2021 GEICO 500
# 2021 GEICO 500

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 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2022.

## 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 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.

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - |
| 00 | Quin Houff | 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 |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Tyler Reddick | 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 |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 16 | Kaz Grala | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 28 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Ford |
| 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
| 96 | Harrison Burton (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## Qualifying

Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.

### Starting Lineup

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 4 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 13 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 14 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 16 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 17 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 18 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| 20 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 21 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 22 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 23 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 24 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 25 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 26 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 28 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 29 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 30 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 31 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
| 32 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 33 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 34 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 35 | 28 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 36 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 37 | 15 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | 16 | Kaz Grala | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 39 | 96 | Harrison Burton (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota |
| 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Ford |
| Official starting lineup |||||

## Race

Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole. Kyle Larson suffered a blown engine and fell out of the race on only the third lap. On the final lap of the first stage, Joey Logano spun and went airborne, flipping onto its roof. The car's spoiler scraped the roof of Bubba Wallace before rolling back onto all fours at the bottom of turn 3. Matt DiBenedetto was awarded the stage win. On the final lap of the second stage, Hamlin got turned into the wall and collected Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and Martin Truex Jr. while Wallace was awarded the stage win, the first of his career. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would be spun off the bumper of Quin Houff and nose into the wall coming to pit road during green flag pit stops. Truex would suffer a flat tire, bringing out a caution and sending the race to overtime. Brad Keselowski would drive past DiBenedetto and hold off William Byron as several drivers crashed on the final lap to score his sixth career win at Talladega, tying Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for second on the all-time Talladega win list behind Dale Earnhardt.

### Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 60

| Pos | No | 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 |
| Official stage one results ||||||

Stage Two Laps: 60

| Pos | No | 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 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 68

| Pos | Grid | No | 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 |
| 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: 147.62 miles per hour (237.57 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.

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.

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

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Denny Hamlin | 446 |
| | 2 | Martin Truex Jr. | 359 (−87) |
| | 3 | Joey Logano | 353 (−93) |
| | 4 | William Byron | 351 (−95) |
| | 5 | Ryan Blaney | 346 (−100) |
| 3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 318 (−128) |
| 1 | 7 | Kevin Harvick | 308 (−138) |
| 1 | 8 | Chase Elliott | 306 (−140) |
| 3 | 9 | Kyle Larson | 300 (−146) |
| | 10 | Christopher Bell | 280 (−166) |
| | 11 | Kyle Busch | 271 (−175) |
| | 12 | Austin Dillon | 268 (−178) |
| 4 | 13 | Michael McDowell | 244 (−202) |
| 1 | 14 | Alex Bowman | 241 (−205) |
| 1 | 15 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 229 (−217) |
| | 16 | Chris Buescher | 229 (−217) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Ford | 362 |
| 1 | 2 | Chevrolet | 360 (−2) |
| | 3 | Toyota | 342 (−20) |
