The 2019 GEICO 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 28, 2019, 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 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
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 Gander Outdoors 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 Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch 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 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 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 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware (R) Petty Ware Racing Ford 52 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 81 Jeffrey Earnhardt (i) XCI Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Kurt Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 47.249 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 47.249 202.671 2 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.253 202.654 3 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.253 202.654Official first practice results
Final practice Ryan Newman was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.905 seconds and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.905 204.157 2 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 46.912 204.127 3 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 46.915 204.114Official final practice results
Qualifying
Austin Dillon scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.734 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 13 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.847 49.734 210 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.791 49.841 314 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.115 49.947 42 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.048 49.965 58 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.083 50.022 617 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.204 50.037 712 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 50.124 50.080 822 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 50.220 50.112 988 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.218 50.164 1042 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.178 50.193 119 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.246 50.201 1234 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.135 50.251 1313 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 50.310 — 141 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.316 — 1538 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.344 — 1641 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.419 — 1721 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.421 — 1836 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.447 — 194 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.450 — 2019 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.482 — 2148 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.519 — 2218 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.593 — 2311 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.596 — 246 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.614 — 2524 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.699 — 2695 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 50.817 — 2720 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.821 — 2843 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 50.870 — 2962 Tyler Reddick (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 51.170 — 3047 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 51.269 — 3137 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 51.374 — 3200 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 51.382 — 3381 Jeffrey Earnhardt (i) XCI Racing Toyota 51.432 — 3415 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.800 — 3596 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 52.081 — 3632 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 52.100 — 3727 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 52.184 — 3877 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 52.197 — 3952 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 52.984 — 4051 Cody Ware (R) Petty Ware Racing Ford 53.148 —Official qualifying results
Tyler Reddick practiced and qualified the No. 62 for Brendan Gaughan, who was attending his son’s first communion. Eight cars failed post-qualifying inspection and would be forced to drop to the rear at the start (Nos. 6, 11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27, 51)
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 55
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 102 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 57 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 39 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 55
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 75 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 66 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 57 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 48 8 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 210 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 78
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 572 9 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 533 30 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 188 344 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 188 355 5 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 356 14 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 188 367 24 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 188 358 29 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 188 09 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 188 2810 22 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 3011 36 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 188 2612 16 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 188 3113 4 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 188 2414 1 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 3715 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 188 2916 17 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 188 2117 13 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 188 3018 37 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 188 1919 27 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 1820 20 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 1721 25 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 2822 33 81 Jeffrey Earnhardt (i) XCI Racing Toyota 187 023 15 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 187 1424 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 187 1725 6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 187 1526 34 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 187 027 35 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 186 028 40 51 Cody Ware (R) Petty Ware Racing Ford 184 929 3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 182 830 31 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 181 731 26 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 181 732 38 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 180 033 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 178 434 32 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 154 035 39 52 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 132 236 23 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 80 137 18 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 11 138 19 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 139 28 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 10 140 12 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 10 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 37 among 15 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 6 for 21 Red flags: 1 for 8 minutes and 47 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 5 minutes and 59 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television Fox Sports covered their 19th 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 TelevisionBooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff GordonColor commentator: Darrell Waltrip Jamie LittleVince WelchMatt Yocum
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and two-time Talladega winner Dale Jarrett 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. Kurt Becker called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Winston Kelley, Kim Coon, Steve Post, and Dillon Welch worked pit road for the radio side.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Dale Jarrett Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyBackstretch: Mike BagleyTurns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker Winston KelleyKim CoonSteve PostDillon Welch
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 430 2 Joey Logano 415 (–15) 3 Denny Hamlin 367 (–63) 4 Kevin Harvick 350 (–80) 5 Brad Keselowski 337 (–93) 6 Martin Truex Jr. 328 (–102) 3 7 Chase Elliott 324 (–106) 1 8 Kurt Busch 323 (–107) 9 Ryan Blaney 306 (–124) 2 10 Clint Bowyer 288 (–142) 11 Aric Almirola 288 (–142) 12 Daniel Suárez 266 (–164) 2 13 Ryan Newman 251 (–179) 14 Austin Dillon 243 (–187) 6 15 Alex Bowman 239 (–191) 3 16 Jimmie Johnson 238 (–192)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 370 2 Ford 359 (–11) 3 Chevrolet 332 (–38)