The 2023 GEICO 500 was a

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

race held on April 23, 2023, at

Talladega Superspeedway Talladega Superspeedway (Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is ...

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 Revolutionar ...

. Contested over 196 laps – extended from 188 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.66 mile (4.28 km) superspeedway, it was the 10th race of the

2023 NASCAR Cup Series The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series was the 75th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 52nd season for the modern-era NASCAR Cup Series, Cup Series. The season started with the Busch Light Clash at the Los An ...

season.

Report

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, 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 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state's la ...

. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base 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 was 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. 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

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

. 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, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

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

Entry list

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

Qualifying

Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and op ...

scored the pole for the race with a time of 52.979 and a speed of .

Qualifying results

Race

During the overtime lap,

Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. ...

's car was t-boned by

Ryan Preece Ryan Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 60 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing. Preece previous ...

in a collision triggered by

Ross Chastain Ross Lee Chastain (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing, part-tim ...

and

Noah Gragson Noah Quinn Gragson (born July 15, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Front Row Motorsports. R ...

. The wreck collapsed Larson's passenger side roll cage, described by race winner

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...

as "brick getting rammed into a stick of butter". Neither Larson nor Preece were injured from the collision, but the carnage reignited safety concerns regarding the Next Gen car. NASCAR took both cars to the R&D Center for further investigation.

Race results

Stage Results

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

Final Stage Results

Stage Three ''Laps:'' 68

Race statistics

* Lead changes: 57 among 21 different drivers * Cautions/Laps: 8 for 34 * Red flags: 0 * Time of race: 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 25 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 name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

covered their 23rd race at the

Mike Joy Michael Kinsey Joy is an American TV sports announcer and businessman who serves as the play-by-play commentator for Fox Sports' NASCAR coverage. His color analysts are Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Joy has been part of the live broadcast cre ...

Clint Bowyer Clinton Aaron Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado ...

and 2008 fall Talladega winner

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed "Smoke", is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...

called the race from the broadcast booth.

Jamie Little Jamie Little (born April 9, 1978) is an American pit reporter and play by play announcer 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 du ...

, Regan Smith and Josh Sims handled the pit road for the television side.

Larry McReynolds Lawrence Joseph McReynolds III (born January 10, 1959) is an American 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 m ...

provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio

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

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

NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden & Jeff Striegle 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 Michael Bagley is an American motorsports commentator who works for the Motor Racing Network. As of the 2025 season, he is the lead commentator for MRN after serving as a turn announcer from 1998 to 2024. He has worked for the radio network sinc ...

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 raced through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post, Georgia Henneberry, Chris Wilner and Brienne Pedigo worked pit road for the radio side for MRN.

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

{{2023 NASCAR Cup

GEICO 500 The Jack Link's 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 spe ...

NASCAR races at Talladega Superspeedway