Race Results

NASCAR Cup Series

GEICO 500

Talladega Superspeedway

April 23rd, 2023

Race #10 of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Season

Laps Scheduled: 188
- Extended to 196 laps
Miles Raced : 521.4
Time of Race : 03 Hours 33 minutes 25 seconds
Average Speed: 146.575 mph
Cautions: 8
Caution Laps: 34
Lead Changes: 57
Cars in Race : 38
Finished On Lead Lap: 27 (71%)

Kyle Busch and his son, Brexton in Victory Lane — Talladega, Alabama - April 23rd, 2023: Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, and his son, Brexton, affix the winner's decal to the winning car in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo by James Gilbert | Getty Images

FIN	ST	Car #	Driver	Make	TOT PTS	F PTS	B PTS	PO PTS	Laps	Led	x Led	S1	S2	STUS
1	17	8	Kyle Busch	Chevrolet	40	40	0	5	196	3	3	0	0	Running
2	5	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford	35	35	0	0	196	47	9	0	0	Running
3	10	17	Chris Buescher	Ford	34	34	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
4	4	14	Chase Briscoe	Ford	33	33	0	0	196	1	1	0	0	Running
5	20	6	Brad Keselowski	Ford	32	32	0	0	196	2	1	0	0	Running
6	24	43	Erik Jones	Chevrolet	31	31	0	0	196	3	1	0	0	Running
7	18	24	William Byron	Chevrolet	37	30	7	0	196	1	1	4	0	Running
8	6	20	Christopher Bell	Toyota	29	29	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
9	22	99	Daniel Suarez	Chevrolet	29	28	1	0	196	5	2	10	0	Running
10	28	36	Todd Gilliland	Ford	27	27	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
11	38	51	JJ Yeley	Ford	0	0	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
12	29	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet	44	25	19	1	196	18	7	1	2	Running
13	27	48	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	33	24	9	0	196	8	3	2	0	Running
14	32	77	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet	23	23	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
15	33	47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Chevrolet	24	22	2	0	196	0	0	0	9	Running
16	13	45	Tyler Reddick	Toyota	21	21	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
17	1	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	23	20	3	0	196	7	1	0	8	Running
18	37	78	BJ McLeod	Chevrolet	19	19	0	0	196	1	1	0	0	Running
19	26	31	Justin Haley	Chevrolet	18	18	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
20	36	15	Riley Herbst	Ford	17	17	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
21	11	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford	24	16	8	0	196	11	2	0	3	Running
22	2	10	Aric Almirola	Ford	25	15	10	1	196	11	3	0	1	Running
23	23	1	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet	22	14	8	0	196	3	1	3	0	Running
24	31	62	Austin Hill	Chevrolet	13	13	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
25	34	7	Corey Lajoie	Chevrolet	12	12	0	0	196	0	0	0	0	Running
26	15	2	Austin Cindric	Ford	16	11	5	0	196	0	0	6	0	Running
27	7	19	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota	15	10	5	0	196	19	4	0	6	Running
28	12	23	Bubba Wallace	Toyota	16	9	7	0	195	35	6	0	4	Accident
29	19	16	AJ Allmendinger	Chevrolet	8	8	0	0	195	0	0	0	0	Accident
30	8	22	Joey Logano	Ford	10	7	3	0	195	3	3	8	0	Running
31	3	54	Ty Gibbs	Toyota	6	6	0	0	194	4	3	0	0	Fuel
32	30	42	Noah Gragson	Chevrolet	10	5	5	0	189	1	1	7	10	Accident
33	9	5	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet	10	4	6	0	189	0	0	5	0	Accident
34	16	41	Ryan Preece	Ford	9	3	6	0	189	2	1	9	7	Accident
35	21	34	Michael McDowell	Ford	2	2	0	0	189	0	0	0	0	Running
36	25	21	Harrison Burton	Ford	7	1	6	0	183	11	3	0	5	Accident
37	35	38	Zane Smith	Ford	0	0	0	0	141	0	0	0	0	Accident
38	14	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	1	1	0	0	141	0	0	0	0	Accident

Race Infractions

GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway

Driver	Infraction	Penalty	Lap	Lap Assessed	Flag
AJ Allmendinger	Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments	Tail End	0	0	White
Austin Cindric	Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments	Tail End	0	0	White
Todd Gilliland	Pre-Race to the Rear Unapproved Adjustments	Tail End	0	0	White
Michael McDowell	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	2	4	Yellow
BJ McLeod	Speeding on pit road	Tail End	3	5	Yellow
Chase Briscoe	Speeding on pit road	Tail End	40	42	Yellow
Michael McDowell	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	43	45	Yellow
Chris Buescher	Running over/under equipment	Tail End	62	64	Yellow
Riley Herbst	Unspecified Pit outside of box	Tail End	62	64	Yellow
Todd Gilliland	Crewmember(s) over the wall too soon	Tail End	62	64	Yellow
JJ Yeley	Unspecified Vechicle Interence	Tail End	64	66	Yellow
Brad Keselowski	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Kyle Busch	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Chris Buescher	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Erik Jones	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Austin Hill	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Riley Herbst	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Zane Smith	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	65	67	Yellow
Joey Logano	Speeding on pit road	Pass Thru	104	108	Green
Michael McDowell	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	121	123	Yellow
Michael McDowell	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	124	126	Yellow
Austin Dillon	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	124	126	Yellow
Alex Bowman	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	124	126	Yellow
Daniel Suarez	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	124	126	Yellow
William Byron	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	124	126	Yellow
Austin Hill	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	124	126	Yellow
Riley Herbst	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	124	126	Yellow
Michael McDowell	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	142	144	Yellow
Austin Hill	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	142	144	Yellow
Austin Dillon	Pitting before pit road is open Garage	Tail End	143	0	Yellow
Brad Keselowski	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	145	147	Yellow
Joey Logano	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	145	147	Yellow
Michael McDowell	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	145	147	Yellow
Chris Buescher	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	145	147	Yellow
Erik Jones	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	145	157	Yellow
Austin Hill	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	145	147	Yellow
Joey Logano	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	185	187	Yellow
Joey Logano	Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area	Tail End	185	187	Yellow
Ricky Stenhouse Jr	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	185	187	Yellow
Corey Lajoie	Pitting before pit road is open	Tail End	185	187	Yellow

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Race Fast Facts

Talladega Superspeedway
GEICO 500
Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 37
Team : No. 8 - McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet
Owner: Richard Childress
Crew Chief: Randall Burnett
Kyle Busch won the GEICO 500, his 62nd victory in 652 Cup Series races.
This is his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2023.
This is his second victory and 10th top-10 finish in 36 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Ryan Blaney (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 18 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his fifth top-10 finish in 2023.
Chris Buescher (third) posted his third top-10 finish in 16 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Ty Gibbs (31st) was the highest finishing rookie.
Christopher Bell leads the point standings by 11 points over Ross Chastain.

Race Recap

Kyle Busch avoids 'Big One' to speed to victory at Talladega

April 23rd, 2023

By Holly Cain - NASCAR Wire Service

Kyle Busch is a Las Vegas native after all, so he was "all in” to stay on track instead of pitting for fuel during a pair of overtimes restarts in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway Sunday afternoon. And he ended up, the big winner.

Busch's No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet had just enough gas to make it back to the checkered flag as a half dozen other lead pack cars around him were collected in a multi-car accident while maneuvering forward to challenge for the lead on the final overtime lap.

"We got to gamble," Busch, 37, said he told his crew while contemplating whether to pit for fuel or stay in the lead pack for the final overtime restart – noting afterward he probably wouldn't have been willing to be so daring if he hadn't already earned a victory this season at California's Auto Club Speedway. He didn't even do a celebratory burnout after the race, convinced his Chevrolet didn't have enough fuel at that point.

Busch and 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace exchanged the lead during the final two laps of the race but Wallace's No. 23 Toyota was tagged by Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford as those two vied for the lead just after the white flag flew, signaling one lap to go.

Wallace's Toyota turned sideways, hit the wall and triggered a chain-reaction accident that eliminated several other of the frontrunning cars while the two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Busch was able to continue forward and take his second win of the season and 62nd of this career. It's Busch's second career win at Talladega – the first coming 15 years (and 55 wins) ago.

"Sometimes you've got to be lucky, you know," said a smiling Busch, who led only three laps in securing the RCR team its 13th Talladega victory. "Sometimes these races come down to that and you've got to take them when they come your way.

"The seas kind of parted there when they [Blaney and Wallace] went up the race track there. They were trying to push-draft and these cars are just not stable enough to do that. I saw the 23 (Bubba Wallace) turn a little bit sideways, and I was like, ‘just get out of the way.' "

Blaney, who led a race best 47 of the 196 laps, looked poised to snap a 55-race winless streak at Talladega before the last lap incident. He was still able to continue after the contact with Wallace, but finished runner-up despite leading the most laps on the afternoon.

"It's just you get big runs and you take them when you can," Blaney said, noting of the contact with Wallace, "I'm glad everyone's okay, but in my mind you can't make a triple move like that, a triple block. You can't block three times, I don't know, the runs are so big and as the leader Bubba's (Wallace) trying to block, which is the right thing to do. But I think he kinda moved three times. I got to go somewhere. I hate for cars to get torn up and I hate for us to be so close to the win.

"I'm not blaming anybody. It's just hard racing at the end of this thing and unfortunate that cars got torn up and we missed out on another win."

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher finished third, followed by Stewart-Haas Racing's Chase Briscoe and RFK owner-driver Brad Keslowski, who leads all current competitors with six career Talladega wins.

Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones, Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell, Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez and Front Row Motorsports' Todd Gilliland rounded out of the top 10.

It was by all accounts, the typical, hard-nosed, tight-quarter racing fans and drivers have come to expect at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Sunday's race featured 57 lead changes – the most at Talladega since 2011 (72 lead changes).

It was a markedly different top of the final leaderboard based on the afternoon's efforts. SHR drivers Aric Almirola and Kevin Harvick each led 11 laps and ran among the front pack for most of the day, but were collected in a multi-car accident on the first overtime period. They finished 20th and 21st, respectively.

Wallace, whose 35 laps out front in his No. 23 Toyota finished 28th after the last lap accident.

Also noteworthy, Chase Elliott finished 12th and led seven laps – the first laps he's led since returning to competition last week after missing six races recovering from a broken leg. Pole winner Denny Hamlin led seven laps on the day and finished 15th.

Ironically the race's earlier mishaps didn't happen from aggressive action on the race track but instead in slower miscues on pit road. Tyler Reddick spun his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota getting on pit road making his first stop of the race and only six laps later Briscoe spun his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford on pit road bringing out a yellow flag – only to recover and take that top five finish.

Wallace, who earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series win here at Talladega in 2021, led the most laps (23) in Stage 1. But it was Hendrick Motorsports' Elliott who ultimately drove forward to claim his first stage win of the season leading the final 11 laps.

There were 17 lead changes among nine drivers in Stage 2 – with Almirola moving out front in the final feet to the finish line get around Elliott and claim that stage win.

As for the two victories in the opening 10 races of Busch's tenure with Childress, the NASCAR Hall of Fame owner grinned.

"I think he's helping us build RCR back up to where we want it to be," Childress said, glancing with a smile at bottle of race-winning champagne he brought to the winner's press conference.