A wild day of unpredictability is the normal game at Talladega Superspeedway as Brad Keselowski crossed the finish line fending off a late charge by Michael McDowell and William Byron. Only leading one lap, the most important lap. the number 2 Money Lion Ford Mustang was fast all day being in the lead pack for the majority of the race.
It's not if but when for the "Big One" at Talladega... and the aggressive nature of the drivers took over. The Big one never stood out as the most violent crash of the day, claiming victim Joey Logano in what is described as a product of Talladega. He flipped over multiple times on the entrance of turn three, causing safety concerns and complaints from the driver. When asked about the flip he told Jamie Little of Fox NASCAR "I'm one hit away from the same situation Ryan Newman just went through".
One of the favourites for the race was Denny Hamlin, who led the most laps with 43, but was caught up in a late race caution ending his day. Matt Dibenedetto looked very strong leading 28 laps in the final stage before getting shuffled back in the final laps to settle for a fifth-place finish.
The Victory for Brad marks his 36th of his career and his 6th at Talladega tying him for second on the all time wins list with Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordan at the Superspeedway.
Geico 500 Top 5:
1. Brad Keselowski
2. William Byron
3. Michael McDowell
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Matt Dibenedetto
Notables:
6. Kaz Grala
19. Bubba Wallace (Stage 2 winner)
27. Erik Jones
Written by: Matt Marr
