The 2017 Alabama 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 15, 2017, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the fifth race of the Playoffs, and the second race of the Round of 12. Brad Keselowski won the first stage and the race, and Ryan Blaney won the second stage.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 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 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Mark Thompson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 34 Landon Cassill 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 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 55 D. J. Kennington Premium Motorsports Toyota 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 75 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 83 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.398 seconds and a speed of . During practice, Jimmie Johnson spun in turn 4 after cutting down a left-rear tire from debris.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48.398 197.859 2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48.411 197.806 3 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 48.413 197.798Official first practice results
Final practice Kasey Kahne was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 50.078 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.078 191.222 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.118 191.069 3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 50.332 190.257Official final practice results
Qualifying
Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 50.256 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 188 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.299 50.256 224 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.356 50.291 322 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 50.354 50.301 441 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas RacingFord 50.376 50.329 517 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.447 50.355 62 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.410 50.360 714 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas RacingFord 50.461 50.459 848 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.514 50.460 921 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.486 50.488 106 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.501 50.491 115 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.570 50.501 1242 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.621 50.602 1310 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 50.640 — 1419 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.678 — 1511 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.715 — 1618 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.725 — 171 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.725 — 183 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.746 — 1920 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.757 — 2027 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.767 — 2178 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 50.788 — 224 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 50.828 — 2377 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 50.863 — 2447 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.875 — 2513 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 50.877 — 2643 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.932 — 2731 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.957 — 2837 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.966 — 2995 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 51.040 — 3034 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.098 — 317 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.101 — 3232 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 51.168 — 3338 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.321 — 3433 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 51.434 — 3575 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 51.652 — 3615 Mark Thompson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.787 — 3723 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 51.928 — 3872 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 51.935 — 3983 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 52.379 — 4055 D. J. Kennington Premium Motorsports Toyota 52.484 —Official qualifying results
Race results
Stage results
Stage 1 Laps: 55
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 102 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 93 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 84 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 75 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 57 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 48 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 210 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 55
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 102 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 93 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 84 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 66 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 57 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage two results
Final stage results
Stage 3 Laps: 78
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 188 592 27 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 353 10 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 188 364 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 188 425 26 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 188 326 15 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 327 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 308 11 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 309 39 83 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 188 2810 33 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 188 2711 25 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 188 2612 20 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 2513 12 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 188 2414 19 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 187 2315 14 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 184 2216 2 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 182 2817 28 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 182 2018 9 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 177 3719 35 75 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 177 020 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 176 2021 13 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 175 1622 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 172 1523 21 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 171 1424 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 171 2325 4 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 171 2126 5 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 171 1827 16 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 171 1228 30 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 171 929 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 171 1330 29 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 171 1131 32 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 171 632 37 23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 164 033 40 55 D. J. Kennington Premium Motorsports Toyota 164 434 38 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 155 335 7 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 155 1536 23 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 26 137 17 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 25 138 34 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 25 139 36 15 Mark Thompson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 25 040 31 7 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 16 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 11 for 47 Red flags: 3 for 35 minutes and 30 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 47 minutes, 52 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race in the booth. Dave Burns, Marty Snider, and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio Motor Racing Network will cover the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Joe MooreAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Mike BagleyTurns 3 & 4: Dan Hubbard Alex HaydenDillon WelchKim CoonSteve Post
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Martin Truex Jr. 3,120 8 2 Brad Keselowski 3,101 (–19) 1 3 Kyle Larson 3,096 (–24) 1 4 Kevin Harvick 3,089 (–31) 5 Denny Hamlin 3,088 (–32) 2 6 Chase Elliott 3,087 (–33) 4 7 Ryan Blaney 3,076 (–44) 1 8 Jimmie Johnson 3,074 (–46) 3 9 Kyle Busch 3,067 (–53) 1 10 Matt Kenseth 3,066 (–54) 1 11 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 3,052 (–68) 4 12 Jamie McMurray 3,045 (–75) 1 13 Kasey Kahne 2,104 (–1,016) 2 14 Ryan Newman 2,103 (–1,017) 2 15 Austin Dillon 2,099 (–1,021) 1 16 Kurt Busch 2,089 (–1,031)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 1,097 2 Chevrolet 1,090 (–7) 3 Ford 1,081 (–16)Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References