Brad Keselowski adds to his Talladega win count with another victory in the NASCAR Cup Series Geico 500 at Alabama track on Sunday.
After what has been an eventful start to the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, the show rolls into Talladega Superspeedway. Despite what fans say about the typical superspeedway race, teams still look at these races as a chance to grab a win. Anything and everything is possible in these races. As always, it is critical to find a way to make it to the end of the race.
An Early Day for Logano in the First Stage
Joey Logano brought the field to the green flag, and it did not take long for the field to begin making moves. Bubba Wallace started the race in last, but thirteen laps later, he was leading the race. The field changed lead four different times before the competition caution came out on lap 27. Denny Hamlin cycled to the lead under caution and was able to jump out to the lead on the restart.
As the first stage came to a close, the action kicked up again. Ryan Blaney and Matt DiBenedetto traded the lead numerous times. The first stage ended under caution after Joey Logano spun out and flipped into the air. Many cars were involved, but only Joey Logano had enough damage to be removed from the race.
Matt DiBenedetto held the lead to win the first stage.
Another Caution Ends the Second Stage
Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin held the front row coming to the green flag to start the second stage. Hamlin beat Elliott for lead, and the field moved to single file quickly.
Green flag stops began to cycle on lap 84 with all Chevrolet drivers coming down first. Ford and then Toyota teams cycled next with Denny Hamlin being flagged for speeding. Denny Hamlin was caught speeding a second time trying to serve his pass-through fine. William Byron was able to reach the lead through all of this.
As the second stage came to a close, Bubba Wallace returned to the lead. Once more, the segment ended under caution after Denny Hamlin spun into the wall. This wreck ended the day for Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Alex Bowman.
Bubba Wallace kept control of the lead and to win the second stage.
Brad Keselowski Adds to his Talladega Win Count in the Third Stage
Ryan Blaney kicked off the final segment with the lead. However, he acquired a piece of debris that covered his air intake. He and Aric Almirola flipped positions to allow Blaney to remove the debris.
The Chevy drivers organized themselves along the bottom and were able to make a run with Ross Chastain leading the charge. Chastain reached the lead but had to battle with Kevin Harvick to keep it.
Drivers began cycling down pit road under the green flag on lap 155. Chastain cycled back into the lead, but Bubba Wallace had a run on him. Wallace reached the lead right as Quin Houff hit the wall.
Shortly after the restart, another caution flag waved with Martin Truex Jr. being the cause. The race moved into overtime with Matt DiBenedetto controlling the restart. DiBenedetto led the field cleanly around to the final lap.
On the backstretch, Brad Keselowski held back and was able to receive a big push from behind. Keselowski made his way past DiBenedetto and into the lead. The field became disorganized behind Keselowski, and he made his way around the trioval and scored his first win of the season.
Brad Keselowski won the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
Brad Keselowski picked up win number six at the historic superspeedway. He has always been great at racing on these types of tracks. Between Daytona and Talladega, Keselowski is in contention throughout the race. As always, making it to the end of the race is the hardest thing to do. All that is needed, is a chance at superspeedways, and Keselowski took advantage of a perfect opportunity on Sunday. He made it count and is now tied for second-most wins in Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway.