In The Know – TALLADEGA
After back-to-back-to-back races on the three shortest tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series tour, we head to the longest track, the 2.66-mile Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway oval, for Sunday’s GEICO 500.
The Details
NASCAR Cup Series Overview
● Event: GEICO 500 (Round 10 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3 p.m. EDT on Sunday, April 24
● Location: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
● Layout: 2.66-mile oval
● Laps/Miles: 188 laps/500 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 60 laps / Stage 2: 60 laps / Final Stage: 68 laps
● TV/Radio: FOX / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
The BROADCAST
Who is ready for some speed? You can watch all the action from Talladega on FS1 and Fox.
SHR FAST FACTS
Kevin Harvick:
Harvick comes into Talladega with back-to-back top-10 finishes at the 2.66-mile oval. The driver of the No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang finished eighth last October and fourth in last year’s GEICO 500. It is the first time since early 2015 that Harvick has had consecutive top-10s at Talladega. In three straight races at Talladega in 2014-2015, Harvick finished seventh (May 2014), ninth (October 2014) and eighth (May 2015). Until last year, a top-10 was always followed by a finish of 20th or worse.
In last year’s GEICO 500, Harvick led three times for 12 laps, and in his return to Talladega in October for the YellaWood 500, he led five times for a race-high 16 laps, increasing his laps-led total at Talladega to 292.
Harvick has made 42 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Talladega, collecting eight top-fives and 18 top-10s, both of which are the second-most among all active Cup Series drivers. Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano are tied for the most top-fives with nine apiece. In the top-10 category, only Busch is ahead of Harvick with 22 top-10s.
Aric Almirola:
History at Talladega: In 24 career NASCAR Cup Series starts, Aric Almirola has one win, nine top-10 finishes, five top-fives, and has led 71 laps at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Talladega, Almirola visited victory lane in May 2017.
With his third-place finish in the June 2020 race at Talladega, Almirola tied the record of eight consecutive Talladega top-10s set by Dale Earnhardt Jr., from April 2001 to October 2004. Despite seeing his streak come to an abrupt end thanks to a multicar accident on lap 57 of the October 2020 race on the 2.66-mile oval, Almirola’s average finish in his last 10 Talladega outings is 11.1 – best in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Almirola has already shown strength in the NextGen car at superspeedways this year. In the season-opening Daytona 500, Almirola had a strong run before crossing the finish line fifth. Last month, on the newly repaved and reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway oval, which now races like a superspeedway, Almirola led six laps before he was spun while leading the inside lane, ultimately damaging the car and placing him 22nd.
Chase Briscoe:
Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) visit Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway for the second superspeedway race of the year. Briscoe finished 11th at the 2.66-mile oval last April and returned in October to finish 14th.
In the first superspeedway race of 2022, the season-opening Daytona 500, Briscoe scored his first top-five finish in Cup Series competition with a third-place result, then bested that finish two weeks later with a win at Phoenix Raceway.
Briscoe is 10th in the driver standings, 79 points out of first following last weekend’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. He currently holds a spot in the 16-driver playoff field by virtue of his win March 13 at Phoenix.
Cole Custer:
Sunday’s 500-mile race will be Custer’s 85th Cup Series start and his fifth at Talladega. The 2020 Cup Series Rookie of the Year’s 10th-place finish there a year ago this weekend was the best of his first four Cup Series visits and was the first of his two top-10 finishes earned last season. He scored his second top-10 three weeks later on the concrete mile oval at Dover (Del.) International Speedway. Custer finished 13th in last October’s rain-shortened race at Talladega.
The 24-year-old from Ladera Ranch, California, had promising runs in both of his Talladega outings during his rookie season. In the spring race, he was set to restart fifth for the green-white-checkered finish, but his Mustang began to stumble from a lack of fuel, sending him to pit road for a splash-and-go. He finished 22nd. In the fall race, he was able to drive to the front on multiple occasions, but while running fifth just past the race’s halfway point, he was collected in a multicar incident that ended his day.
OUR WEEKLY WRAPS
Our superspeedway schemes are set. Check out the fresh wraps we’ll be bringing to Talladega.
What Our Drivers are Saying:
Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
Describe the intensity of racing at Talladega.
“You have to be aggressive just for the fact that if you’re not aggressive, it always seems like you’re not going to be where you need to be. Nine times out of 10, the aggressor is going to be the guy who comes out on the good side of things just for the fact that you’re making things happen and you’re not waiting for something else to happen. When you wait for something else to happen, that’s usually when you get in trouble because it’s usually someone else’s mess. You can still get in trouble if you’re aggressive, but with the way things are, it’s best to stay aggressive and try to stay up front.”
Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield/IHOP Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
You had success at the season-opening Daytona 500 and you ran up front at Atlanta. How confident are you heading to Talladega?
“We’re as confident this year as ever. We’ve run up front at Daytona and Atlanta this year. We had a shot at the Daytona 500 win at the end there, and we were in a position to race for a win at Atlanta before we were taken out toward the end. If we can continue to avoid the inevitable wrecks, we’ll be there again. I have no doubt about that.”
Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
It seems you’re driving with a lot more confidence this year. Was there a moment that it changed for you?
“Yeah, I said earlier this year after the Phoenix win that I feel more like I belong in the Cup Series, and I think that as a lot to do with it. But I don’t know if there was one thing that changed it other than just experience. I’m here to win races and we work hard to make sure we put ourselves in position to do that. Races happen quickly and you have to make quick decisions. We know there are a few ways things could go when we make moves, but you can’t just hang back and stay out of trouble all the time. If I’ve got a chance to win or better my position, I have to take it. Sometimes it doesn’t work out and maybe you ruin someone else’s day, but it’s not on purpose. That’s never what I want and you hope that the other person understands, or is at least open to talking about it. You kind of know when you’re going to have to explain yourself and I have no problem doing that but, yeah, I definitely feel more confident in this position and all I can do is go out and do my best to put this team in position to win. We’re all really good drivers who are capable of winning and I feel more comfortable in my experience and knowing I’m capable, too.”
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Jacob Construction/HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
What do you think will be the key to running well on the dirt this weekend?
“I think it’s going to be important to get through your heat race good and kind of start your race off good because, if you start behind, it can definitely kind of throw you for a loop, and then you’re kind of fighting and maybe you do something that you don’t want to and you get yourself in a bad position. I think the heat race is important, and then it’s going to be a lot about attrition. I think just staying clean is going to be one of the biggest things, and not making mistakes and just being there at the end, because there are going to be a lot of guys who do make mistakes and it’s going to be a matter of limited mistakes. Last year, it was a lot to take in, being our first time on dirt there. And this weekend, we wipe the slate clean going back with the NextGen car.”
BEHIND THE SMOKE: EPISODE 1
Chase Briscoe returned to his dirt racing roots at Bristol on April 17th, and the No. 14 team gave us inside access to their entire weekend. Watch as all the highs and lows unfold. This is Behind The Smoke: Bristol Dirt.
Enter the gearwrench VIP racing sweepstakes
VIP me ASAP! GEARWRENCH is ready to make it happen. Enter the GEARWRENCH VIP Racing Sweepstakes for the chance to win a VIP racing experience with either the NASCAR Cup Series, Formula Drift or the NHRA. The winner and three of their best friends will go inside the ropes and behind the scenes at one of three events of their choice – the South Point 400 NASCAR race weekend Oct. 15-16 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Formula DRIFT season finale Oct. 14-15 at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, or the NHRA season finale Nov. 12-13 at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (Calif.). The grand prize includes hotel accommodations for up to three nights, transportation, a private meet-and-greet with GEARWRENCH drivers, VIP seating for the race, and $2,500 in GEARWRENCH products. In addition to the grand-prize winner, two first-prize winners will be randomly selected to receive $1,500 in tools, and four second-prize winners will be randomly selected to receive $500 in tools. And for the GEARWRENCH driver who refers the most entrants to the contest via their social media channels and their racecar, they get to donate $50,000 worth of GEARWRENCH product to the charities of their choice. So, scan that QR code on the C-post of Harvick’s No. 4 GEARWRENCH Ford Mustang if you’re on the grid before Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway or just go to GEARWRENCH.com.
BID ON AN EXCLUSIVE BENEFITING FEEDING AMERICA
Riding along with Custer for the first time this season will be SHR partner Wow Wow Classic Waffles, and Feeding America®, the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States with a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs. SHR and Wow Wow Classic Waffles are collaborating on an online auction that kicked off Tuesday, from which all proceeds will benefit Feeding America®. Fans can follow this link to bid on an exclusive VIP experience for two at the 2022 NASCAR race of the winning bidder’s choice. The winner will receive two VIP credentials that provide access to the NASCAR Cup Series garage and pit road through the race. Also included in the package are personalized garage, hauler and pit road tours, a 10-minute meet-and-greet with Custer, lunch with the No. 41 SHR Mustang team, and seats atop the team’s pit box during the race. One hundred percent of the final bid price of this auction will go directly to Feeding America®, through SHR’s partnership with Marson Foods and Wow Wow Waffles. The winner and guest must be 18 or older. The auction closes April 26.
earn pancoins with ihop
IHOP will adorn the No. 10 Smithfield Ford this weekend with a specialty paint scheme. IHOP is launching the International Bank of Pancakes, the brand’s first loyalty program designed to spread joy to guests. Unlike other banks that keep their fortunes under lock and key, IHOP is opening the vaults to share the wealth and spread happiness with its most loyal guests. To sign up, customers can create an account on IHOP.com or through the IHOP Mobile App. Guests can earn PanCoins – digital tokens they can redeem for rewards. Every $5 spent equals one PanCoin, or one pancake. Three PanCoins equal one Short Stack of Buttermilk Pancakes, while five PanCoins equal one Full Stack. PanCoins are housed on the Stack Market, where they can be traded for a coupon to use on a variety of tasty assets.
