Posted on by Data Skrive

Gray Gaulding finished eighth in the Unhinged 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.

Gaulding did not add to his season point total.

Gaulding started in 21st position. The fifth-year driver has picked up one top-five and four top-10 finishes in his career.

Gaulding made his career debut at Talladega Superspeedway in Saturday’s race.

The Colonial Heights, Virginia native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 24.5 and completing the race 13 places ahead of his 20.8 career average finish.

Gaulding’s eighth-place finish was against 39 other drivers. The race endured six cautions and 22 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 22 lead changes.

Justin Haley earned the victory in the race, and Ross Chastain finished second. Jeb Burton placed third, Austin Cindric secured fourth, and Brett Moffitt grabbed the No. 5 spot.

After Haley won the first stage, Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 car to victory in Stage 2.

Gray Gaulding Driver Page | Get Gaulding Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Alex Labbe finished ninth in the Unhinged 300 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.

The top 10 finish for Labbe added 28 points to his season total.

Labbe started in 27th position. The fifth-year driver has three top-10 finishes in his career.

Saturday was Labbe’s second career start at Talladega Superspeedway.

The Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada native began the race one spot behind his career mark of 25.7, but finished 14 places ahead of his career average of 22.6.

Labbe competed against 39 other drivers on the way to his ninth-place finish. The race endured six cautions and 22 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 22 lead changes.

Justin Haley secured the victory in the race, and Ross Chastain finished second. Jeb Burton crossed the finish line third, Austin Cindric took fourth, and Brett Moffitt grabbed the No. 5 spot.

After Haley won the first stage, Chase Briscoe drove the No. 98 car to the win in Stage 2.

Alex Labbe Driver Page | Get Labbe Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Aric Almirola finished third in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

Almirola’s top five finish added 34 points to his season total.

Almirola started in 15th position. The 13th-year driver has earned two career victories, with 19 top-five finishes and 65 results inside the top 10.

Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway is a familiar place for Almirola, who has one career win at the track. His third-place finish also marks the fourth time he has finished in the top five at Talladega and his eighth top 10.

The Tampa, Florida native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting six spots higher than his career mark of 20.8 and completing the race 19 places ahead of his 21.9 career average finish.

Almirola battled against 40 other drivers on the way to his third-place finish. The race endured eight cautions and 33 caution laps. There were 57 lead changes.

Ryan Blaney earned the checkered flag in the race, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr in the No. 2 spot. After Almirola’s third-place finish, Denny Hamlin secured fourth, and Erik Jones rounded out the top five.

After Tyler Reddick won Stage 1, Stenhouse drove the No. 47 car to the win in Stage 2.

Aric Almirola Driver Page | Get Almirola Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Data Skrive

Erik Jones finished fifth in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

Jones’ top five finish added 32 points to his season total.

Jones started in 18th position. The fifth-year driver has earned two career victories, with 26 top-five finishes and 53 results inside the top 10.

The fifth-place result on Monday was the first time Jones has cracked the top 10 at Talladega Superspeedway.

The Byron, Michigan native began the race five spots behind his career mark of 12.8, but finished 13 places ahead of his career average of 17.6.

Jones took on a field of 40 drivers on the way to his fifth-place finish. The race endured eight cautions and 33 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 57 lead changes.

Ryan Blaney finished first in the race, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished second. Aric Almirola placed third, with Denny Hamlin securing fourth place. Jones rounded out the top five.

After Tyler Reddick won the first stage, Stenhouse drove the No. 47 car to victory in Stage 2.

Erik Jones Driver Page | Get Jones Gear | Race Center

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Chris Buescher finished sixth in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

The top 10 finish for Buescher added 33 points to his season total.

Buescher started in 21st position and led four laps in the race. The sixth-year driver has one career victory, with five top-five finishes and 14 results inside the top 10.

Monday’s race was Buescher’s ninth career start at Talladega Superspeedway.

The Prosper, Texas native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting four spots higher than his career mark of 25 and completing the race 16 places ahead of his 21.9 career average finish.

Buescher took on a field of 40 drivers on the way to his sixth-place finish. The race endured eight cautions and 33 caution laps. There were 57 lead changes.

Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag in the race, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr followed in second. Aric Almirola crossed the finish line third, Denny Hamlin secured fourth, and Erik Jones finished off the top five.

After Tyler Reddick won Stage 1, Stenhouse drove the No. 47 car to the win in Stage 2.

Chris Buescher Driver Page | Get Buescher Gear | Race Center

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Alex Bowman finished seventh in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

The top 10 finish for Bowman added 39 points to his season total.

Bowman started in eighth position and led 12 laps in the race, holding the lead a total of four times. The seventh-year driver has earned two career victories, with 12 top-five finishes and 29 results inside the top 10.

In his career at Talladega Superspeedway, Bowman has compiled one top-five finish and his seventh-place result marks the second top 10.

The Tucson, Arizona native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting eight spots higher than his career mark of 16.3 and completing the race 12 places ahead of his 18.8 career average finish.

Bowman’s seventh-place finish was against a field of 40 drivers. The race endured eight cautions and 33 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 57 lead changes.

Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag in the race, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished second. Aric Almirola placed third, Denny Hamlin brought home fourth, and Erik Jones closed out the top five.

After Tyler Reddick won the first stage, Stenhouse drove the No. 47 car to victory in Stage 2.

Alex Bowman Driver Page | Get Bowman Gear | Race Center

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John H. Nemechek finished eighth in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday to collect his first career top-10 finish.

The top 10 finish for Nemechek added 29 points to his season total.

Nemechek started in 22nd position.

The Mooresville, North Carolina native’s starting and finishing positions compared favorably to his career averages, starting three spots higher than his career mark of 24.6 and completing the race 14 places ahead of his 21.8 career average finish.

Nemechek’s eighth-place finish was against 40 other drivers. The race endured eight cautions and 33 caution laps. Prior to the checkered flag there were 57 lead changes.

Ryan Blaney secured the win in the race, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr followed in second. Aric Almirola placed third, Denny Hamlin took fourth, and Erik Jones closed out the top five.

After Tyler Reddick won the first stage, Stenhouse drove the No. 47 car to the win in Stage 2.

John H. Nemechek Driver Page | Get Nemechek Gear | Race Center

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 12 Team Penske Ford of Ryan Blaney passed post-race technical inspection Monday after winning the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Blaney’s race-winning car was found to be compliant with the 2020 NASCAR Rule Book after the 191-lap event that finished in overtime at the 2.66-mile track. 

RELATED: Official results

No teams were found with any lug nuts not safely secured in a post-race check. With post-race teardown complete, the race results are official.

This is the second year of a post-race process to bring a more timely approach to inspection for all three NASCAR national series. Competition officials announced before the 2019 season that thorough post-race inspections would take place shortly after the checkered flag at the track instead of midweek at the NASCAR Research & Development Center. Those inspections come with a stiffer deterrence structure that includes disqualification for significant rules infractions.

NASCAR will still inspect cars at the R&D Center as needed to monitor trends and parts compliance.

Posted on by Holly Cain

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 fourth of his career.

RELATED: Official race results | Stage recaps

It was a day that started ominously — and not because of the rain clouds that threatened to delay the race for a second straight day and in fact caused a stoppage of 57 minutes, 18 seconds after 57 laps were complete on Monday. News that a noose had been discovered Sunday evening in the garage stall of Wallace, the NASCAR Cup Series’ only Black driver, brought strong statements of condemnation — later Tuesday, the FBI announced Wallace had not been the target of a hate crime.

Drivers and their crews assembled before the race to escort Wallace and his car to the head of the grid. The lasting image of the pre-race was Wallace being embraced by a succession of his fellow competitors.

Nearly five hours later, Wallace was congratulating Blaney in Victory Lane after a scintillating conclusion that saw Blaney knocking the Toyota of Erik Jones into the outside wall as the cars approached the finish line — and still managing to beat Stenhouse to the stripe by roughly 12 inches.

“I just kind of blocked, just trying to block the best we could,” Blaney said. “Ride the top, ride the bottom. The 20 (Jones) got to my outside, and I tried to go up there to slow him down and … I’m not sure, I don’t know … three-wide, I hate that I hit him, but just kind of trying to beat and bang to the line and things like that.

“We just edged it out, but I’m really proud of this whole Menards/Sylvania Ford Mustang team. It’s been a cool year so far, and I’m really excited to get our first win of the year at a cool place. Thank you everybody for coming… That was a lot of fun.”

Ford drivers have won nine of the last 10 Talladega Cup races.

Aric Almirola slid sideways across the finish line to claim third place, with Denny Hamlin and Jones following in fourth and fifth, respectively. Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, John Hunter Nemechek, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick completed the top 10.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race weekend is a doubleheader, scheduled Saturday and Sunday at Pocono Raceway.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Staff Report

After a late-stage caution, the NASCAR Cup Series restarted the GEICO 500 with two laps to go in Stage 2. Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. battled back and forth for the lead, as the two were pushed by other drivers and led the dominant lanes. Ultimately, Kyle Busch gave Stenhouse the shove he needed to capture the stage win.

Lap 98 to Lap 160 — end of Stage 2 — saw Stenhouse and Blaney officially trade off the front spot five times, not counting and jockeying during the laps themselves.

RELATED: Stage 2 results | Drivers who won on Monday

Blaney ended up second, with Busch crossing third. Brad Keselowski, who was helping Blaney, came in fourth. Rookie Christopher Bell was then fifth.

Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace, rookie Cole Custer, Chris Buescher and William Byron completed the top 10 in order.

Byron broke away with one lap to go in the stage and nabbed the lead for a hot second, but his outside lane wasn’t able to keep up with the ones Stenhouse and Blaney led.

The caution came out with six laps to go for debris on the track. Blaney held the lead at the time, with Stenhouse in second. The front cars did not pit, but those further back did.

Stage 1 winner Tyler Reddick fell back to 13th by the conclusion of Stage 2. The race is official since it is beyond halfway over.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing 10
2 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 9
3 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 8
4 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 7
5 Christopher Bell Leavine Family Racing 6
6 Joey Logano Team Penske 5
7 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports 4
8 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing 3
9 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing 2
10 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 1

STAGE 1

Tyler Reddick won Stage 1 under caution in Monday’s rain-delayed GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, marking the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing rookie’s first career stage win in the NASCAR Cup Series. He led six laps in the 60-lap opening portion of the 188-lap event.

RELATED: Stage 1 results | Track your Fantasy Live team

Alex Bowman came in second with his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Joey Logano was then third after his No. 22 Team Penske Ford led a race-high 29 laps.

Reddick and Logano swapped the lead back and forth toward the end of the stage. Reddick took it on Lap 56, right before the race was red-flagged on Lap 57 due to lightning and rain in the area. The red flag lasted 58 minutes and 18 seconds.

Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch were fourth and fifth in the first stage, respectively. Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott and William Byron rounded out the top 10 in order.

Finish Driver Team Points
1 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing 10
2 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 9
3 Joey Logano Team Penske 8
4 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports 7
5 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing 6
6 Ryan Blaney Team Penske 5
7 Brad Keselowski Team Penske 4
8 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing 3
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 2
10 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports 1