The 2015 GEICO 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on May 3, 2015 at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the tenth race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race, his first win of the season and his sixth at Talladega Superspeedway and first at the racetrack since 2004. His teammate Jimmie Johnson finished second, while Paul Menard, Ryan Blaney and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the Top five.

Jeff Gordon won the pole for the race, the 80th of his career and fourth at the track. He led 47 laps before getting caught in a last lap wreck on his way to a 31st-place finish. Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. led a race high of 67 laps. The race had 27 lead changes among 15 different drivers, as well as six cautions for 23 laps. There was one red flag period for eleven minutes and 32 seconds.

This was the 24th career victory for Dale Earnhardt Jr., sixth at Talladega Superspeedway and twelfth at the track for Hendrick Motorsports. The win moved Junior up to fifth in the points standings. Chevrolet left Talladega with a 37-point lead over Ford in the manufacturer standings.

The GEICO 500 was carried by Fox Sports on the broadcast Fox network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Report

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), 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. The track is a Tri-oval and was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of , and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators, although the current capacity is 80,000 seats.

Kevin Harvick entered Talladega with a 33-point lead over Joey Logano following his runner-up finish the week before at Richmond. Martin Truex Jr. entered 42 back. Jimmie Johnson entered 58 back. Brad Keselowski entered 74 back.

Changes to qualifying On March 30, 2015, in response to a series of accidents that happened during pole qualifying at the Daytona 500, NASCAR made changes to the qualifying format for all three national series at the restrictor plate tracks. Qualifying for both the spring and fall Talladega races, as well as the July events at Daytona International Speedway, will consist of the following:

* Two rounds of qualifying, with the top twelve posted lap speeds advancing to the second round * Race vehicles taking one, timed lap in each round of qualifying * Each race vehicle will be released in a predetermined timed interval as determined by NASCAR, with the sanctioning body reserving the right to have more than one vehicle engaging in qualifying runs at the same time * Qualifying order for the first round will be determined by a random draw; final round qualifying order is determined by slowest to fastest speeds from the first round * A ten-minute break will occur between the first qualifying round and the final round * Upon completion of the first qualifying round, the field will be set with positions 13 and beyond determined from first round qualifying speed * The twelve fastest vehicles from the first round will have their speeds reset for the final round with starting positions 1-12 determined by the fastest laps in the final round * NASCAR will impound race vehicles following each qualifying lap; vehicles advancing to the final round will be allowed to adjust tape and utilize a cool-down unit during the ten minute break only

While no official announcement was made on how many cars would be on track at once, Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's executive vice president and chief racing development officer, said they would likely do two cars at a time to Mike Bagley and Pete Pistone in his weekly Monday appearance on the Sirius XM NASCAR Radio program "The Morning Drive." He also discussed with the show's hosts why NASCAR made the change.

Entry list The entry list for the GEICO 500 was released on Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 2:35 p.m. Eastern time. Forty-five cars were entered for the race. David Ragan drove his final race in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He took over the No. 55 Toyota at Michael Waltrip Racing as a season replacement for Brian Vickers the following race at Kansas Speedway. The No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, driven by Ryan Blaney, entered its first race since the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. After giving his seat to Jeb Burton the previous race at Richmond International Raceway, J. J. Yeley returned to the No. 23 BK Racing Toyota. Bobby Labonte made his second start of the season driving the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford. The No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC that had been driven by Alex Kennedy was driven by Brian Scott. Chris Buescher returned to the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford that had been driven by Reed Sorenson. Michael Waltrip drove the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota that had been driven by Brett Moffitt. The No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Ford, driven by Michael McDowell, entered its first race since the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Regan Smith Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 David Ragan Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Ryan Blaney (i) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 David Ragan (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Bobby Labonte (PC8) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Brian Scott (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing FordOfficial entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional

Practice

First practice Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 47.694 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford 47.694 200.780 2 55 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 47.703 200.742 3 34 Chris Buescher (i) Ford 47.816 200.268Official first practice results

Final practice Greg Biffle was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.381 and a speed of .

Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48.381 197.929 2 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 48.398 197.859 3 43 Aric Almirola Ford 48.438 197.696Official final practice results

Qualifying

Jeff Gordon won the pole with a time of 49.160 and a speed of . This was the 80th pole in Gordon's career. "I am so proud of this pole because we got the pole in Daytona, but it was a totally different format," Gordon said. "I knew the car was fast there. For this team to bring another car, a different car here, and all the hard work from the engine shop and what they do with the bodies, and chassis and prep." "The Hendrick cars are really strong, and the engines are running great," Kasey Kahne said after qualifying second. "Our Farmers Insurance Chevy was fast right there. I told Jeff I was coming to the front row. I knew I wouldn't beat him because he is really quick, but I knew we could get up to second. I was really happy with that. It is a good starting spot. Hopefully tomorrow we stay out of trouble and we are there at the end and have a shot." "We’ve got pretty good speed in our Ford and it’s just nice to be back with this Wood Brothers team," Ryan Blaney said after qualifying third. "I’ve definitely been itching to get back to the track and it’s cool to finally be back here and have a good car, too. This team really needs a good finish. After having a good car at Texas and blowing up early that really kind of brought us down, so we’ll try to run all the laps tomorrow and see if we can pick this team up a little bit before Charlotte.” Defending race winner Denny Hamlin qualified 17th. “I think it’s good. It goes faster," Hamlin said. "Definitely rewards the guys that worked hard in the shop. I think that we’re a little faster than what we usually are, but definitely disappointed. I thought we would have made it to the final round, but some of our teammates did, some of them didn’t. It’s just all on what you’ve got, but I think we’ll be okay in the race.” Jeb Burton and Michael McDowell failed to qualify for the race.

Qualifying results