Every driver’s career has at least one defining moment.
The list for Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a long one. His first win at Texas Motor Speedway in 2000, his first Daytona 500 in 2004 and most recently his election into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Somewhere in the middle of that list is Michigan International Speedway in 2012. The race was run on Father’s Day, and at the time, Earnhardt was riding a four-year, 143-race winless drought.
Earnhardt Jr. led nearly half of the laps around the two-mile track, and most importantly, the last one.
Earnhardt Jr. would go on to win seven more races for Hendrick Motorsports, including the 2014 Daytona 500.
Celebrate Earnhardt Jr.’s election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Father’s Day with this week’s NASCAR Classic Full Race Replay — the 2012 Quicken Loans 400.
The NASCAR Cup Series braces for its first trip to Talladega Superspeedway this season, marking the first superspeedway event since the coronavirus shutdown. The Alabama speed plant will play host to Monday’s GEICO 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), which was originally scheduled April 26 before pro sports’ pandemic hiatus.
As has been the case with other events since NASCAR’s return after the COVID-19 outbreak, Monday’s 500-mile race will be held without practice or qualifying. The track will open its doors to 5,000 fans, but the infield will be restricted to a limited group of essential personnel in accordance with public-health protocols.
The event will also mark the 13th Cup Series race of the year, after which the circuit will cross the halfway point of the 26-race regular season. With plenty of variables in play for always treacherous Talladega, here’s a primer with helpful information for Monday’s superspeedway clash.
Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s largest oval, measuring 2.66 miles around. It held its first Cup Series event on Sept. 14, 1969 under the name Alabama International Motor Speedway. Richard Brickhouse was an underdog-turned-winner, subbing in and claiming his only major-league victory as a number of star drivers boycotted to protest what they felt were unsafe conditions. Brickhouse led 33 of 188 laps in Ray Nichels’ No. 99 Dodge.
The track’s asphalt surface spans 4,000 feet long on the backstretch with the frontstretch chutes between the turns and tri-oval measuring 2,150 feet. The racing surface is 48 feet wide with a 12-foot apron. The variable banking in the turns tops out at 33 degrees. The frontstretch tri-oval is banked at 18 degrees, and the backstraight is angled at a 2-degree tilt for drainage.
Sunday’s 500-miler will be the 102nd race for NASCAR’s top division at Talladega.
Stage 1 is set to end at Lap 60, Stage 2 at Lap 120, and the final stage is slated to conclude on Lap 188.
STARTING LINEUP
Monday’s GEICO 500 will be held without practice and qualifying as NASCAR tries to limit exposure for on-site personnel to control the spread of coronavirus. The starting lineup will be determined by a random draw among groups in the team owner standings:
Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points
Pit-stall selection for the race will be based on the finishing order from last Sunday’s Cup Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For more information about starting-lineup procedures for national-series races scheduled without qualifying, click here.
RULES PACKAGE
The 2020 NASCAR rules package for superspeedways will be in effect, with additional engine restrictions intended to drop the target horsepower to around 510 horsepower. The cars will use the superspeedway package, but aero ducts will be eliminated and a smaller throttle body will be used. Competition officials introduced the changes May 1 after Ryan Newman’s severe wreck in the season-opening Daytona 500. Learn more about the crash findings and the intent of the safety and competition changes here.
GOODYEAR TIRES
Goodyear officials expect tire strategy and not tire wear to be a focal point this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, where traction fall-off is not as dramatic. Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams will run the same tire combination this weekend; it’s the same compound and code Cup Series teams ran last October, but it will mark a new combination for Xfinity Series cars for their 300-miler Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
“We have actually seen some tire wear at Talladega since it was repaved about a decade ago,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, making a nod toward Talladega’s 2010 repave. “Having said that, wear is really not an issue. Teams will have the opportunity to take two tires, or even no tires on occasion, to gain track position and line themselves up with the other teams they are working with in the draft.”
Cup Series teams will have an allotment of seven sets of tires for their event. Xfinity Series teams will have a maximum of four sets for their race.
STATS TO KNOW
— Ford has won eight of the last nine Cup Series races at Talladega, with Chevrolet’s lone tally to break up the streak coming last April with Chase Elliott’s victory in a Chevrolet. Toyota’s last Talladega win came in May 2014 with Denny Hamlin prevailing. Expect manufacturer alliances to run deep both in the aerodynamic draft and planning pit strategy.
— Six different drivers have won the last six Talladega races. Since Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s springtime win in 2017, the list of winners reads in chronological order: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.
— Brad Keselowski ranks as Talladega’s leader in career wins among active Cup Series drivers with five, but his recent run of luck at superspeedways (Talladega and Daytona) has been dreadful. Keselowski has finished outside the top 10 in his last nine superspeedway events, with six DNFs in that span.
— Martin Truex Jr. broke through in the 2020 win column on June 10, but he’s still waiting for his first Cup Series triumph on a superspeedway. He’s 0-for-60 for his career at those tracks, with 30 winless starts each at Talladega and Daytona and just four top-five finishes between the two tracks in his career.
— Hendrick Motorsports has the most Talladega wins of any organization with 13 victories, led by Jeff Gordon’s six triumphs. Seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson has two Talladega wins for the team, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Terry Labonte, Ken Schrader and Brian Vickers netting one Talladega win each for HMS.
Source: NASCAR statistics, Racing Insights
LIVE COVERAGE
Tune in to television coverage from Talladega Superspeedway on FOX (Monday, 3 p.m. ET) and the FOX Sports App. For full radio coverage, listen in to MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on-air.
For a more interactive experience, head over to NASCAR.com or the NASCAR app to check out an enhanced Race Center, live Lap-by-Lap coverage, the customizable live leaderboard with Scanner (which is FREE for both races), and the return of Drive (featuring in-car cameras).
Chevrolet teams executed a winning strategy at Talladega Superspeedway as Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman went 1-2 to break up a seven-race streak at the track for Ford. Elliott led a race-best 45 laps in his fourth career Cup Series win as Chevy drivers swept five of the top six positions.
NASCAR Finish Line, a free-to-play gaming app from Penn National Gaming, is back with the resumption of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Each week, there will be six groups of five drivers for the upcoming race. Users will predict which driver will finish first among each of the six groups and then the overall race winner and second-place finisher for a chance to win $25,000 if all eight scenarios are correctly selected.
The third of six groups for Monday’s 188-lap race at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) consists of Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer. Everyone but Newman has won at the 2.66-mile track in Alabama. Stenhouse and Almirola each have one win, while Johnson and Bowyer have two victories apiece.
For a stats look at each driver, NASCAR.com has compiled the last six results at Talladega, the career average finish at Talladega, the 2020 results from Daytona International Speedway (the only other superspeedway on the current NASCAR Cup Series schedule) and the career average finish at Daytona. All this has been done to see who is the best play to make in Group 3.
A point system has been assigned, starting with one point for the best finisher and counting up to five points for the worst finisher. Those numbers were then added up. The lowest total signifies the strongest driver (green), and the highest total represents the weakest driver (red).
Driver
Las six ‘Dega races‘1
Career ‘Dega average finish
2020 Daytona final result
Career Daytona average finish
Total
Ryan Newman
11.7 (3)
18.7 (5)
9 (2)
18.2 (2)
12
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11.5 (2)
11.6 (1)
20 (3)
18.8 (3)
9
Jimmie Johnson
20.3 (4)
17.8 (4)
35 (5)
18.4 (4)
17
Aric Almirola
5.0 (1)
15.3 (2)
22 (4)
20.7 (5)
12
Clint Bowyer
22.3 (5)
16.3 (3)
6 (1)
16.4 (1)
10
Stenhouse looks like the Group 3 favorite heading into Talladega due to his history at both superspeedways. Though there will be no qualifying in Alabama, it is worth remembering the driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet also won the Daytona 500 pole earlier this season. Stenhouse has the ability to speed off.
Otherwise, if wanting to go strictly off of Talladega performances, Almirola would be a solid choice considering he has an incredible six-race average finish — the only driver in single digits. Newman ties Almirola at 12 points, but Newman’s Talladega stats aren’t worth reporting home about compared to Almirola’s marks. Bowyer has the second-best total, but a lot of that is due to his Daytona numbers. Johnson seems to be the one to clearly stay away from, though.
Make sure to get your picks for all the groups as well as the first- and second-place finishers in the NASCAR Finish Line App before Sunday’s race at Talladega.
Crowe will give the command for drivers to “Start Your Engines” for the race, which is set for green flag at 5:30 p.m. ET. Just a week ago, NASCAR, Talladega Superspeedway and Solstice Studios announced the new race entitlement.
Unhinged, opening in theaters nationwide on Saturday, July 10, is one of the first new films to debut since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the partnership with NASCAR’s biggest and most competitive venue, Solstice Studios will also activate at other NASCAR properties, including Motor Racing Network (MRN) and NASCAR Digital Media, as well as FOX.
Unhinged is a timely action-packed psychological thriller that takes something we’ve all experienced — road rage — to an unpredictable and terrifying conclusion. Rachel (Caren Pistorius) is running late to work when she has an altercation at a traffic light with a stranger (Crowe) whose life has left him feeling powerless and invisible. Soon, Rachel finds herself, and everyone she loves, the target of a man who decides to make one last mark upon the world by teaching her a series of deadly lessons. What follows is a dangerous game of cat and mouse that proves you never know just how close you are to someone who is about to become unhinged. Directed by Derrick Borte, the film stars Crowe, Caren Pistorius, Gabriel Bateman, Jimmi Simpson, and Austin P. McKenzie. The Unhinged trailer can be found here: https://www.unhingedmovie.com/
When Crowe first read the script for Unhinged, his instinctive response was: “Absolutely not. I’m not doing this movie, it scares (the #&%$) out of me, this character is intensely dark … and when I heard that come out of my mouth, I was like, since when did I stop doing that? Cause that’s basically what I look for. I look for challenges.”
Crowe, born in New Zealand but raised in Australia, earned three consecutive Best Actor Oscar® nominations for his work in the acclaimed 1999 drama The Insider; 2000 Best Picture winner, Gladiator, for which he took home the Oscar®; and in Best Picture winner, A Beautiful Mind in 2001
Like Unhinged, racing at Talladega Superspeedway is intense, pushes drivers to the limit, and is definitely a challenge. The track, built in 1969, has held NASCAR Xfinity Series events since 1992, providing some of the closest finishes in the sport’s history, including Terry Labonte’s win in 1999 by .002 seconds. This year’s race will be a part of the Xfinity Series’ Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus-money program for Xfinity Series regular drivers. Chase Briscoe, Brandon Jones, Ross Chastain and AJ Allmendinger will vie for the extra cash as well as their first Talladega triumph.
The Unhinged 300 at Talladega will be the second race at the iconic venue on Saturday, June 20. Earlier in the day, at 2 p.m. ET, the General Tire 200 for the ARCA Menards Series will take the green flag. Both events will compete without fans in attendance, but will be broadcast live on FS1, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. started the day more preoccupied with a Tuesday morning dental procedure than whether he’d be enshrined forever in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. When the broadcast began to air, though, the anxious feelings kicked in.
Earnhardt was announced as the top vote-getter in the Class of 2021, joining Modified master Mike Stefanik and the legendary Red Farmer as the newest NASCAR Hall of Fame selections. Though Earnhardt said he was just pleased to be nominated, his name appeared on 76 percent of the ballots, a validating feeling for a driver who says he thrives on the power of positive reinforcement from his peers.
“Even just sitting here right now talking about it, it’s really emotional because I feed off of affirmation, someone saying that was a great job, somebody patting you on the back and appreciating you, and I really, really feed off of that,” Earnhardt said. “That affects me heavily in the workplace and in my home life and everything I do. I think that’s why I had so much success with (former crew chief) Steve Letarte because he was such a great cheerleader, no matter what was happening or how frustrated he might be with me, he knew how I reacted to that affirmation and he knew if he wanted to get the best out of me that that would be the best route to take.
“There’s no greater pat on the back or tip of the cap than this, from the industry, from the people that vote who are all sort of sprinkled throughout the industry and the sport. … It’s such a great feeling that someone feels like that I made an impact on the sport.”
If his root canal from earlier in the day wasn’t unpleasant enough, Earnhardt was teed up for media rounds where he had to size up his career and what it meant. “This is so uncomfortable talking about yourself,” Earnhardt said between questions, managing a laugh.
When pressed, he did so humbly, keeping his career in perspective. Earnhardt scored 26 premier-series wins, including two Daytona 500s and a half-dozen raucous Talladega triumphs. Add in his two titles in what is now the Xfinity Series and the credentials stack up nicely against an entire field of Hall-worthy nominees.
Tack on — and this is a big add — the fact that he helped carry the weight of his family legacy and the sport’s hopes as a budding 26-year-old star after the 2001 death of his father, the iconic seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt. It may rank among the biggest intangible accomplishments in NASCAR’s history.
Earnhardt acknowledged that his lack of a NASCAR Cup Series championship weighed against him, but said he hoped his candidacy was valued for his role as an ambassador for stock-car racing. That meant taking NASCAR to places it hadn’t been — the pages of Rolling Stone, the pop-culture glitz of MTV, a music-video appearance with Jay-Z riding shotgun — all while keeping true to his racing roots as a fan of the sport’s heritage.
Tuesday provided more validation for not only the on-track accomplishments, but his entire ethos. Earnhardt says he lives for positive feedback, but he’s also intent on bettering himself, on making his career and his life one worth appreciating.
“I think every day you wake up and you want to make somebody proud,” Earnhardt said. “… Every day that I get up, I want to do something that makes my wife very proud of me. I seek that everywhere I go.”
NASCAR Cup Series drivers, NASCAR Hall of Famers and more took to social media to send out their congratulations to Hall of Fame Class of 2021 inductees — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer.
And congrats to @DaleJr and Mike Stefanik on being named to the @NASCARHall Class of 2021. Jr raised the profile of our sport to new heights, and anytime I got in a Modified, the bar for success had already been set by Mike Stefanik. A very deserving group. 👍🏻
I couldn’t find any better words than what Marty said below. Extremely proud of @DaleJr and excited he gets to add Hall of Fame to his many accolades.❤️ https://t.co/n2c0AHsEiD
Had @DaleJr by my side for many of my own career milestones, and it’s a privilege to bear witness to this well-deserved one for him. Congrats, Dale! #NASCARHOFpic.twitter.com/Q4MxSdLyWS
The best influences/role models in your life don’t realize it at the time, but those individuals are changing & shaping the sport we all love, for the better, right before our own eyes. That’s exactly the impact the NASCAR Hall of Fame class of 2021 has had on my life! Congrats👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/2SkCWjna4e
Another great @NASCARHall class. Red Farmer , Mike Stefanik and @DaleJr . Congratulations to all and to their families. Great day for our sport and excellent choices.
Editor’s note: NASCAR.com’s Zack Albert is among the 66 voting members — including the fan vote — casting ballots to elect the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021. This year marks his third time participating in Voting Day. Here, he reveals the reasoning behind the three choices on his ballot, a handful of honorable mentions and his pick for the Landmark Award.
Class of 2021 selections
Dale Earnhardt Jr. — On a purely statistical basis, Earnhardt’s merits as a two-time Daytona 500 champ, a 26-time premier series winner and a two-time Busch (now Xfinity) Series champion deserve strong consideration. But how often does an ambassador for the sport — a transcendent one who fully appreciates its rich history — come across the ballot? This was a layup among a field of tough choices.
Mike Stefanik — It’s not often that a nine-time champion appears on the ballot, either. Stefanik is just as deserving as Richie Evans and Jerry Cook, the Modified legends who were enshrined before him. Checking the box beside his name serves as a reminder that the Hall of Fame is for all NASCAR standouts, not just those who achieved fame at the Cup Series level.
Red Farmer — The longevity is one thing for a driver who still competes regularly at Talladega’s dirt track at age 87 — he actually finished 10th on Saturday night before Voting Day. But his accomplishments in winning four championships at what would be equivalent to a national-series title today pushed him over the top for my Pioneer Ballot vote. Having serious Alabama Gang founders cred didn’t hurt either.
Honorable mentions: Neil Bonnett’s winsome resume as a driver and able broadcaster provided some appeal (and will in future votes). Kirk Shelmerdine’s link to the championship campaigns of Dale Earnhardt should usher his way to the Hall sooner than later. And the timeless Hershel McGriff, a legend in NASCAR’s westward series and a four-time Cup winner, will rise to the top of my queue for Pioneer consideration next year.
Landmark Award
Ralph Seagraves — The longtime R.J. Reynolds marketer and promoter helped cultivate a period of tremendous growth for stock-car racing from a regional to a national sport in the Winston Cup era. Seagraves’ influence also provided a model for what was possible in sports marketing and sponsorship. T. Wayne Robertson, who followed Seagraves as an apprentice to become RJR’s sports marketing chief, should follow him onto the Landmark Award ballot for consideration in years to come.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame announced Tuesday its three inductees for the Class of 2021, with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer set for enshrinement next winter.
The three-member class was the first elected under new voting rules, with nominees divided into Modern Era and Pioneer Era groups. Two were chosen from a field of 10 Modern Era nominees, and one was selected from a group of five on the Pioneer Era ballot for legends whose careers began more than 60 years ago.
Earnhardt — a two-time Daytona 500 winner who was chosen as NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver 15 times — led all nominees with 76 percent of the vote, winning induction on his first year on the ballot. Stefanik — a nine-time champion in Modified and Busch North (now ARCA East) competition — was the other Modern Era selection, appearing on 49 percent of ballots cast in his seventh year of eligibility. Ricky Rudd and Neil Bonnett were the next top vote-getters in the Modern Era category.
Farmer, a founding member of the Alabama Gang and a four-time regional champion in NASCAR’s early days, topped the Pioneer Era list with 71 percent of the vote. Hershel McGriff and Banjo Matthews were the next-highest candidates receiving votes.
Ralph Seagraves, the R.J. Reynolds marketing chief who lifted the sport during the Winston Cup era of growth, was chosen as the 2021 Landmark Award winner for outstanding contributions to NASCAR.
Earnhardt retired from full-time competition in 2017, compiling 26 premier-series wins and collecting two championships in what is now called the Xfinity Series in his career. The 45-year-old has stayed active in the sport since stepping away from a full-time role, maintaining the JR Motorsports organization as a team owner in the Xfinity Series and joining NBC Sports as an on-air analyst in 2018.
His sincerity in addressing the media immediately after his selection was announced was indicative of the humble and heartfelt manner he conducted his career. He insisted with a smile that he was more nervous Tuesday after a morning root canal at his dentist than waiting for the results of the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting.
“When that list of nominees came out I was so honored to be on that sheet,’’ Earnhardt said. “I couldn’t believe my name was on that sheet to be honest with you. I know those guys and their body of work. I was good with just being on the sheet and was going to be happy with that. It’s such a great feeling that someone feels like I made an impact on the sport. And I know my numbers, the wins, the lack of a championship, I know what my numbers are. And I feel like I was chosen based on that but also based on the impact off the race track and being an ambassador for the sport.”
Stefanik amassed 74 Whelen Modified Tour wins in a wide-ranging career that included winning Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 1999 at age 41. He also won Modified and Busch North titles in the same season twice (1997-98). Stefanik died last September in a plane crash at age 61.
Farmer, 87, still competes as a short-track weekend warrior, but his career spanned a variety of series. He made just 36 Cup Series starts, but was a three-time Late Model Sportsman (now Xfinity Series) champion and a one-time Modified title winner. Staying true to his racer roots, Farmer said that earlier Tuesday he was working on getting his backup car ready for this weekend’s events at the Talladega Short Track after a bump-up competing last week.
“I had to catch my breath there for a minute,’’ a smiling Farmer said of hearing the NASCAR Hall of Fame news. “This is the biggest honor you could ever get. … I started down there on the beach (at Daytona) in 1953. I’ve been in NASCAR a long time and got to run against a lot of great drivers.”
Voting Day was held the previous Tuesday on June 9, with the voting panel conducting a virtual meeting through a video teleconference as COVID-19 restrictions remain in place. The panel consisted of 65 former drivers, inductees, NASCAR executives, industry leaders and media members, plus one vote reserved for fan balloting.
The official fan ballot, which counted as a formal vote, was for Earnhardt Jr., Neil Bonnett and Farmer.
James Small, crew chief for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team of Martin Truex Jr., and Chad Johnston, crew chief for the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team of Matt Kenseth, were each fined $10,000 after their cars were found to have one lug nut not safe and secure during post-race inspection at the 1.5-mile Florida intermediate track. Truex finished 12th, while Kenseth finished 25th.
There were also several penalties incurred across NASCAR’s other two national series. In addition to the previously announced penalties to the No. 98 Ford team of Chase Briscoe for a pre-race ballast loss penalty, the Nos. 11, 19 and 26, driven by Justin Haley, Brandon Jones and Colin Garrett, respectively, were each found to have one lug nut not safe and secure during post-race inspection. Crew chiefs Alexander Yontz, Jeff Meendering and Bryan Smith, respectively, were each fined $5,000.
In the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, the No. 51 Toyota, driven to Victory Lane by Kyle Busch, was found to have a track bar mount and support that did not meet rule specifications and the team was assessed with a loss of 10 owner points. The No. 44 Niece Motorsports Chevrolet, driven to a third-place finish by Ross Chastain, was found to have a lug nut not properly installed, and crew chief Paul Clapprood was fined $2,500.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns on Sunday for the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (3 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
