Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Tag

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

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