Saving the Best for Last: Keselowski Surges to Lead on Final Lap to Win GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway
With His Only Lap Led All Day, Team Penske Driver Joins Gordon, Earnhardt, Jr., as Six-Time Winners at NASCAR’s, Biggest, Baddest & Most Competitive Track
Despite sustaining damage in an early wreck, and despite leading only one lap in Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Brad Keselowski nailed down an opportunistic overtime victory in the 10th event of the NASCAR Cup Series season.
Surging to the front on the final lap, after fellow Ford driver Matt DiBenedetto abandoned the bottom lane and gave Keselowski a clear run to the front, Keselowski claimed his first victory of the season, the 35th of his career and his sixth at Talladega, tying Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for second-most all-time at the 2.66-mile track (Dale Earnhardt, Sr. leads in track wins with 10).
As the ninth different winner this season, Keselowski joined Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney on the 2021 victory list.
Having my family in victory lane for my first win of the year was a moment I won’t forget. Autumn’s first victory lane was a special one! pic.twitter.com/AuNQwjEbdV
— Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) April 26, 2021
Keselowski said he thought “Merry Christmas!” to himself when the bottom lane opened up on the final lap.
“The whole race, I had a couple of opportunities to take the lead, but I just kept thinking, ‘Man, just keep your car in one piece till the end.’ We’ve been so close here, and it just didn’t seem to want to come together here the last few years, and I’ve been on kind of a four-year drought here, but it’s nice to get number six.
“I would have never dreamed I’d tie Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. here. That’s something. Those guys are really legends. I’m just really proud of my team. We had an accident there early, and they recovered and got it fixed up to where I could keep running. My crew chief, Jeremy Bullins, had a lot of confidence.
“I told him (before pitting on Lap 173 of a scheduled 188), ‘I want to come in and put four tires on this thing,’ and he said, ‘Yep, go ahead.’ And that really helped a bunch at the end.”
Jeb Burton Captures First Career NASCAR Xfinity Series Triumph
After Nearly Eight Years of Frustration, the Son of Former NASCAR Cup Series Driver and 2002 DAYTONA 500 Champion, Ward Burton, Takes Home the Trophy
After a seven-car wreck on the backstretch, Burton held the lead under caution when the rain intensified. After NASCAR brought the Xfinity Series cars to pit road, the clouds opened and made a first-time winner of the driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
Burton’s win in Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 was the third straight at Talladega for Kaulig Racing, which swept last year’s two events with driver Justin Haley.
“Unbelievable, man,” said Burton, son of 2002 Daytona 500 winner Ward Burton. “It’s been a tough road to get to this point. Just an unbelievable race team. Today we had Mother Nature on our side, but we had a fast car anyway. We ran up front all day…
“We’ve been building and building and building, and I feel like I’ve kind of been the weak link the last couple of races, and I need to clean some things up. Just the momentum—that’s what I needed… I want to win races. I told them (Kaulig Racing) that I wanted to come there and hang banners.”
Making History: Heim Wins General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway
Over the last three decades, just one driver has won both the ARCA Menards Series season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway and the series’ event at Talladega Superspeedway in the same season.
Thanks to Corey Heim Saturday, make it two drivers.
The 18-year-old Heim drove his No. 20 JBL Toyota to Victory Lane at Talladega in the General Tire 200. It was the Marietta, Georgia, driver’s second win of the year, following his triumph in the season-opening event at Daytona. He joined David Keith (2000) as the only driver to sweep the two races in a single season since 1992.
Saturday’s race came down to a sprint on a one-lap restart following a late caution. Heim restarted third with local favorite – Munford, AL’s Bret Holmes – and Nick Sanchez leading the field to the final green flag. Heim’s Venturini Motorsports teammate, Drew Dollar, immediately ditched the top lane to fall in line behind the No. 20.
And the same teamwork that pushed Heim to the win at Daytona did it again at Talladega.
How about @CoreyHeim3???
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 24, 2021
What a finish at @TALLADEGA on the final restart 🏁 pic.twitter.com/WRXX6CaNsx
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