Talladega Triple Header #NASCAR Race Recap

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

A thunderstorm pelted Talladega Superspeedway at just the right time for Jeb Burton.

 

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???

What a finish at @TALLADEGA on the final restart 🏁 pic.twitter.com/WRXX6CaNsx

— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 24, 2021

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Three Top-Five Finishes For JR Motorsports

• Race 25 of 33: Indiana 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Track Specs: 2.5-mile oval / 100 laps
• Weather: Partly cloudy; 78 degrees
• Allgaier's Finish: 2nd
• Gragson's Finish: 3rd
• Burton's Finish: 4th
• Annett's Finish: 12th

Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 Suave Men team came close to getting back-to-back wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing second in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race after leading 24 laps. The result was Allgaier’s fourth runner-up finish of the season. The Illinois native remains fourth in the NXS point standings as the series heads into the final race of the regular season next week.

“Hats off to our guys. Our Suave Men Camaro was on rails, especially on the long run. We had a couple late-race restarts that just didn’t go our way and unfortunately that put us a little behind. Hats off to everybody at JR Motorsports. To have three cars in the top five is huge. Man, you don’t realize what this place means to you until you come that close to kissing those bricks again. We’ll go on to next week and finish out this regular season strong and hopefully go into the playoffs carrying this momentum on.”

Four wins away from 100 in @XfinityRacing for @KyleBusch.

He held off Justin Allgaier to win the #Indiana250 at @IMS. pic.twitter.com/w9o1RYAzxh

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 7, 2019

Noah Gragson, driver of the No. 9 Switch Chevrolet Camaro, scored his seventh top-five finish of the 2019 season on Saturday afternoon in the NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after taking the checkered flag in the third position. With the result, Gragson has scored 13 top-10s in the last 15 NXS races and has improved to an average finish of 7.0 over that same stretch.

“Today was a really good day for this Switch Chevrolet and for JRM as a whole. To have three cars in the top five is pretty awesome and I am incredibly thankful for all of the hard work each and every person at JRM is putting in to these cars each week. We battled hard today and were able to come away with another really strong run. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going next week in Vegas and carry it on through to the start of the playoffs.”

With a stout fourth-place finish, Jeb Burton claimed his season-best finish in Saturday’s Indiana 250 for the Xfinity Series machines at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Burton spent the bulk of the day running among the top five with the No. 8 State Water Heaters machine, even racing as high as second for a time. The team put together a solid performance in all facets of the race to bring home its sixth top five and 17th top 10 of the season.

“Really proud of the effort today from our State Water Heaters group. Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) did a great job keeping up with the race car and making the right adjustments. We’ve been working better and better together every race. We’ve only ran five races this year and we finished top five in two of them. Hopefully we can get us a win in my next races at Texas or Miami. We got a good thing going and I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

#NASCAR ... ⁦@JebBurtonRacing⁩ gets emotional talking about his 4th-place finish at ⁦@IMS⁩ pic.twitter.com/6a9nfaCN7M

— Dustin Long (@dustinlong) September 7, 2019

With four laps remaining in Saturday’s Indiana 250 for NASCAR Xfinity Series machines at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Michael Annett was in the middle of a late-race hornet’s nest in his No. 1 Pilot Flying J Chevrolet. Running as high as seventh with three laps remaining, the Iowa native fell victim to a pack of his opponents down the long backstretch on the 2.5-mile oval and eventually came home in 12th position at the end of the 100-lap event.

“We were in a good position there at the end and we just got mobbed. A group of cars came up on us and they had all the momentum. Our Pilot Flying J Chevrolet was really fast at times and we could get awesome runs all day, but it is just so hard to finish them and even harder to defend against a line of cars once they get past the rear bumper. It was a good day for us, overall, but it could have been a lot better if not for that last bit of the race.”

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Burton Cousins Set To Go Head-to-Head for First Time Ever in Texas Roadhouse 200

For 13 years, brothers Jeff and Ward Burton raced against each other at NASCAR’s highest level. While the South Boston natives are no longer racing, they will still have their full attention on the Texas Roadhouse 200 presented by Alpha Energy Solutions NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. 

There will once again be two Burtons in the field, as Ward’s son Jeb and Jeff’s son Harrison will be racing in the same race for the first time.

“It’s definitely special,” Harrison said. “Jeb is someone that’s always helped me a lot and I’ve tried to help him the best I can.

Now that we are going to be going against each other it’s going to be a little bit strange. I’ve never race anyone from my family, even my dad. It’s going to be weird, I don’t know how I’m going to act when I see him in his truck and see Burton on the back glass. It’s going to be strange, but it’s going to be fun.

“I’m really excited to race him and hopefully we get to be door-to-door for some time and get to go at it. It should be a lot of fun.”

Jeb, who has a pole and a top-three finish at Martinsville, will offer any advice he can to his younger cousin.

“Harrison has been doing a good job, and maybe I can teach him a little something there,” Jeb said said. “I don’t think he’s finished in the top-10 there yet so maybe I can help him a little bit.”

And Harrison will take all the advice he can get from the elder Burton.

“Jeb has been really good there,” Harrison said. “He is definitely a resource before you go to Martinsville. Before my first truck race there I actually got to drive his Late Model Stock Car around there in a test, and that helped me a lot for the track. So, yeah, he’s definitely a huge resource that I can use to get better. He has so much more experience than me.”

With the holiday season right around the corner, Jeb wants to make sure things stay civil at family gatherings.

“Harrison is a lot younger than me,” Jeb said. “I’ve never raced with him before, so I don’t know what to expect, but I don’t want to start any family drama there for sure.”

It's going down Jeb! Cousin Vs cousin! https://t.co/97F59h6Q25

— Harrison Burton (@HBurtonRacing) October 7, 2017

That’s something Harrison doesn’t think they need to worry about.

“I’m just going to race him like I would like to be raced and hopefully it will turn out good,” Harrison said.

That doesn’t mean Harrison won’t be afraid to use the bumper if he finds himself running second to Jeb on the final lap, but he would also expect the same from Jeb.

“I think I’d move him,” Harrison said. “You’re going there for one reason and that’s to win. I definitely would not wreck him. I’d definitely use the old bump-and-run tactic on him and I think he would do the same thing. That trophy means a lot to him as well.”

Excited for this weekends @NASCAR_Trucks race. Hopefully we can get it done this time! @StateIndustries @TylerYoung02 @estesexpress. 🕰👊🏻 pic.twitter.com/eJ1Win0Zi9

— Jeb Burton (@JebBurtonRacing) October 24, 2017

Source

Double trouble! @WardBurtonWBWF @JebBurtonRacing @Realtree @UAHUNT pic.twitter.com/QSLH93pX53

— Crossroads (@xroadsburtons) May 5, 2017

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Remembering 9/11 #NASCAR

15 Years Have Past #NeverForget 

 

We vow to #NeverForget those lost 15 years ago today. We join with the rest of the #NASCAR community in remembrance pic.twitter.com/xWrQrfIYeV

— Team Penske (@Team_Penske) September 11, 2016

Let's vow to #NeverForget and remember that when we r united we r the strongest country in the world!

— Jeff Burton (@JeffBurton) September 11, 2016

15 years later we still remember like it was yesterday and will #NeverForget 🇺🇸

— Kasey Kahne (@kaseykahne) September 11, 2016

From our very worst days, comes wisdom... The opportunity to grow, unite, become stronger.
Never forget September 11th 2001 🇱🇷

— Ricky Craven (@RickyCravenESPN) September 11, 2016

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸#NeverForget pic.twitter.com/ejCGswz9cz

— Jeb Burton (@JebBurtonRacing) September 11, 2016

#NeverForget pic.twitter.com/wnGPUfCm2Z

— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) September 11, 2016

A last tweet from Jay Redman. Redman, the CEO & Founder of Combat Wounded Coalition-Wounded Wear, Retired Navy SEAL - motivational speaker & Author of The Trident was the winner of this year's Crown Royal 'Your Hero's Name Here" Contest.

On this 15th 9/11 anniversary, let's honor the sacrifice, remember the courage & bring back the unity that defined our nation. #overcome

— Jay Redman (@JasonRedmanWW) September 11, 2016

RPM Forced to Adjust XFINITY Team Plans

Sponsor dispute forces Richard Petty Motorsports to close Xfinity team

Richard Petty Motorsports announced today that the team suspended operations of the No. 43 XFINITY team due to financial issues with the team's primary sponsor, J. Streicher.

Due to missed payments, Richard Petty Motorsports is forced to cut back the originally-planned full-time schedule for the NASCAR XFINTY Series No. 43 Ford Mustang driven by Jeb Burton.

J. Streicher joined Richard Petty Motorsports late in the off-season for their first sponsorship in NASCAR supporting Burton's first full-time season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Burton and the team got to work, and just days after signing the agreement with J. Streicher, the team competed in the season opener at Daytona. The team tallied one top-10 and four top-15 finishes in the first 10 races of the season and currently is in position to compete for the Chase in the NASCAR XFINITY Series.

"This is an unfortunate situation," said Richard Petty Motorsports CEO Brian Moffitt. "We make commitments to both our employees and vendors that are based on sponsor commitments, and we take those commitments seriously. We will pursue every avenue to ensure the contractual obligations between RPM and our sponsor are met. We'll take each week as it comes and do our best to get the No. 43 Ford Mustang on track as much as possible this season."

Richard Petty Motorsports and Burton will continue their relationship and work to get Burton on track as much as possible this year. 

This weekend at Pocono Raceway, Burton will compete in the No. 32 Ford for GO FAS Racing in the Sprint Cup Series.

😔 pic.twitter.com/9PlPWtOmZc

— Jeb Burton (@JebBurtonRacing) June 1, 2016

Team Release