To say Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was a wild race is an understatement. Brad Keselowski scored his second victory of the season and the 19th of his career but he was one of the few drivers not involved in accidents. A total of 33 of the 40 starters were caught up in crashes that include two flipping cars and one that rode the frontstretch wall as the checkered flag fell. Here’s how it all went down Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Under gray threatening skies and with a forecast for rain, Chase Elliott led the field to the green from his second career pole, Austin Dillon started outside in second, Dale Earnhardt Jr. just behind Elliott in third. By the end of the first lap, Elliott was leading, Dillon had dropped back and Earnhardt was second, followed by Jimmie Johnson.; Brad Keselowski was fourth, Carl Edwards fifth.
By lap 2 the front six were single file. Matt Kenseth had formed a second line on the outside by lap 5 and was moving forward. On lap 7 behind the top five the pack had spilt and was three wide; the pack was three wide just behind Elliott on lap 8; Kenseth had taken over second. Keselowski took over second on lap 9, as Elliott moved up and down to protect his lead. Keselowski was dueling for the lead on lap 12, but was soon falling back as Kenseth slid into second just behind Elliott, Hamlin was third, Joey Logano fourth, Martin Truex Jr. fifth.
Elliott and Kenseth were side by side on lap 13. They swapped the lead with Elliott high, Kenseth low. Behind the top two the pack was three wide. Kenseth was able to finally take the lead on lap 17 bringing Denny Hamlin with him to second. Truex was third, Kasey Kahne fourth, Kyle Busch fifth. Elliott in sixth led a line on the top side. By lap 28 Elliot had moved to third on the outside and was looking for the lead. Elliott went back to the front on lap 29. Elliott began moving up and down the two lines behind him to protect his lead again.
The top three had broken away on lap 31. Green flag stops started on lap 37. Among the first takers, Johnson, Kenseth, Truex, and Hamlin. Keselowski, Logano came in a lap later. Elliott pitted on lap 39. Paul Menard and Danica Patrick made contact entering pit road and Patrick was spun sideways; both continued.
After the stops, Kyle Busch led, Truex was second, Kenseth was third, followed by Hamlin and Kurt Busch; Elliott rejoined in 14th. The top six were in single file ahead of the pack. By lap 43 the lead lap cars were single file.
Tony Stewart, waiting for a caution and relief driver, was lapped on lap 49. The first caution came out on lap 50 when Earnhardt hit the wall and sustained heavy damage. Earnhardt got loose exiting turn 4, turned back up the track collecting Kahne and Matt DiBenedetto. Both cars were able to make it back to the pits but both had heavy damage and went to the garage. David Gilliland also sustained damage.
Stewart’s crew prepared for a driver change to put Ty Dillon in the car. Stewart was the lucky Dog and got his lap back just before the driver change. The driver change took just over a minute.
Under the first caution, the leaders came in. Hamlin and Greg Biffle got together in front of their stalls as Hamlin was exiting and Biffle was entering. Kenseth was out first, Truex was second, Kyle Busch third followed by Logano and Kurt Busch. None of the top 10 who pitted took tires, only fuel.
Michael Waltrip stayed out under the caution as the green came out on lap 58. Kenseth was on the outside in second. The two lines remained side by side for the entire lap. Kenseth was able to stretch out and take the lead on lap 60 with Kyle Busch behind. Waltrip was hit by Truex and sent down off the track entering turn 3. Waltrip tried to recover but slipped up and hit Casey Mears and Aric Almirola. Caution two was displayed as all three cars limped to the pits. Mears went to the garage, Waltrip and Almirola continued.
Green came out on lap 63. Kenseth took the lead followed by Kyle then Kurt Busch. Elliott and Keselowski were side by side for positions behind the top three. By lap 66, Kenseth and Kyle Busch had broken away while Keselowski was in third and moving up towards the front. Jamie McMurray made his presence known and was in the top four by lap 67. The top three were single file on lap 69 with the rest of the field three wide behind.
Keselowski got the lead on the outside on lap 72, Elliott slid into second, Kenseth went to third. Austin Dillon was making a move on the outside and was looking for second on lap 77. Keselowski was moving up and down to protect his lead. McMurray pushed Dillon into second on lap 79. On lap 80 the top three were Keselowski, Dillon, McMurray and Truex, Johnson was fourth. A lap later the top two had broken away as the pack was three wide behind. Hamlin had moved up and was looking for the lead by lap 82. The two were side by side for the lead as the field was three wide behind. On lap 89 it was three wide for the lead with Dillon on the outside. Keselowski was soon able to take sole possession of the lead as the pack was three wide behind.
At the halfway point Keselowski led, and the pack was still three wide behind. Green flag stops began on lap 95 led by Harvick.
On lap 96 Austin Dillon was sent into the wall exiting turn 2. He came down and collected Johnson and Chris Buescher and Michael Annett. Buescher’s car flipped several times down the backstretch before coming to rest, he climbed from his car and was okay. In all seven cars sustained damage as the third caution waved.
The leaders all pitted. Elliott was out first, followed by Trevor Bayne, Kurt Busch, Keselowski and Kenseth. The top three took only two tires.
Kevin Harvick who had pitted earlier than the field led to the green on lap 103. Elliott was able to power to the lead, but Harvick was close by underneath. By lap 104, Elliott had a clear lead followed by Kurt Busch, Kenseth and Kyle Busch.
On lap 107, Kurt Busch dove under Elliott and soon he and Harvick were fighting for the lead as Elliott began falling back. On lap 110, Edwards appeared to lose a tire entering turn 1 and shot up the track and into Earnhardt Jr. Both hit the outside wall hard coming to rest along the inside wall at the exit of turn 2; caution 4 waved. The crash happened just after Trevor Bayne grabbed the lead. The leaders all stayed out.
Green came out on lap 115. Bayne was on the inside, Harvick on the outside. The two held station for a lap until lap 121 when Bayne was able to get a clear lead.
Caution five came out on lap 128 when something broke in Kahne’s damaged Chevy and he hit the outside wall hard in turn 2. Kahne had just returned to the track after repairing damage from the earlier crash. The leaders all came in for stops. Hamlin spun on pit road after contact with Landon Cassill. Hamlin was forced to spin back around to get into his pit.
Bayne was the first off pit road, followed by Kyle Larson, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and McMurray. All took two tires and fuel except for Larson who took fuel only. Green came out on lap 133. Bayne jumped to the lead as Harvick and Larson were side-by-side behind.
By lap 135, Larson was on the outside of Bayne and it was two by two for the lead. A lap later Bayne was back in control. Larson stayed close however and soon it was side by side again. Larson had the lead by lap 141 and was in front of Bayne out front. Kenseth went to second on lap 144 and was looking for the lead. A lap later Kenseth went to the lead followed by Harvick; Larson was third in the middle of a three wide pack. Larson was able to break away in third on lap 147.
Caution six came out on lap 152 when David Ragan lost and engine entering turn 3. The leaders all pitted. Kenseth was out first, Bayne was second, Larson was third followed by Keselowski and Harvick. All the top 10 took fuel only.
The restart came on lap 155. Kenseth was pushed to the lead by Larson, but Bayne made a run on the outside entering turn 4 and slid in front of Kenseth. Keselowski however was soon on the outside of Bayne and contesting the lead. By lap 157, Keselowski was able to grab a clear lead. Behind the pack was three wide.
On lap 160, the Talladega big one started entering turn 1 when Johnson was pushed by Kurt Busch. Johnson was sent nose first into the outside wall after contact with Paul Menard. A total of 17 cars were swept up behind most ending up in a pile between turns 1 and 2. Many were able to drive away but most had heavy damage; many were forced to the garage for repairs. Those involved included Hamlin, Johnson, McMurray, Austin Dillon, and Larson.
There were 25 cars on the lead lap when the green came out on lap 166. Keselowski and Logano led the way. Logano took the lead on the outside with a push from Kenseth.
Caution eight came out on lap 168 for debris in turn 2 from the earlier crash. Johnson returned to the race from the garage during the caution. All the leaders stayed out when green came out on lap 171. Logano and Keselowski stayed side by side for the lead.
On lap 173 Logano and Kenseth got together; Kenseth was forced down below the yellow line and both he and Logano slowed but continued. Logano fell into 20th; Kenseth went to sixth. It worked out for Kyle Busch as he took over second under Bayne.
Keselowski had a sole lead with 10 laps to go; Bayne took over second during the lap. The Busch brothers were side by side behind. With 8 to go , Keselowski led, Bayne and Kurt Busch were side by side behind.
On lap 180, Kenseth and Danica Patrick got together after Patrick made contact with Michael McDowell exiting turn 2 while racing for sixth. The Kenseth and Patrick cars shot down towards the inside wall with Patrick’s car hitting the inside wall hard; Kenseth’s car flipped, slid for short time on its rook before flipping back over. Both Patrick and Kenseth climbed from their cars unhurt. A total of eight cars were involved including Almirola, Logano and Harvick. Harvick was the only car able to continue.
The green came out on lap 185, three laps to go. Keselowski and Kurt Busch were up front. Busch was able to go to the lead on the bottom side, but Keselowski was soon on the outside. With two to go, the top two were side by side, but Keselowski was pushed to the lead by Kyle Busch On the final laps Keselowski and Kyle Busch were none and two as Elliott broke out and tried to charge forward.
As the field exited turn 4, Keselowski had a big lead. Behind him a crash erupted has Keselowski headed towards the finish line. The race officially ended under caution as at least six cars including Harvick and Truex crashed behind and Harvick's car was sent riding along the top of the wall for several seconds.
Kyle Busch was second, Austin Dillon third, with Jamie McMurray fourth. Elliott who led 27 laps finished fifth. Ty Dillon finished sixth but it was Tony Stewart who was credited with the finish. Clint Bowyer was seventh, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney and Bayne rounded out the top 10. The full field rundown can be found here.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to its second Saturday night race of the season this coming week. The GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas Speedway will get the green flag Saturday night just after 7:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on Fox Sports 1.
