High Banks of Chaos: Talladega Superspeedway Race Review and Analysis

 



The high banks of Lincoln, Alabama, is where the Nascar Cup Series visited Talladega Superspeedway for the Geico 500! Kyle Busch in the right place at the right time, took home the checkered flag in a thrilling final overtime restart.  This is Busch’s 62nd career win and the 2nd of the 2023 season.  The 37-year old collected his first superspeedway win at Talladega since 2008, now in his 10th race for Richard Childress Racing. Busch joins William Byron, and Kyle Larson as the only drivers with multiple wins locked into the playoffs.

(Kyle Busch in Victory Lane)

A late race caution, something all teams, drivers, and fans were anticipating finally occurred with under 6 laps to go, prompting an overtime restart.  The two childhood best friends of Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Blaney battled it out, until a late third block by Wallace on Blaney, prompted his #23 to go for a ride, spinning out of the lead, and handing Busch the win. Concerned due to lack of fuel, Busch was able to coast his way back to the green/white checkered flag, to claim victory.



 Blaney finishes 2nd, which is his 7th top-15 finish at Talladega since 2019 for Team Penske.  Unfortunately for Wallace, a career-best performance from start to finish at a restrictor-plate race, ends in heartbreak, after leading 35 laps, finishing 28th.  



(The Famous Busch Celebration: The Bow)



Leaving Talladega with momentum, after surviving all 500-plus miles, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Blaney leading 47 laps, filled out the top-2. Chris Buescher for RFK Racing came home 3rd, followed by Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing in 4th.  


Fifth place is awarded to co-owner of RFK Racing, Brad Keselowski, alongside Legacy Motor Club’s Erik Jones in 6th, who was the pied piper of the third lane for the majority of the race.  William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports on a quiet evening crosses the line 7th, trailing him is Christopher Bell in 8th for Joe Gibbs Racing.  Ninth is credited to Daniel Suarez courtesy of Trackhouse Racing, as Todd Gilliland collects his fifth top-15 in his last six races, rounding out the top-10 for Front Row Motorsports.  


Honorable mentions are awarded to J.J. Yeley of Rick Ware Racing in 11th, as Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman finished 12th, and 13th.  Ty Dillon of Spire Motorsports crossed the line 14th, with JTG Daugherty’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 15th.  Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing, and co-owner of 23XI, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin crossed the line 16th, and 17th. 


Lastly, Justin Haley in 19th for Kaulig Racing, and B.J. McLeod of Live Fast Motorsports awarded 18th. 



Leaving the Talladega spring race behind, the storyline finish delivered once again.  Mirroring the 2023 Daytona 500 with two wide drafting, the racing product took a turn for the better, as the traditional nostalgic Talladega 3-wide pack racing came alive towards the end of today’s race.  Strategy on pit road for fuel became a question as overtime restarts progressed, but in the end, the famous block to win the Geico 500 determined today’s winner.  


A massive hit for Kyle Larson, and Ryan Preece occurred due to the diciness, and building ominous progression from the lead pack.  Luckily, both drivers were ok, as Larson's roll cage, which is the structure of the chassis was crushed on impact, as this weekend has been filled with hostile wrecks throughout both the Xfinity and Cup races.  


Headed back north, Austin Dillon, Harrison Burton, Michael McDowell, Noah Gragson, Ryan Preece, and Kyle Larson are looking for bounce-back weekends in Dover.  


Deflatingly for Gragson of Legacy Motor Club, the aggressive reputation of Ross Chastain presented the 24-year old a vulnerable position. Chastain, with an eager attempt at the lead, filled a hole that wasn't there, setting off an unnecessary wreck. Gragson finished 32nd after a promising best-career finish for the rookie was in store, as Chastain crossed the line 22nd for Trackhouse Racing.


For the ones to watch, look for Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, 23XI Racing, and JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to be contenders throughout next week’s race. 




The monster mile at Dover Motor Speedway in Dover, Delaware is up next, for week 11 of the Nascar season.  The Craftsman Truck Series will return the following week in Kansas, as the Xfinity Series will have practice and qualifying starting at 3:05pm ET on Friday.  The A-GAME 200 Xfinity race kicks off at 1:30pm ET, Saturday afternoon.  The Cup Series’ practice and qualifying session gets underway at 10:35 am ET on Saturday, followed by the Wurth 400, at 2:00pm ET only on FS1.   


( All images credited to https://www.foxsports.com/nascar/cup-series.)


For next week's race information please view the link down below:

Dover Motor Speedway's Wesbite

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