GEICO 500

This article is about Talladega's spring Sprint Cup Series race. For the fall race that went by this name in 2014, see Alabama 500.
GEICO 500
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Venue Talladega Superspeedway
Location Talladega, Alabama, United States
Corporate sponsor GEICO
First race 1970 (1970)
Distance 500.08 miles (804.80 km)
Laps 188
Previous names Alabama 500 (1970)
Winston 500 (1971–1993, 1997)
Winston Select 500 (1994–1996)
DieHard 500 (1998–2000)
Talladega 500 (2001)
Aaron's 499 (2002–2014)
Most wins (driver) Jeff Gordon (4)
Most wins (team) Hendrick Motorsports (7)
Most wins (manufacturer) Chevrolet (19)
Circuit information
Surface Asphalt
Length 2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Turns 4

The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May, and is one of four races on the Sprint Cup Series schedule where restrictor plates are used. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of 188.354 miles per hour (303.126 km/h), and was the first race at Talladega Superspeedway that was not interrupted by a caution period.

The race was known as the second leg of the sport's Grand Slam from 1970 to the demise of the Grand Slam as a result of the Ferko lawsuit in 2004. The GEICO 500 was also previously part of the Winston Million. Brad Keselowski is the defending winner of the race, having won it in 2016.

Notable races

Past winners

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race distance Race time Average speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
1970 April 12 40 Pete Hamilton Petty Enterprises Plymouth 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:16:59 152.321 Report
1971 May 16 21 Donnie Allison Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:23:32 147.419 Report
1972 May 7 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:43:15 134.4 Report
1973 May 6 21 David Pearson (2) Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:47:23 131.956 Report
1974 May 5 21 David Pearson (3) Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 170* 452.2 (727.745) 3:28:09 130.22 Report
1975 May 4 15 Buddy Baker Bud Moore Engineering Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:26:59 144.948 Report
1976 May 2 15 Buddy Baker (2) Bud Moore Engineering Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:56:37 169,887 Report
1977 May 1 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:01:59 164.877 Report
1978 May 14 11 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Oldsmobile 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:07:53 155.699 Report
1979 May 6 15 Bobby Allison Bud Moore Engineering Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:13:52 154.77 Report
1980 May 4 28 Buddy Baker (3) Ranier-Lundy Oldsmobile 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:56:00 170.481 Report
1981 May 3 28 Bobby Allison (2) Ranier-Lundy Buick 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:20:52 149.376 Report
1982 May 2 11 Darrell Waltrip (2) Junior Johnson & Associates Buick 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:11:19 156.597 Report
1983 May 1 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:14:55 153.936 Report
1984 May 6 28 Cale Yarborough (2) Ranier-Lundy Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:53:27 172.988 Report
1985 May 5 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:41:04 186.288 Report
1986 May 4 22 Bobby Allison (3) Stavola Brothers Racing Buick 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:10:16 157.698 Report
1987 May 3 28 Davey Allison Ranier-Lundy Ford 178* 473.48 (761.992) 3:04:12 154.228 Report
1988 May 1 55 Phil Parsons Leo Jackson Racing Oldsmobile 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:11:40 156.547 Report
1989 May 7 28 Davey Allison (2) Robert Yates Racing Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:12:30 155.869 Report
1990 May 6 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:08:02 159.571 Report
1991 May 6* 33 Harry Gant Leo Jackson Racing Oldsmobile 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:01:10 165.62 Report
1992 May 3 28 Davey Allison (3) Robert Yates Racing Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:59:01 167.609 Report
1993 May 2 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:13:04 155.412 Report
1994 May 1 3 Dale Earnhardt (2) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:10:32 157.478 Report
1995 April 30 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:47:43 178.902 Report
1996 April 28 4 Sterling Marlin Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:20:02 149.999 Report
1997 May 10* 6 Mark Martin (2) Roush Racing Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:39:18 188.354 Report
1998 April 26 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:30:40 144.428 Report
1999 April 25 3 Dale Earnhardt (3) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:03:38 163.395 Report
2000 April 16 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:06:11 161.157 Report
2001* April 22 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 2:43:04 184,003 Report
2002 April 21 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:08:41 159.022 Report
2003 April 6 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:27:28 144.625 Report
2004 April 25 24 Jeff Gordon (2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:51:53 129.396 Report
2005 May 1 24 Jeff Gordon (3) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 194* 516.04 (830.485) 3:30:46 146.904 Report
2006 May 1* 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:29:59 142.891 Report
2007 April 29 24 Jeff Gordon (4) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 192* 510.72 (821.924) 3:18:46 154,167 Report
2008 April 27 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:10:37 157.409 Report
2009 April 26 09 Brad Keselowski Phoenix Racing Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:23:20 147.565 Report
2010* April 25 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200* 532 (856.171) 3:31:58 150.59 Report
2011* April 17 48 Jimmie Johnson (2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:12:01 156.261 Report
2012 May 6 2 Brad Keselowski (2) Penske Racing Dodge 194* 516.04 (830.485) 3:13:17 160.192 Report
2013 May 5 34 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 192* 510.72 (821.924) 3:26:02 148.729 Report
2014 May 4 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:17:16 152.103 Report
2015 May 3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:08:08 159.487 Report
2016 May 1 2 Brad Keselowski (3) Team Penske Ford 188 500.08 (804.8) 3:34:15 140.046 Report

Notes

Multiple winners (drivers)

Wins Driver Years Won
4 Jeff Gordon 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007
3 David Pearson 1972, 1973, 1974
Buddy Baker 1975, 1976, 1980
Bobby Allison 1979, 1981, 1986
Davey Allison 1987, 1989, 1992
Dale Earnhardt 1990, 1994, 1999
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2002, 2003, 2015
Brad Keselowski 2009, 2012, 2016
2 Darrell Waltrip 1977, 1982
Cale Yarborough 1978, 1984
Mark Martin 1995, 1997
Jimmie Johnson 2006, 2011

Multiple winners (teams)

Wins Driver Years Won
7 Hendrick Motorsports 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2015
4 Wood Brothers Racing 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
Ranier-Lundy 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987
Richard Childress Racing 1990, 1994, 1999, 2010
3 Bud Moore Engineering 1975, 1976, 1979
Joe Gibbs Racing 1998, 2008, 2014
2 Petty Enterprises 1970, 1983
Junior Johnson & Associates 1978, 1982
Leo Jackson Racing 1988, 1991
Robert Yates Racing 1989, 1992
Morgan-McClure Motorsports 1993, 1996
Roush Racing 1995, 1997
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. 2002, 2003
Team Penske 2012, 2016

Manufacturer wins

Wins Manufacturer Years Won
19 Chevrolet 1977, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015
11 Ford 1975, 1976, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2013, 2016
4 Mercury 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
Oldsmobile 1978, 1980, 1988, 1991
3 Buick 1981, 1982, 1986
2 Pontiac 1983, 1998
Toyota 2008, 2014
1 Dodge 2012

Television broadcasters

Year Network Lap-by-lap Color commentator(s)
1970 ABC Keith Jackson Chris Economaki
1971
1972
1975 CBS Ken Squier
1976
1977
1979 MRN TV
1980 Eli Gold Barney Hall
1981 ESPN Dave Despain Larry Nuber
1982 Bob Jenkins
1983 NBC Paul Page Gary Gerould
Johnny Rutherford
1984 Johnny Rutherford
1985
1986 ESPN Bob Jenkins Larry Nuber
1987
1988 Ned Jarrett
Gary Nelson
1989 Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996 Ned Jarrett
1997 Benny Parsons
Ned Jarrett
1998 ABC Benny Parsons
1999
2000 Benny Parsons
Ray Evernham
2001 Fox Mike Joy Darrell Waltrip
Larry McReynolds
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016 Darrell Waltrip
Jeff Gordon

Notes

References

Previous race:
Toyota Owners 400
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
GEICO 500
Next race:
Go Bowling 400
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