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 (2023-04-23)
Location	Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (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	Denny Hamlin	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 One Laps: 60

Stage Two Laps: 60

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 68

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.

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.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Christopher Bell 331 2 Ross Chastain 319 (–12) 3 Kevin Harvick 311 (–20) 4 Kyle Larson 295 (–36) 3 5 Kyle Busch 290 (–41) 6 Tyler Reddick 286 (–45) 2 7 Martin Truex Jr. 281 (–50) 2 8 Ryan Blaney 276 (–55) 2 9 Alex Bowman 270 (–61) 1 10 Denny Hamlin 270 (–61) 4 11 Joey Logano 268 (–63) 12 Brad Keselowski 267 (–64) 13 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 247 (–84) 1 14 William Byron 245 (–86) 1 15 Chase Briscoe 243 (–88) 16 Chris Buescher 240 (–91) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 382 2 Toyota 342 (–40) 3 Ford 338 (–44) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.