“Talladega has been good to me.” Keselowski said that the Alabama race track always holds a few surprises. “You never know what you’re going to get here. Talladega has always been that way. It’s always been very good to me. I’m, like I said, thankful for that.”
Keselowski, who had a race-high 46 laps led, was quick to point out that the safest place to to be at Talladega Superspeedway is at the front of the field.
“Crazy day,” he said. “Somehow, we managed to stay ahead of or out of all the chaos. A couple asked me about (all the accidents). I didn’t see it, thankfully, because I was out in front of it.”
Keselowski said driving at Talladega suits his style of racing. He explained how NASCAR “racing has always been that balance of daredevils and chess players,” which is fine by him.
“This one is one where it’s in-your-face challenging. You know if you make a mistake, it’s going to be a really, really big wreck,” the race winner said. “I think it’s special under the circumstances and under that level of adversity. It’s a challenge I’ve always embraced.”
The Geico 500 ended under yellow-flag conditions after a final crash unfolded as Keselowski was about to cross the finish line. a wreck unfolded behind him on the final turn and took out a number of cars including current points leader and 2014 Sprint Car Series champion Kevin Harvick, who was credited with finishing 15th, though his wrecked car stood on the infield a short distance from the finish line.
Kyle Busch said the Geico 500 unfolded pretty much as he expected and was happy to end up second. He said he “just wasn’t in the right place at the right time” and wasn’t sure there was anything he could have done to change the eventual outcome.
“(The race) was all right, I guess. We had decent speed, had a decent car. Just lucky, I guess, to come home with a Top-5 finish and be in second.” the race runner-up said. “Never got any momentum to get up to him (Keselowski) of make a move on him. The race was pretty much his.”
Finishing third in the race was Austin Dillon, who said his day “started out pretty good” and “we had a fast car,”
Spectators expectations of The Big One, which usually mars races at Talladega Superspeedway, would not be disappointed as there were a few other wrecks, besides the one on the race’s final turn, that could qualify for that status. More than half of the starting field, 21 cars to be exact, were involved in a massive wreck that collected a number of the top drivers in the sport, including Jimmie Johnson. Twenty laps later, a pile up involved 12 cars, including Matt Kenseth, who had led the second-most laps led,on the day, 39.
The most spectacular accident of the afternoon came on Lap 96, when rookie Chris Buescher traveled a fair distance down the track while flipping end-over-end. Buescher was caught totally off guard by the incident, saying “I thought we were clear of the wreck” after getting checked out at the infield care centre. He said he saw an accident happening, but didn’t had time to react.
“We got clipped in the right rear and, as soon as it turned, it went up,” Buescher said. “And the next thing I knew I was upside down.”
Kyle Busch said “it’s just Talladega,” adding he didn’t see anything in the race to say otherwise.
“It is what it is. These cars, you try to get a little bit aggressive, start bumping people and pushing people, they’re real easy to get out of control,” said Busch. “I really don’t know why we’re bumping and pushing and everything else, because these cars they go slower when you push. Makes a lot of sense. That’s how stupid we are.”
Harvick climbs into the lead on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers standings. He is nine points ahead of Kyle Busch, while previous points leader Carl Edwards drops to third place, 14 points behind Harvick.
The GoBowling 400 takes over Kansas Speedway, as the next race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar. The evening race runs on May 7, 2016.
