a constant at the restrictor plate tracks of Talladega and Daytona, it’s that smaller budget teams can be right in the mix with the larger teams of the sport, jockeying for position at the front of the field and giving themselves a shot to pull off the upset and win. Heading into Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega, Go Fas Racing and driver Matt DiBenedetto should be a combination to watch as the No. 32 FordRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – Heading into Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega, both Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch have a trip to victory lane on the brain, but for the two drivers, their motivation to do so couldn’t be further apart. Keselowski enters the weekend as the winningest active driver on the 2.66-mile track, with five wins to his name. The last of which came the last time the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visited the track last fall. Since getting his first career win at theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – As expected, speeds were up past 200 mph when the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series cars hit the track for practice on Friday at Talladega Superspeedway, but those speeds would reach out a bite a handful of cars in the second and final practice session of the day. After laying down a lap of 46.947 seconds, 203.975 mph, Jamie McMurray appeared to cut a left rear tire down the backstretch less than 10 minutes into the session, sending his No. 1 ChevroletRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – After Roush-Fenway Racing announced that Matt Kenseth would be returning to drive the No. 6 car on a part-time basis later this season, there was one person that had been silent on the news — current driver of the car, Trevor Bayne. On Friday, Bayne finally broke his silence and said his peace about the deal that will see Bayne and Kenseth splitting time behind the wheel for the remainder of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. “First of all,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor TALLADEGA, Alabama – It may not be his hometown of Olive Branch, Mississippi, but Talladega Superspeedway sure feels like home for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. The Roush-Fenway Racing driver returns to the 2.66-mile superspeedway this weekend with an eye on another trip to victory lane after breaking through for his first career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win in this race one year ago. Not only was it his first Cup Series win, it also came at the track closest to his hometown in north Mississippi,Read More