After Mother Nature postponed the Geico 500 on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series returned to Talladega Monday afternoon to try again. There was a chance for showers that were to the west of the superspeedway. Joe Gibbs Racing occupied the first three positions with Martin Truex Jr. on the pole followed by Denny Hamlin second and Kyle Busch third. NASCAR implemented a competition caution for lap 25.
Several drivers were sent to the rear of the field, including William Byron, Joey Gase, Garrett Smithley for inspection failures. Joey Gase also had to serve a drive-through penalty. Brendan Gaughan, BJ McLeod, and Daniel Suarez were also sent to the rear for unapproved adjustments.
Time to get the #GEICO500 underway. @Ravens cornerback @marlon_humphrey waves the green flag to get us racing at @TalladegaSuperS. pic.twitter.com/cVaSGe6zYp — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin led the field to start the Geico 500. On the fifth lap, Hamlin tried to take the lead as Truex went high to block Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Three laps later, Joey Logano mustered his way to the lead on the outside, and for several laps, both he and Hamlin were battling back and forth until the competition caution came out at lap 25.
Under the competition caution, some of the leaders came in taking four tires except for Logano, who won the race off of pit road taking only two. Some drivers stayed out, including Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, and Matt Kenseth, when they pitted a lap later.
A pair of Penske cars led the field on the restart at lap 30 with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. The top eight positions only took two-tires, and from 9th on, drivers had four new tires. Kyle Busch moved his way up the field and into the lead on lap 36. Shortly after, we had several drivers swapping the lead position, including Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Tyler Reddick. Reddick was in the lead when the caution came out at lap 57 for rain. After the caution came out, the pace car brought the field down to pit road as the storm pummeled the track bringing out the red flag. The delay lasted 57 minutes before the drivers headed back out to resume the race. Once the caution was waved again, Reddick would win stage one.
Problems for @dennyhamlin late in Stage 1 force him to pit road at @TalladegaSuperS. 📺: FOX | 📲: https://t.co/oWWAusOO8X pic.twitter.com/CvUyX4Ycqt — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
All of the lead lap cars pitted for four tires and fuel. The race got back underway at lap 65 with the Hendrick cars upfront Alex Bowman and Jimmie Johnson. They faded as Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch began to duke it out for the lead until John Hunter Nemechek spun on the front stretch to bring out the third caution on lap 95. The leaders would once again come down to pit road for four new tires and fuel. Ryan Blaney won the race off of pit road, and behind him was his teammate Brad Keselowski.
An issue for @JHNemechek sends his machine through the @TalladegaSuperS grass to bring out the caution flag.#GEICO500 pic.twitter.com/2FW9emzZfo — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
On the restart at lap 100, the Penske cars were one-two-three all in the inside lane. Blaney fought Ricky Stenhouse Jr. for the lead. Stenhouse did get the lead briefly before debris brought out the fourth caution of the race.
It's time to get to the front at @TalladegaSuperS. The intensity is picking up in the #GEICO500! pic.twitter.com/I8lK23cOpT — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
Some of the lead lap cars pitted from positions 15th and back, including Ryan Preece, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, and Matt Kenseth. Blaney led the field back to green with three laps to go in stage two. At the end of stage two, the win went to Ricky Stenhouse Jr., just barely beating Ryan Blaney.
STAGE WINNER: @StenhouseJr (by THAT much) edges @Blaney for the Stage Two win at @TalladegaSuperS.#GEICO500 leaderboard: https://t.co/XrLqbBYpGE pic.twitter.com/0NAmbA1rLt — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
The cars that pitted on the last caution stayed out while the leaders came in for service. Aric Almirola only took fuel, and Kurt Busch had to pit again to fix a quarter panel brace. Chris Buescher led the field back to green with 65 laps to go. Matt Kenseth pulled from the pack believing something had broke in his car. Buescher got stuck in the middle of a three-wide pack and dropped back; the lead then went to Chase Elliott. Elliott would lose the lead two laps later to Denny Hamlin. Just when Hamlin got the lead, Ryan Blaney stormed passed him to take the lead a lap later.
Unfortunately for Elliott, he tried to make a move to get by Joey Logano, and it appeared Keselowski was going with him. However, His bumper got into Elliott, causing him to spin on the backstretch to bring out the sixth caution of the race.
It won't be a repeat #GEICO500 win for @chaseelliott. The No. 9 brings out the caution at @TalladegaSuperS. pic.twitter.com/7VB6FcQy3Z — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
As the laps were winding down and a possible threat of storms, some of the lead lap cars, including Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin pitted for fuel only. The Penske teams of Blaney and Logano led the field on the restart at lap 139. The run didn’t last long as Brennan Poole spun after making contact with Joey Gase to bring out another caution the seventh one. More lead lap cars pitted for fuel only, and the new leader was Christopher Bell.
On the restart, Bell forced Erik Jones to go below the yellow line and was penalized. Kevin Harvick had gotten the lead, but not for long as Denny Hamlin took over.
A tense moment for @CBellRacing and @Erik_Jones on the restart! Bell has served his penalty for forcing Jones below the yellow line. pic.twitter.com/qAZgImUhHC — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
The lead was consistently changing lap-by-lap as William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick all led a few laps. Fuel now became an issue as some reported they were going to be a lap or more short, and they went into save mode. However, some of the drivers ran out of gas. Ryan Blaney resumed the lead, getting a big push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Jimmie Johnson got a big run and tried to go low but hit Kevin Harvick, causing the eighth caution to come out, and the race was now heading into overtime.
Let the drama begin.@JimmieJohnson goes for a slide off the nose of @KevinHarvick to bring out a caution to set up overtime in the #GEICO500. pic.twitter.com/u8RrVf52L2 — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 22, 2020
In overtime, Ryan Blaney battled Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and John Hunter Nemechek. Jones tried to make a move on Blaney who blocked him, Jones then decided to go to the other side and hit Nemechek’s car starting another series of collisions. Out front, Blaney battled for the win and barely beat Stenhouse Jr. to the checkered flag to win the Geico 500.
Another chapter written in the book of thrilling @TalladegaSuperS finishes. Once again, it was @Blaney holding off the pack to score the victory. pic.twitter.com/jPEQC91QcA — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 23, 2020
Ricky Stenhouse Jr finished in second place, Aric Almirola third, Denny Hamlin fourth, Erik Jones fifth, Chris Buescher sixth, Alex Bowman seventh, John Hunter Nemechek eighth, Kurt Busch ninth, and Kevin Harvick wrapped up the top ten.
What was @Blaney's game plan as the field raced to the finish? He breaks down the sprint to the checkers at @TalladegaSuperS. pic.twitter.com/rfgCKYEABj — NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 23, 2020
There were 56 lead changes by 19 different drivers and nine cautions. The Cup Series will now head to Pocono Raceway for a double-header racing Saturday at 3:30 pm on FOX and Sunday at 4 pm on FS1.
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