Five to Watch: 2020 GEICO 500 at Talladega

The NASCAR Cup Series is back at Talladega Superspeedway for the GEICO 500, which was originally slated for April 26 and then rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will mark the 102nd race for the series at the mammoth 2.66-mile track and second superspeedway race of the year after the season-opening Daytona 500. Here's a look at the key story lines and stats for Monday's race (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

LEARNING NEW RULES PACKAGE

With no practice, drivers will take to the track for the first time in the race with a new superspeedway rules package. After a study of the last-lap accident in the Daytona 500, competition officials announced changes that include the elimination of aero ducts and a reduction in the size of the throttle body. "The first stage of the race will definitely be a learning curve for all of us," said Austin Dillon, who finished sixth last fall at Talladega Superspeedway. "Set-up wise should not be a problem. I hope not. But, just the way we race and the runs you get, we'll be learning that first stage."

PENSKE POWER

Team Penske has combined to win seven of the last 11 races at Talladega Superspeedway. Ryan Blaney won last fall for his first win at the track to join Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, who each won three races in that span. Keselowski has five overall wins to lead all active drivers. Blaney is the only Penske driver yet to win in 2020 but has finished fourth or better in five of the last six races. "As far as the momentum side, yeah, you feel good for sure, stringing together some decent runs," Blaney said. "It's hard to kind of carry that over to Talladega. You just never know what can happen."

NEW WINNER?

When it comes to Talladega Superspeedway, you can never count anyone out, and with only seven different winners in the first 12 races, Talladega could be the site for an eighth driver in Victory Lane in 2020. Clint Bowyer (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Aric Almirola (1), Ryan Blaney (1), Kyle Busch (1), Matt Kenseth (1) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (1) are the previous Talladega winners who have not won yet this year. Almirola is the only driver who has finished in the top 10 in each of the last seven races at Talladega. Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman are among the best drivers who have yet to win at the 2.66-mile track with respective total top 10s of 20 and 15.

MANUFACTURER TEAMWORK

Defending GEICO 500 winner Chase Elliott and the Chevrolet camp were able to work together in this event last year to give the manufacturer six of the top-eight finishers. Since that race, it has been even harder to coordinate during the high-speed game of chess. "I think your competitors have gotten smarter with how to defend and how to break it up and that makes it really difficult," Elliott said on MRN Outloud this week. "So we’ve been trying to work through that and figure out what the best plan of attack is for this weekend."

TRUEX SEEKING SUPERSPEEDWAY WIN

Martin Truex Jr. has won at just about every type of track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule but is still seeking that elusive win on a superspeedway. Truex will start from the pole after the random draw and will be making his 61st start on a superspeedway between Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Truex came close twice at Daytona, finishing second in 2016 and 2018, with his best at Talladega being a pair of fifth-place finishes.