Once again, the Geico 500 in Talladega, Alabama did not disappoint. There was great pack racing and some wild wrecks throughout the day. This race will go down as one of races of the year and the biggest headlines created controversy. This may be one of the most talked about races of the 2021 season but in the end Brad Keselowski won his first race of 2021.
Stage 1
The first stage was relatively quiet. Everything went well until the very last lap of Stage One when Joey Logano crashed and went flying. Thankfully, Logano was okay after the wreck. It did however take out a few other cars. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had some heavy damage. Brad Keselowski spun out but he had no damage. Bubba Wallace nearly hit Logano in an almost similar fashion to the Ryan Newman wreck in the 2020 Daytona 500. Joey Logano had some controversial words following his crash. He said “I’m one hit away from the same situation Ryan Newman went through. I’m just happy I’m alive. On the other hand I think, when are we going to stop? Because this is dangerous.” This comment sparked a debate with NASCAR fans about plate racing. This will easily be discussed all the way until the next plate race at Daytona.
As for the results, Matt DiBenedetto earned a much needed stage victory. Ryan Blaney also earned a spot in the runner up position. In third was the defending champion Chase Elliott. Following him was Denny Hamlin. Rounding out the top five was the 24 of William Byron.
Stage 2
Once again in similar fashion the entire stage was relatively quiet until the every end. This wreck occurred in the tri-oval. Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman were all involved. However this wreck secured Bubba Wallace the stage victory. In second was the 2 of Brad Keselowksi, In the third position was the Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell.
Stage 3
Trouble happened with 34 laps to go as green flag pit stops were beginning. Ricky Stenhouse Jr got sideways and made slight contact with the inside wall. No caution was thrown and green flag pit stops continued. The sixth caution of the day went out when Quin Houff hit the outside wall. This nearly caused the big one but it did not. With four laps remaining, the caution came out when Martin Truex Jr blew a right rear tire. This would lead to overtime.
Brad Keselowski Wins In OT
There was side by side racing for the final two laps. The big one nearly struck but they barely made it to the finish line under green. Two cars did wreck on the final lap. Ross Chastain slammed the inside wall and Erik Jones hit the outside wall to end the race. Once it was all said and done Brad Keselowski earned his 35th career win and his first of the 2021 season.
Outlook
This race provided some of the best racing of the year. It was an action packed race and it was a big shakeup in the standings. Next up for the NASCAR Cup Series will be next Sunday afternoon from Kansas Motor Speedway. It was a crazy race at Talladega and the upcoming race will be hard to top it.
