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Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners
Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Who’s HOT at Talladega
- Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano each have two wins in the last five races. Keselowski also leads all drivers with 174 laps led in that span.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished in the top five in two of the last three races, including a win in this event last year.
- Kurt Busch has finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races.
- Aric Almirola is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three races.
- Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson (finished eighth in the 2017 GEICO 500) and Jamie McMurray (finished second in the 2017 GEICO 500) each are two-time winners.
- Kyle Busch, who is going for his fourth straight win of the season, led 48 laps and finished third last year in this event and is the 2008 event winner.
- Denny Hamlin, who won this event in 2014, has a 6.7 average finish in the last three races.
Keep an Eye On at Talladega
- David Ragan (10.0), Paul Menard (10.5), Ty Dillon (12.0), Kyle Larson (12.5) and Ryan Newman (13.5) each ranked in the top 10 in average finish in the two races at Talladega last season. Ragan won this event in 2013 and Newman is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three races at restrictor-plate tracks.
- Chase Elliott (four starts) has the best Driver Rating at Talladega.
- Ryan Blaney (led 118 laps in the Daytona 500) leads all drivers in laps led (156) in the last five restrictor-plate races.
- Chris Buescher and Kasey Kahne each have two top 10s in the last four races at Talladega, including one top five each. Kahne is making his first track start with Leavine Familly Racing.
- Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick each ranked in the top 10 in stage points earned at Talladega in 2017. Harvick has finished in the top 10 in four of the last eight Talladega races and Truex has had bad luck as of late with an engine failure and two accidents in the last three races
- Austin Dillon and Darrell Wallace Jr.’s only top fives so far this season came when they finished first and second, respectively, in the Daytona 500.
- Five of Michael McDowell’s six career top 10s have come at restrictor-plate tracks, including this year’s Daytona 500.
- The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet has won the last three restrictor-plate poles with Alex Bowman taking the top spot in the Daytona 500 and leading 13 laps.
Notes: Ford has won the last five races at Talladega…The most Talladega winners (20) have come from the second starting position…Last year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. became the 14th driver to win from the pole and the first since 2007…Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports are tied for the most wins among organizations at Talladega with 12 each…Goodyear will have a new right-side tire this weekend at Talladega.
*Best Average Finish at Talladega
| Last # of Races | Driver | Average Finish |
| Two Races | Brad Keselowski | 4.0 |
| Four Races | Kurt Busch | 10.8 |
| Six Races | Kurt Busch | 10.8 |
| Eight Races | Kevin Harvick | 13.0 |
| Ten Races | Paul Menard | 14.1 |
* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in EVERY race during that time span.
Laps Led Leaders at Talladega
| Last # of Races | Driver | Laps Led |
| Two Races | Joey Logano | 69 |
| Four Races | Brad Keselowski | 174 |
| Six Races | Brad Keselowski | 174 |
| Eight Races | Brad Keselowski | 187 |
| Ten Races | Jimmie Johnson | 236 |
Click Here to view all laps led leaders at Talladega over the past 10 races.
Talladega Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2017, 26 Races)
| Average Running Pos. | Laps in Top 15 |
| 1. Chase Elliott – 10.1 | 1. Kurt Busch – 3,233 |
| 2. Kurt Busch – 14.2 | 2. Jimmie Johnson – 2,946 |
| 3. Jimmie Johnson – 14.7 | 3. Martin Truex Jr. – 2,495 |
| 4. Ryan Blaney – 14.9 | 4. Kevin Harvick – 2,428 |
| 5. Joey Logano – 15.6 | 5. Kyle Busch – 2,394 |
| Fastest Laps Run | Driver Rating |
| 1. Clint Bowyer – 139 | 1. Chase Elliott – 93.4 |
| 2. Kyle Busch – 106 | 2. Brad Keselowski – 89.0 |
| 3. Paul Menard – 103 | 3. Jimmie Johnson – 88.5 |
| 4. Kevin Harvick – 102 | 4. Kurt Busch – 88.4 |
| 5. Denny Hamlin – 93 | 5. Ryan Blaney – 86.3 |
Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned Among Active Drivers at Talladega
Spring and Fall Race
| Driver | Points Earned |
| Brad Keselowski | 29 |
| Ryan Blaney | 28 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 16 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 16 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 14 |
| Joey Logano | 14 |
| Kurt Busch | 13 |
| Clint Bowyer | 13 |
| Kevin Harvick | 12 |
| Denny Hamlin | 11 |
2017 Spring Talladega Stage Finishes
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
| 1. Brad Keselowski | 1. Denny Hamlin |
| 2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 2. Kevin Harvick |
| 3. Kyle Busch | 3. Ryan Blaney |
| 4. Martin Truex Jr. | 4. Martin Truex Jr. |
| 5. Trevor Bayne | 5. Jimmie Johnson |
| 6. Joey Logano | 6. Kyle Larson |
| 7. Paul Menard | 7. Kurt Busch |
| 8. Danica Patrick | 8. Kasey Kahne |
| 9. Ryan Blaney | 9. Erik Jones |
| 10. Erik Jones | 10. Jamie McMurray |
Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates William Byron and Darrell Wallace Jr. each will be make their first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Talladega starts this weekend. Wallace, who trails Byron in the rookie standings by 32 points, finished second in this year’s Daytona 500. Both drivers did not post a top 10 in the Xfinity Series at Talladega, but each have a top 10 in the Camping World Truck Series there – Wallace, 9th in 2014 and Byron 10th in 2016.
MRN.com Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Ryan Blaney
Pete Pistone: Joey Logano
Tyler Burnett: Aric Almirola
Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Talladega
Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers with five wins at Talladega. He’s finished in the top 10 in five of the last seven races, including three wins. Keselowski has combined to lead 174 laps in the last four races, which leads all drivers. Keselowski was involved in accidents in the last three races at Daytona to raise his average finish in the last five restrictor-plate races to 19.6.
Kurt Busch was swept up in a huge multi-car crash last fall to snap a streak of four consecutive top 10s at Talladega. He’s finished 12th or better in the last three spring races at the 2.66-mile track. Busch has yet to win at Talladega, but the track is one of his best based on top 10s (18). Busch won the 2017 Daytona 500 ad finished sixth in this event last year, but accidents have raised his average finish to 17.2 in the last five restrictor-plate races.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the defending GEICO 500 winner and the victory was his second consecutive top five at Talladega. He finished 26th last fall after he was swept up in a multi-car accident. The two races that Stenhouse has been running at the finish in the last five restrictor-plate races have resulting in victories. Stenhouse also won the July race at Daytona in 2017.
Ty Dillon finished 13th and 11th, respectively, last season in his first two Cup Series starts at Talladega. Dillon was swept up in a crash on lap 142 in this year’s Daytona 500 to raise his average finish to 19.8 in the last four restrictor-plate races.
Aric Almirola is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three races at Talladega. He also has posted a 6.0 average finish in his last four starts at restrictor-plate races. He was leading this year’s Daytona 500 on the final lap up until contact in Turn 3, which resulted in an 11th-place finish.
Joey Logano has finished in the top five in the last three fall races at Talladega, including two wins. He ranks second in laps led (140) and accidents have taken him out of the last two spring races. Logano has finished fourth in the last two restrictor-plate races.
Paul Menard has finished 13th or better in five of the last six races at Talladega, including three top 10s. Menard, who finished sixth in his first start with the Wood Brothers at Daytona, has the best average finish (7.0) among all drivers that have competed in each of the last five restrictor-plate races.
Gray Gaulding finished 20th and ninth, respectively, last season in his first two starts at Talladega. He finished 20th in the Daytona 500 to give him a 16.3 average finish in his three career restrictor-plate starts with BK Racing.
Kyle Busch led 48 laps and finished third in this event last year to give him a 2.5 average finish in the last two spring races at Talladega. Busch, who won this event in 2008, has a 22.6 average finish in the last five restrictor-plate races, including a 25th-place run in this year’s Daytona 500 after suffering tire issues and damage early in the race.
Chase Elliott started from the pole and finished fifth in his first Talladega Cup start in 2016. Elliott was involved in accidents in both races last season to raise his average finish to 15.8 in four overall starts. Elliott led four laps in this year’s Daytona 500 and was running second with 19 to go in Stage 2 but was involved in a hard crash in Turn 3.
Kevin Harvick has posted a 13.0 average finish in his eight Talladega starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick led 15 laps and finished 23rd last year in this event in his first track start driving a Ford. Harvick, who has been swept up in accidents in his last two restrictor-plate starts, will debut a new car (chassis No. 008) in the GEICO 500.
Ryan Newman finished second last fall at Talladega for his fourth top 10 in the last nine races. Newman is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three restrictor-plate races dating back to Daytona last July.
Clint Bowyer has finished in the top 10 in five of his last nine starts at Talladega. He led 10 laps and finished 14th last year in this event in his first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing. Bowyer, who finished 15th in this year’s Daytona 500, won the fall race at Talladega in 2010 and 2011 with Richard Childress Racing.
Kyle Larson has the third-best average finish (10.3) in the last three races at Talladega. Larson ranks in the top 10 in average finish (17.0) among drivers that have competed in each of the last five restrictor-plate races.
Daniel Suarez finished 19th and 15th, respectively, in his two Talladega Cup starts last season. The finish in the fall came after being swept up in a late-race accident.
