After rain postponed the NASCAR Cup Series Geico 500 at Talladega SuperSpeedway in Talladega, Alabama on Sunday, the racers were back at it to run the 500 miles on Monday afternoon. After the dust cleared, Ryan Blaney held on down the stretch in a photo finish to claim his fourth career Cup Series victory.
The event was the first sporting event since the pandemic began back in March to allow a select number of fans into the venue. Sales were open to fans within 150 miles of the track only to get some of the 5,000 tickets available. One of those fans that missed out on this years event was Bud Mitchell, who is from Tennessee and hadn’t missed a race there since 1970. Mitchell and his wife still made the three hour trip to Talladega though to sit and listen to the cars down the road at an RV park.
A somber moment at the beginning of the race as Bubba Wallace had his car pushed down the infield to the front of the field as he was greeted by other drivers and pit crews. On Sunday evening a noose had been found hanging in the garage belonging to Wallace, who is the only African American Cup Series driver. The backing he was shown lead Wallace to break down in tears at his car, with one hug coming from NASCAR legend Richard Petty. NASCAR continues to investigate the incident on Sunday in which they released a statement saying they were angry and outraged.. Wallace would finish the race in 14th place, a career best at Talladega.
Blaney beat out Rickey Stenhouse Jr. in overtime in the photo finish at the end for his first victory of the season, and second consecutive win at Talladega where he got his last victory last October. Blaney led a total of 53 laps.
