The 2018 GEICO 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 29, 2018, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) superspeedway, it was the 10th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

2018 GEICO 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 10 of 36 in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Date April 29, 2018 (2018-04-29)
Location Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.64 km)
Average speed 152.489 miles per hour (245.407 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Stewart-Haas Racing
Time 49.247
Most laps led
Driver Joey Logano Team Penske
Laps 70
Winner
No. 22 Joey Logano Team Penske
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 2.9/2.8 (Overnight)[10]
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

Report

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Background

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Talladega Superspeedway, the track where the race will be held

Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).

Entry list

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No. Driver Team Manufacturer
00 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota
24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford
34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford
37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
51 Timmy Hill (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota
88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
92 Timothy Peters (i) RBR Enterprises Ford
95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet
96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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Ty Dillon was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 47.182 seconds and a speed of 202.959 mph (326.631 km/h).[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 47.182 202.959
2 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.247 202.680
3 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.247 202.680
Official first practice results

Final practice

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Jamie McMurray was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.947 seconds and a speed of 203.975 mph (328.266 km/h).[12] The practice was marred by a three-car crash on the back-straightaway that resulted in McMurray barrel rolling several times into the inside catchfence while Ty Dillon and Ryan Newman were also involved. “When I realized I was going to flip, I actually shut my eyes because I don't really want to see what's getting ready to happen,” McMurray said. “And then it just kept, it seemed like forever. I opened my eyes a couple times and I couldn't, I'm like I don't know if I'm going up or down or where it's going to hit next. So I was just thankful when it finally ... a couple of times I thought it was going to stop and it just kind of kept going.” McMurray's accident led to NASCAR reducing the restrictor plates from 7/8th to 55/64th of an inch.[13]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 46.947 203.975
2 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 47.031 203.610
3 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.154 203.079
Official final practice results

Qualifying

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Kevin Harvick scored the pole position.

Kevin Harvick scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.247 and a speed of 194.448 mph (312.934 km/h).[14]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.291 49.247
2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.381 49.340
3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 49.692 49.482
4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 49.829 49.633
5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.722 49.680
6 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 49.715 49.686
7 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 49.951 49.900
8 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.969 49.947
9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 49.872 49.968
10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 49.941 50.046
11 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 49.973 50.071
12 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 49.991 50.113
13 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.009
14 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.011
15 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 50.054
16 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.068
17 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.087
18 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.107
19 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.109
20 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.138
21 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.140
22 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.151
23 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 50.269
24 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.363
25 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.454
26 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 50.462
27 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.474
28 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.476
29 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 50.762
30 62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 50.766
31 96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 51.145
32 92 Timothy Peters (i) RBR Enterprises Ford 51.190
33 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 51.319
34 00 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 51.484
35 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.564
36 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 51.710
37 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 52.102
38 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 52.372
39 51 Timmy Hill (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 52.647
40 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 54.604
Official qualifying results

Race

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Joey Logano won the race.

Stage Results

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Stage 1 Laps: 55

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 10
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 9
3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 8
4 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 7
5 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 6
6 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5
7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 4
8 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3
9 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 2
10 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1
Official stage one results

Stage 2 Laps: 55

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 10
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 9
3 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 8
4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 7
5 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 6
6 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 5
7 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4
8 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2
10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

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Stage 3 Laps: 78

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 188 58
2 2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 188 38
3 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 34
4 1 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 188 42
5 7 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 188 41
6 12 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 188 36
7 40 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 188 30
8 11 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 29
9 18 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 28
10 14 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 27
11 25 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 188 26
12 16 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 30
13 19 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 32
14 4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 28
15 29 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 188 22
16 15 43 Darrell Wallace Jr. (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 188 21
17 26 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 188 20
18 23 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 188 31
19 33 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 188 18
20 31 96 D. J. Kennington Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 188 17
21 36 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 188 16
22 30 62 Brendan Gaughan Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 188 15
23 32 92 Timothy Peters (i) RBR Enterprises Ford 187 0
24 37 23 Gray Gaulding BK Racing Toyota 187 13
25 35 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 186 0
26 3 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 184 19
27 34 00 Joey Gase (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 178 0
28 27 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 174 9
29 17 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 165 10
30 13 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 165 23
31 8 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 165 6
32 20 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 165 5
33 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 165 14
34 28 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 165 3
35 24 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 165 2
36 39 51 Timmy Hill (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 151 0
37 38 55 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 79 1
38 21 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 71 1
39 6 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 71 1
40 22 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 71 1
Official race results

Race statistics

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  • Lead changes: 16 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 6 for 29
  • Red flags: 0
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 16 minutes and 46 seconds
  • Average speed: 152.489 miles per hour (245.407 km/h)

Media

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Television

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Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Talladega Superspeedway. Mike Joy, six-time Talladega winner – and all-time restrictor plate race wins record holder – Jeff Gordon and four-time Talladega winner Darrell Waltrip called the race in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the action on pit road for the television side.

Fox Television
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip
Jamie Little
Vince Welch
Matt Yocum

Radio

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MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Kyle Rickey called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley, Kim Coon, and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side.

MRN Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Joe Moore
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Announcer: Rusty Wallace
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey
Alex Hayden
Winston Kelley
Kim Coon
Steve Post

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "2018 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "Talladega Superspeedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 27, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "GEICO 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  8. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 30, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  9. ^ "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 30, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  10. ^ "Talladega TV ratings". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. ESPN. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  11. ^ Utter, Jim (April 27, 2018). "Ty Dillon leads the first Talladega Cup practice at 203mph". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  12. ^ Utter, Jim (April 27, 2018). "McMurray fastest, goes airborne in final practice at Talladega". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  13. ^ "McMurray wrecks hard in final Talladega practice". Official Site Of NASCAR. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  14. ^ Zenor, John (April 28, 2018). "Harvick, eyeing 4th win of year, to start on Talladega pole". Associated Press. Lincoln, Alabama: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2018.


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