2019 GEICO 500

2019 GEICO 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Race 10 of 36 in the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Date April 28, 2019 (2019-04-28)
Location Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.64 km)
Average speed 161.331 miles per hour (259.637 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Richard Childress Racing
Time 49.734
Most laps led
Driver Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 44
Winner
No. 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip
Nielsen Ratings 4.521 million[9]
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and Dale Jarrett
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4)

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, the track where the race will be held

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

No. 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 Toyota
Official 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 202.671 mph (326.167 km/h).[10]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
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 47.253 202.654
Official 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 204.157 mph (328.559 km/h).[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
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 46.915 204.114
Official final practice results

Qualifying

Austin Dillon started from pole position.

Austin Dillon scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.734 and a speed of 192.544 mph (309.870 km/h).[12]

Qualifying results

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 49.847 49.734
2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 49.791 49.841
3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.115 49.947
4 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.048 49.965
5 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.083 50.022
6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.204 50.037
7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 50.124 50.080
8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 50.220 50.112
9 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.218 50.164
10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.178 50.193
11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.246 50.201
12 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.135 50.251
13 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 50.310 —
14 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.316 —
15 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.344 —
16 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.419 —
17 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.421 —
18 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 50.447 —
19 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.450 —
20 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.482 —
21 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.519 —
22 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.593 —
23 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.596 —
24 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.614 —
25 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.699 —
26 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 50.817 —
27 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.821 —
28 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 50.870 —
29 62 Tyler Reddick (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 51.170 —
30 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 51.269 —
31 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 51.374 —
32 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 51.382 —
33 81 Jeffrey Earnhardt (i) XCI Racing Toyota 51.432 —
34 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.800 —
35 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 52.081 —
36 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 52.100 —
37 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 52.184 —
38 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 52.197 —
39 52 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 52.984 —
40 51 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)[13]

Race

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 55

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 10
2 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9
3 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 8
4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7
5 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6
6 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 5
7 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4
8 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 3
9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2
10 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 1
Official stage one results

Stage Two Laps: 55

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10
2 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 9
3 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 8
4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 7
5 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 6
6 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 5
7 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 4
8 8 Daniel Hemric Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 3
9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 2
10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage two results

Final Stage Results

The finish.
Chase Elliott celebrating victory lap.

Stage Three Laps: 78

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 11 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 57
2 9 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 53
3 30 47 Ryan Preece (R) JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 188 34
4 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 188 35
5 5 8 Daniel Hemric (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 35
6 14 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 188 36
7 24 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 188 35
8 29 62 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 188 0
9 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 188 28
10 22 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 30
11 36 32 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing Ford 188 26
12 16 41 Daniel Suárez Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 188 31
13 4 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 188 24
14 1 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 37
15 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 188 29
16 17 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 188 21
17 13 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 188 30
18 37 27 Reed Sorenson Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 188 19
19 27 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 18
20 20 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 17
21 25 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 28
22 33 81 Jeffrey Earnhardt (i) XCI Racing Toyota 187 0
23 15 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 187 14
24 10 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 187 17
25 6 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 187 15
26 34 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 187 0
27 35 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 186 0
28 40 51 Cody Ware (R) Petty Ware Racing Ford 184 9
29 3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 182 8
30 31 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 181 7
31 26 95 Matt DiBenedetto Leavine Family Racing Toyota 181 7
32 38 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 180 0
33 21 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 178 4
34 32 00 Landon Cassill (i) StarCom Racing Chevrolet 154 0
35 39 52 Stanton Barrett Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 132 2
36 23 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 80 1
37 18 36 Matt Tifft (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 11 1
38 19 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 1
39 28 43 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 10 1
40 12 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 10 1
Official 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: 161.331 miles per hour (259.637 km/h)

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 Television
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy
Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon
Color commentator: Darrell Waltrip		 Jamie Little
Vince Welch
Matt 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 Radio
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Announcer: Dale Jarrett		 Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4: Kurt Becker		 Winston Kelley
Kim Coon
Steve Post
Dillon Welch

Standings after the race

References

  1. ^ "2019 schedule". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. May 5, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  2. ^ "Talladega Superspeedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  7. ^ "GEICO 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  8. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 28, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  9. ^ "GEICO 500 ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  10. ^ Utter, Jim (April 26, 2019). "Kurt Busch tops first Cup practice at Talladega at over 202 mph". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  11. ^ Utter, Jim (April 26, 2019). "Despite rule changes, Ryan Newman tops 204 mph at Talladega". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Utter, Jim (April 27, 2019). "Austin Dillon tops Almirola to win Cup pole at Talladega". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway cars to the rear at Talladega | NASCAR.com". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2019-04-28. Retrieved 2019-04-28.


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