2020 GEICO 500: Most competitive Talladega race since October 2011
Ryan Blaney won at Talladega in Monday’s GEICO 500, which was the most competitive race at the 2.66-mile high-banked superspeedway since October 2011.
The GEICO 500 featured 56 lead changes, the most at Talladega since the 2011 Good Sam 500. That race featured 72 lead changes and a last-lap pass by Clint Bowyer to win in a photo finish over then-teammate Jeff Burton by 0.018 seconds.
Mirroring Bowyer’s efforts in 2011, Blaney made a last-lap pass to win in a photo finish over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 0.007 seconds.
The finish is tied for the third closest finish in Talladega history with the 2019 1000bulbs.com 500 finish, which Blaney bested Newman for. The Bowyer/Burton photo finish in 2011 is now the sixth closest finish in Talladega history.
In Monday’s GEICO 500, Clint Bowyer drove his no. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford to a 24th-place finish in Sunday’s GEICO 500. Bowyer was ninth with one lap to go but was involved in a wreck on the last lap.
Blaney sits third in points, 25 points behind leader no. 4 Kevin Harvick, while Bowyer is 13th in points, 23 points ahead of 17th place no. 20 Erik Jones, heading into the June 27 Pocono Organics 325 (3:30pm EST; TV: FOX, Radio: MRN)
SOURCES:
NASCAR
Racing-Reference.Info
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com