# 2019 GEICO 500

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, 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).
| 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).
| 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 scored the pole for the race with a time of 49.734 and a speed of 192.544 mph (309.870 km/h).

### 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)

## 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

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

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Kyle Busch | 430 |
| | 2 | Joey Logano | 415 (–15) |
| | 3 | Denny Hamlin | 367 (–63) |
| | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 350 (–80) |
| | 5 | Brad Keselowski | 337 (–93) |
| | 6 | Martin Truex Jr. | 328 (–102) |
| 3 | 7 | Chase Elliott | 324 (–106) |
| 1 | 8 | Kurt Busch | 323 (–107) |
| | 9 | Ryan Blaney | 306 (–124) |
| 2 | 10 | Clint Bowyer | 288 (–142) |
| | 11 | Aric Almirola | 288 (–142) |
| | 12 | Daniel Suárez | 266 (–164) |
| 2 | 13 | Ryan Newman | 251 (–179) |
| | 14 | Austin Dillon | 243 (–187) |
| 6 | 15 | Alex Bowman | 239 (–191) |
| 3 | 16 | Jimmie Johnson | 238 (–192) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Toyota | 370 |
| 2 | Ford | 359 (–11) |
| 3 | Chevrolet | 332 (–38) |