The 2022 GEICO 500 was a

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

held on April 24, 2022, at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...

Lincoln, Alabama Lincoln is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1911. At the 2020 census, the population was 6,845. It was named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln, who served in the American army during the Revolutionary ...

. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) superspeedway, it was the 10th race of the

2022 NASCAR Cup Series The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series will be the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season will start at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with the Busch Light ...

season.

Report

Background

, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, is a motorsports complex located north of

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state’s biggest cities, Birmingham. ...

. It is located on the former

Anniston Air Force Base Anniston Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force airfield located approximately 10 miles north-northeast of Talladega, Alabama. It was active from 1942 to 1945 and 1949 to 1952. It is currently the site of the Talladega Superspeedway a ...

in the small city of Lincoln. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the

International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...

, a business controlled by the

France family The France family is known as the "first family" of NASCAR racing. NASCAR was founded by Bill France, Sr. in 1948 and to this day France family members own and operate NASCAR. Jim France, one of the sons of the founder, is the current chairman and ...

. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Cup Series,

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

and

Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NA ...

, which is 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).

Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver. * (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

Qualifying

Christopher Bell scored the pole for the race with a time of 52.927 and a speed of .

Qualifying results

Race

Stage Results

Stage One ''Laps:'' 60 Stage Two ''Laps:'' 60

Final Stage Results

Stage Three ''Laps:'' 68

Race statistics

* Lead changes: 41 among 16 different drivers * Cautions/Laps: 6 for 28 * Red flags: 0 * Time of race: 3 hours, 21 minutes and 52 seconds * Average speed:

Media

Television

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

covered their 22nd race at the

Mike Joy Michael Joy (born November 25, 1949) is an American TV sports announcer and who currently serves as the lap-by-lap voice of Fox Sports' coverage of NASCAR. His color analyst is Clint Bowyer. Counting 2022, Joy has been part of the live broadcast ...

Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...

and six-time Talladega winner

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

called the race from the broadcast booth.

Jamie Little Jamie Little (born April 9, 1978) is an American pit reporter for NASCAR coverage on Fox. Little is a former pit reporter for ESPN/ABC coverage of the Indy Racing League, although she returned to her pit reporting duty for the 2007 and 2008 I ...

, Regan Smith and

Vince Welch Vincent Welch (born August 4, 1964) is an American radio and television personality most recently for Fox Sports. Until 2022, Welch was the play-by-play commentator for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and occasionally, a pit reporter for FOX ...

handled pit road for the television side.

Larry McReynolds Lawrence Joseph McReynolds III (born January 10, 1959) is a current NASCAR crew chief and current racing analyst on Fox Sports as well as a columnist on Foxsports.com. In the past, he has served as an advisor to Petty Enterprises, and as a mi ...

and

Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 b ...

provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and

Rusty Wallace Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful care ...

called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2.

Mike Bagley Mike Bagley is an American motorsports commentator who works for the Motor Racing Network. He is the secondary turn announcer for MRN and has worked for the radio network since 1992 and became a turn announcer in 1998. Since 2008, Bagley has been ...

called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Dillon Welch called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post, Jason Toy and Chris Wilner worked pit road for the radio side.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. *. – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

References

{{2022 NASCAR Cup

GEICO 500 The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of ...

NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway