Everything You Need to Know About Monday’s Rescheduled NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega
The NASCAR Cup Series GIECO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway was postponed until Monday after persistent rains and lightning and a lack of lighting at the track forced NASCAR’s hand.
When the race gets underway, Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag after he drew the No. 1 position in the random starting position draw.
However, starting position will mean very little in Monday’s race as drivers will utilize the draft in packs of around 200-miles-per-hour to knife their way forward through the field.
The sentimental favorite in the field will have to be Alabama-native Bubba Wallace.
Wallace, who finished runner-up in the 2018 Daytona 500, has been leading the charge for NASCAR to be more inclusive. The 26-year old, who is the only African-American driver in the Cup Series currently, ran a Black Lives Matter paint scheme at Martinsville a few weeks ago, and then called for NASCAR to ban the Confederate Flag from race tracks.
NASCAR agreed, and banned the flag officially from all NASCAR events and properties.
On Sunday, a noose was found in Wallace’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports garage stall. While NASCAR hasn’t announced a culprit, they have launched a full investigation and have stated that when the perpetrator or perpetrators are found, they’ll be gone from the sport.
If Wallace could reach victory lane in the always wild and unpredictable event at Talladega, it would be an emotional win to say the least.
Other drivers who have shown a penchant for drafting over the years include Denny Hamlin, who will run an all black National Civil Rights Museum Toyota Camry. FedEx, Hamlin’s sponsor, opted this week to remove their primary sponsorship on the No. 11 car and instead highlight the museum on the Joe Gibbs Racing machine.
Hamlin has four total wins in superspeedway races throughout his career, three of them coming in the Daytona 500 and one coming at Talladega. Hamlin will be one to watch on Monday.
Brad Keselowski leads active drivers with five victories at Talladega Superspeedway, in fact, his first-career win came at this track back in 2009. Keselowski already has amassed two wins this season and is looking to further cement his status in the NASCAR Playoffs later in the year.
Joey Logano, Keselowski’s teammate, also has three wins at Talladega and should be considered one of the favorites for the win.
Now let’s get to the important stuff you need to know about Monday’s race.
How to Watch/Listen
Race starts at 3:00 PM ET on FOX (in the United States) and TSN1 and TSN3 (in Canada)
Green Flag will fly at approximately 3:22 PM ET
If you prefer to stream the race, it will also be available on the FOX Sports Go app.
The race will also be available on radio broadcast on MRN, or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90), the NASCAR Mobile App provides free MRN race radio broadcast.
Race Info
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Race No. 13 of 36 in the 2020 season
Track:Â Talladega Superspeedway
Track Size:Â 2.66-mile
Laps: 188 (Stage 1 ends lap 60, Stage 2 ends lap 120, Race ends lap 188)
Distance: 500.08 miles
Pre-Race Data
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Toby Christie View All
Toby is the Founder, Editor and go-to man for TobyChristie.com. He is also the co-host of The Final Lap Weekly Podcast. Additionally, Toby is a NMPA (National Motorsports Press Association) award winning writer, and has followed NASCAR as a fan since 1993.