Dale Earnhardt Jr. got back to his Talladega Superspeedway winning ways Sunday (5/3) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series by capturing the checkered flag in the Geico 500.

Jeff Gordon started the race from the pole and looked to be the strongest car in the field Sunday afternoon at the massive two-and-a-half-mile race track. Jeff looked as though he would add to his six wins at the track called “Dega” which made him the active driver with the most wins at the track. Dale Earnhardt Sr. is the all-time leading winner at the track with 10 and Dale Jr. with five wins at the track was just behind Jeff on the list.

It didn’t take long for the first caution to fly in the Geico 500. A two-car wreck put the field under the yellow flag on lap 20 of the 188 lap race. There was a total of six caution periods during the race. We all expect the “Big One” to happen at Talladega, because it almost always does. This year would be no exception.

The second caution period was for the “BIg One” and it came early as well on lap 48. The wreck involved 15 cars including some of the cars that had shown that they could challenge for the win at the end of the race. The clean-up from this wreck required an 11:32 minute red flag.

When the race got back under way, it was Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson leading the race for the most part in the middle of the race. There were 15 drivers that exchanged the lead at total of 27 times during the NASCAR race at Talladega.

Near the end of the race under caution Jeff got penalized for speeding entering pit road which required him to start at the rear of the pack on the ensuing re-start. That left Dale Jr., Jimmie and a few other strong cars to battle it out.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. edged out the competition on the final re-start of the race on lap 162 to take the lead again. He held that front position for the final 27 laps of the race as he held off some last laps moves to win the race. In all, Dale Jr. led a race high 67 laps. Of the course the most important one was the final lap where he pulled even with Jeff Gordon in number of career wins at Talladega Superspeedway.

Jimmie Johnson defended his second place finish for the race with Paul Menard grabbing third place. NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie Ryan Blaney had a great day and great finish capturing fourth place just ahead of Martin Truex Jr. in fifth. See the complete results of the Geico 500 here.

Kevin Harvick remains at the top of list for the point standings. Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson each move up a spot to second and third respectively. Joey Logano falls back two places to fourth while Dale Jr.’s win propels him up three spots to fifth place. See the complete NASCAR Sprint Cup point standings here.

The win also moves Dale Jr. on the list of “all but guaranteed” a spot on the Chase Grid. The Chase Grid now has half of the sixteen driver field with a chance at winning the championship filled by drivers with at least one win. Dale Jr.’s point total paired with his win yesterday ranks him fourth on the grid. See how the 2015 NASCAR Chase Grid looks following the Geico 500 at Talladega here.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series will race under the lights Saturday night May 9th at Kansas Speedway in the SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS 400. Seriously, that IS the name of the race.

By: Buck Stevens