2023 GEICO 500
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 10 of 36 in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | April 23, 2023 | ||
| Location | Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.66 miles (4.28 km) | ||
| Distance | 196 laps, 521.36 mi (838.88 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.64 km) | ||
| Average speed | 146.575 miles per hour (235.890 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 52.979 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 47 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Tony Stewart | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
| Turn announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch), and Dillon Welch (3 & 4) | ||
The 2023 GEICO 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on April 23, 2023, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 196 laps – extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) superspeedway, it was the 10th race of the 2023 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 Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Craftsman 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 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 52.979 and a speed of 180.751 mph (290.891 km/h).[9]
Qualifying results
Race
During the overtime lap, Kyle Larson's car was t-boned by Ryan Preece in a collision triggered by Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson. The wreck collapsed Larson's passenger side roll cage, described by race winner Kyle Busch as "brick getting rammed into a stick of butter".[10] Neither Larson nor Preece were injured from the collision, but the carnage reignited safety concerns regarding the Next Gen car. NASCAR took both cars to the R&D Center for further investigation.[11]
Race results
Stage Results
Stage OneLaps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage TwoLaps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage ThreeLaps: 68
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 40 |
| 2 | 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 196 | 35 |
| 3 | 10 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 196 | 34 |
| 4 | 4 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 196 | 33 |
| 5 | 20 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 196 | 32 |
| 6 | 24 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 196 | 31 |
| 7 | 18 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 37 |
| 8 | 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 196 | 29 |
| 9 | 22 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 29 |
| 10 | 28 | 36 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 196 | 27 |
| 11 | 38 | 51 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 196 | 0 |
| 12 | 29 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 44 |
| 13 | 27 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 33 |
| 14 | 32 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 23 |
| 15 | 33 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 23 |
| 16 | 13 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 196 | 21 |
| 17 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 196 | 23 |
| 18 | 37 | 78 | B. J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 19 |
| 19 | 26 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 18 |
| 20 | 36 | 15 | Riley Herbst (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 196 | 0 |
| 21 | 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 196 | 24 |
| 22 | 2 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 196 | 25 |
| 23 | 23 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 23 |
| 24 | 31 | 62 | Austin Hill (i) | Beard Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 0 |
| 25 | 34 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 196 | 13 |
| 26 | 15 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 196 | 16 |
| 27 | 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 196 | 15 |
| 28 | 12 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 195 | 16 |
| 29 | 19 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 195 | 8 |
| 30 | 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 195 | 10 |
| 31 | 3 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 194 | 6 |
| 32 | 30 | 42 | Noah Gragson (R) | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 189 | 10 |
| 33 | 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 189 | 10 |
| 34 | 16 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 189 | 9 |
| 35 | 21 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 189 | 2 |
| 36 | 25 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 183 | 7 |
| 37 | 35 | 38 | Zane Smith (i) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 141 | 0 |
| 38 | 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 141 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 57 among 21 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 8 for 34
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 25 seconds
- Average speed: 146.575 miles per hour (235.890 km/h)
Media
Television
Fox Sports covered their 23rd race at the Talladega Superspeedway. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer and 2008 fall Talladega winner Tony Stewart called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims handled the pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Color-commentator: Tony Stewart | Jamie Little Regan Smith Josh Sims | Larry McReynolds |
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden & Jeff Striegle 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 & Dillon Welch called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post, Georgia Henneberry, Chris Wilner and Brienne Pedigo worked pit road for the radio side for MRN.
| MRN Radio | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle | Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Mike Bagley Turns 3 & 4: Dillon Welch | Steve Post Georgia Henneberry Chris Wilner Brienne Pedigo |
Standings after the race
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References
- ^ "2023 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
- ^ "Talladega Superspeedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Taranto, Steven (September 14, 2022). "NASCAR releases 2023 Cup Series schedule highlighted by new Chicago, All-Star race stops". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "NASCAR unveils 2023 schedule for its national series". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. September 14, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
- ^ "Qualifying Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. April 22, 2023. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ "GEICO 500 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. April 23, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. April 23, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Utter, Jim (April 22, 2023). "Hamlin beats Almirola to NASCAR Cup pole at Talladega". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ Gelston, Dan (April 30, 2023). "Larson: Aftermath of violent Talladega wreck 'unsettling'". ABC News. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Crandall, Kelly (April 25, 2023). "Preece to meet with NASCAR to analyze Talladega crash". RACER.com. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
