NASCAR stood with driver Bubba Wallace in solidarity before the race at Talladega Superspeedway. Ryan Blaney then won the GEICO 500.
The race was set to run Sunday, June 21st. However, the heavy rain in Alabama at the track forced NASCAR to delay the race until Monday, June 22nd. Sunday night a noose was found hanging in the garage near Bubba Wallace’s car.
The drivers decided to show the perpetrator of this heinous act that they stood with their fellow driver. When the crew members heard what the drivers planned, they wanted to be a part of it. Before the race started, Bubba got in his car and the drivers pushed it to the front of the field of cars. All of the crew members and NASCAR staff joined the walk to show their solidarity with Bubba. It was a powerful statement and a moving moment.
When the drivers got in their cars it was time to race. The first stage of racing was competitive, but uneventful as far as accidents go. The only caution was a competition caution. However, rain would force the stage to end under caution with Tyler Reddick winning the stage. The red flag would then be displayed for 57 minutes and 18 seconds.
The race got back under way with again an uneventful stage two. Just two caution flags would waive in this stage. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the car at the lead when stage two ended.
While the race was somewhat calm when it came to cautions, (there were only eight yellow flags issued and the “Big One” never happened) there was plenty of excitement at the front of the field. There were nineteen different drivers that exchanged the lead 56 times. You need to realize that those stats only reflect official leaders and lead changes at the start finish line on the track.
All through the race Ryan Blaney was near the front, most of the time in the top few positions on the track. He led the most laps with 63 laps out front. Ryan was part of a tight battle over the final couple of laps. He was able to edge out the competitors to score his first win of the 2020 Cup Series season. The win makes Ryan one of only five active drivers with multiple wins at Talladega.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished in second place side-by-side with Ryan. Aric Almirola slid across the finish line backwards to claim third place. Denny Hamlin raced across the line in fourth place. Erik Jones crossed the finish line in fifth place as he slid down the outside wall. It was quite an exciting finish to a race. See the complete race results for the GEICO 500 here.
Kevin Harvick remains the leader in the point standings. Joey Logano moves up a spot to second place. Ryan Blaney moves up two spots to third place. Chase Elliott falls back two spots to fourth place. Brad Keselowski falls back one spot to fifth place. See the complete NASCAR Cup Series point standings here.
NASCAR continues to work at making the 2020 season a “complete season” of 36 races. This coming weekend will be another step in that direction. It will also be another first for NASCAR. For the first time ever there will be two NASCAR Cup Series races in two days. Both races will take place at Pocono Raceway.
Saturday, June 27th will be the Pocono Organics 325 in partnership with Rodale Institute starting at 2:30 P.M. central time (3:30 P.M. eastern time).
Sunday, June 28th will be the Pocono 350 starting at 3 P.M. central time (4 P.M. eastern time).
It will be a NASCAR Cup Series “Double-Header” weekend at the “Tricky Triangle“!
By: Buck Stevens
