2021 GEICO 500
{{short description|NASCAR Cup Series race}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NASCAR race report
| Type = CUST
| Description = Race 10 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series
| Race Name = GEICO 500
| Details ref = {{cite web |title=2021 schedule |url=https://www.jayski.com/nascar-cup-series/2021-nascar-cup-series-schedule/ |website=Jayski.com|publisher=Jayski's Silly Season Site |accessdate=March 7, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Talladega Superspeedway|url=http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/talladega-superspeedway.html|website=NASCAR.com|publisher=NASCAR Media Group, LLC.|access-date=March 7, 2021|date=January 3, 2013|archive-date=April 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428035211/http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nascar-tracks/talladega-superspeedway.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Entry List|url=https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/4/21/2021-10cup-entry-2.pdf|website=Jayski.com|publisher=Jayski's Silly Season Site|access-date=April 19, 2021|date=April 19, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Starting Lineup|url=https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2021/04/21/busch-pole-award-2021-talladega-superspeedway/|website=NASCAR.com|publisher=NASCAR Media Group, LLC.|access-date=April 21, 2021|date=April 21, 2021}}{{cite web|title=GEICO 500 Results|url=https://www.nascar.com/results/racecenter/2021/nascar-cup-series/geico-500/stn/results/|website=NASCAR.com|publisher=NASCAR|access-date=April 25, 2021|date=April 25, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Points standings|url=https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/4/25/2021-10cup-points.pdf|website=Jayski.com|publisher=Jayski's Silly Season Site|access-date=April 25, 2021|date=April 25, 2021}}
| Fulldate = {{Start date|2021|04|25}}
| Year = 2021
| Image = Talladega Superspeedway.svg
| Caption =
| Location = Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama
| Course_mi = 2.66
| Course_km = 4.28
| Distance_laps = 191
| Distance_mi = 508.06
| Distance_km = 817.48
| Scheduled_laps = 188
| Scheduled_mi = 500.08
| Scheduled_km = 804.64
| Weather =
| Avg = {{convert|147.62|mph|km/h}}
| Pole_Driver = Denny Hamlin
| Pole_Team = Joe Gibbs Racing
| Grid_from_prev_perf = yes
| Most_Driver = Denny Hamlin
| Most_Team = Joe Gibbs Racing
| Most_laps = 44
| Car = 2
| First_Driver = Brad Keselowski
| First_Team = Team Penske
| Network = Fox
| Announcers = Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer
| Ratings =2.8/4.7 million
| Radio = MRN
| Booth_Ann = Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle
| Turn_Ann = Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kurt Becker (3 & 4)
}}
The 2021 GEICO 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race was held on April 25, 2021, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 191 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 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the second of the four crown jewel races. Brad Keselowski won the race, his 35th career victory, sixth win at Talladega (which tied Jeff Gordon for the second-most victories at the track), and his last win with Team Penske in the No. 2 as he moved to co-own RFK Racing, as well as drive the No. 6 in 2022.
Report
=Background=
File:2021_GEICO_500_program_cover_and_logo.jpg
File:TalladegaSuperspeedway2.jpg, the track where the race was 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 Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Camping World 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 driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.
=Starting Lineup=
Race
=Stage Results=
Stage One
Laps: 60
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:98%" | |||||
| Pos
! {{Tooltip|No|Car Number}} ! Driver ! Team ! Manufacturer ! Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| colspan="6"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/4/25/2021-10cup-results.pdf Official stage one results] |
Stage Two
Laps: 60
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:98%" | |||||
| Pos
! {{Tooltip|No|Car Number}} ! Driver ! Team ! Manufacturer ! Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 96 | Harrison Burton (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| colspan="6"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/4/25/2021-10cup-results.pdf Official stage two results] |
=Final Stage Results=
Stage Three
Laps: 68
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:98%" | |||||||
| Pos
! Grid ! {{Tooltip|No|Car Number}} ! Driver ! Team ! Manufacturer ! Laps ! Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 191 | 49 |
| 2 | 4 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 191 | 41 |
| 3 | 23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 191 | 45 |
| 4 | 16 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 191 | 35 |
| 5 | 13 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 191 | 42 |
| 6 | 38 | 16 | Kaz Grala | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 191 | 31 |
| 7 | 20 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 191 | 30 |
| 8 | 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 191 | 29 |
| 9 | 7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 191 | 42 |
| 10 | 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 191 | 27 |
| 11 | 25 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 191 | 26 |
| 12 | 30 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 191 | 25 |
| 13 | 28 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 191 | 24 |
| 14 | 29 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 191 | 29 |
| 15 | 14 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 191 | 22 |
| 16 | 18 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 191 | 21 |
| 17 | 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 191 | 23 |
| 18 | 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 191 | 26 |
| 19 | 24 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 191 | 28 |
| 20 | 39 | 96 | Harrison Burton (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 191 | 0 |
| 21 | 21 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 191 | 25 |
| 22 | 26 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 191 | 15 |
| 23 | 19 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 191 | 14 |
| 24 | 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 191 | 21 |
| 25 | 31 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 191 | 0 |
| 26 | 37 | 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 191 | 0 |
| 27 | 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 190 | 10 |
| 28 | 33 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 190 | 0 |
| 29 | 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 190 | 0 |
| 30 | 34 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 190 | 0 |
| 31 | 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 189 | 6 |
| 32 | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 188 | 12 |
| 33 | 17 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 186 | 7 |
| 34 | 35 | 28 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 186 | 0 |
| 35 | 15 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 185 | 2 |
| 36 | 36 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 180 | 1 |
| 37 | 32 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 168 | 1 |
| 38 | 5 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 123 | 5 |
| 39 | 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 59 | 1 |
| 40 | 12 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 | 1 |
| colspan="8"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/4/25/2021-10cup-results.pdf Official race results] |
=Race statistics=
- Lead changes: 35 among 17 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 7 for 34
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 26 minutes and 30 seconds
- Average speed: {{convert|147.62|mph|km/h}}
Media
=Television=
Fox Sports covered their 21st race at the Talladega Superspeedway. Mike Joy, six-time Talladega winner – and all-time restrictor plate race wins record holder – Jeff Gordon and two-time Talladega winner Clint Bowyer called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" | ||
| colspan="3"|Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer | Jamie Little Regan Smith | Larry McReynolds |
=Radio=
MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and 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. Kurt Becker called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post, Dillon Welch and Kim Coon worked pit road for the radio side.
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" | ||
| colspan="3"|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: Kurt Becker | Steve Post Kim Coon Dillon Welch |
Standings after the race
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
;Drivers' Championship standings
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" |
| ! Pos
! Driver ! Points |
|---|
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | style="text-align:center;"| 446 |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Martin Truex Jr. | style="text-align:center;"| 359 (−87) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Joey Logano | style="text-align:center;"| 353 (−93) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 4 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| William Byron | style="text-align:center;"| 351 (−95) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 5 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Ryan Blaney | style="text-align:center;"| 346 (−100) |
| align="left"| 10px 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 6 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Brad Keselowski | style="text-align:center;"| 318 (−128) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 7 | style="text-align:center;"| 308 (−138) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 8 | style="text-align:center;"| 306 (−140) |
| align="left"| 10px 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 9 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Kyle Larson | style="text-align:center;"| 300 (−146) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 10 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Christopher Bell | style="text-align:center;"| 280 (−166) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 11 | style="text-align:center;"| 271 (−175) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 12 | style="text-align:center;"| 268 (−178) |
| align="left"| 10px 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 13 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Michael McDowell | style="text-align:center;"| 244 (−202) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 14 | style="background:#FFDEAD;"| Alex Bowman | style="text-align:center;"| 241 (−205) |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 15 | style="text-align:center;"| 229 (−217) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 16 | style="text-align:center;"| 229 (−217) |
| class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|[https://www.jayski.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2021/4/25/2021-10cup-points.pdf Official driver's standings] |
{{col-2}}
;Manufacturers' Championship standings
| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" |
| ! Pos
! Manufacturer ! Points |
|---|
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 1 | Ford | style="text-align:center;"| 362 |
| align="left"| 10px 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 2 | style="text-align:center;"| 360 (−2) |
| align="left"| 10px
| style="text-align:center;"| 3 | Toyota | style="text-align:center;"| 342 (−20) |
| class="sortbottom" |
- Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
- . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
{{col-end}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{NASCAR next race
| Series = NASCAR Cup Series
| Monsteryear = 2021
| Previous_race = 2021 Toyota Owners 400
| Next_race = 2021 Buschy McBusch Race 400
}}
{{2021 NASCAR Cup}}