THE RACE: 1000Bulbs.com 500
TRACK: Talladega Superspeedway
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race #31 of 36
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs race #5 of 10
Date: Saturday, October 14, 2018 in Talladega, AL
Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 2:05 pm/et
Sections on this page:
Television | Radio/Streaming | Schedule | Track/Race Info | Race Rundown
Qualifying / Practice / Entry Info | Weather Links | Tire Notes | Odds
NASCAR America: 12:00pm/et on NBCSN
NASCAR Countdown to Green: 1:00pm/et on NBCSN
Television Race Coverage: NBC, 2:00pm/et
Practices:
Saturday, October 13, 11:05am-12:20pm/et, TV-NBCSN.
Qualifying for positions 1-40, Saturday, October 13 at 4:35 pm/et, TV-NBCSN;
re-air scheduled: Sunday, October 14 at 10:00am/et, TV-NBCSN
In the Booth: Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Pre/Post-Race and Hosts: Krista Voda, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett
Pit Reporters: Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast, Dave Burns
Features Reporter: Rutledge Wood
Breaking News: Nate Ryan
Scheduled Race Re-Air Dates/Times:
None
TV Listings, Links and Info:
see the TV Listings and Links page
Motor Racing Network (MRN)
SiriusXM Satellite NASCAR Channel 90
ONLINE STREAMING
NBC Sports - Live
Radio: MRN Live Streaming
SiriusXM Internet Radio (available via internet connected device, with subscription)
EVENT SCHEDULE
Event Schedule times are local to the track
Friday, October 12
12:00 PM 2:00 PM MENCS HAULERS ENTER (EQUIPMENT UNLOAD)
2:00 PM-7:00 PM MENCS GARAGE OPEN
Saturday, October 13
8:30 AM-8:00 PM MENCS GARAGE OPEN
8:45 AM NCWTS, MENCS SPOTTERS MEETING
9:00 AM MENCS ROOKIE MEETING & RANDOM DRAWING
10:05 AM-11:20 AM MENCS FINAL PRACTICE
3:35 PM MENCS QUALIFYING IMPOUND (SINGLE VEHICLE / TWO ROUNDS)
Sunday, October 14
8:30 AM MENCS GARAGE OPEN
11:00 AM MENCS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING
12:15 PM MENCS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
12:55 PM (1:55 PM/ET) MENCS RACE (188 LAPS, 500.08 MILES)
MENCS = Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Talladega Superspeedway Track News, Stats & Links page
October 2017: see the Talladega Race Info page
April 2018: see the Talladega Race Info page
Race Festivities/Officials:
Grand Marshal: Kim Pederson, CEO of 1000Bulbs.com
Command to start engines: Kim Pederson
Honorary Starter/Wave Green Flag: Dr. Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX
Honorary Pace Car Driver: TBA
Color Guard: Alabama Army National Guard
Invocation: Dr. Robert Jeffress
National Anthem: 313th United States Army Band of Birmingham, AL
Flyover: Four F-18s from VFA-213 The World Famous Fighting Blacklions
Sunday Talladega Notebook: Fuel shortage deprives Kurt Busch of winning chances at Talladega; Kyle Larson overcomes lack of speed to finish 11th at Talladega; Martin Truex Jr. fights ill-handling car to stay above cut line.[More](10-14-2018)
Saturday Talladega Notebook: Aric Almirola has put Dover disappointment behind him; Alex Bowman looking forward to changes at Hendrick Motorsports; Martin Truex Jr. eyes back-to-back series titles.[More](10-13-2018)
Friday Talladega Notebook: Chad Knaus is ready to fulfill a career-long dream-sort of; For Bubba Wallace, Daytona was a long time ago; Sorry, Noah, but that's not your crew chief.[More](10-12-2018)
Talladega Superspeedway Weekend Preview: Ford drivers looking for more success at Talladega this weekend; Camping World Trucks Are Back At It.[More](10-11-2018)
What to Watch for: Talladega Superspeedway: Things Get Wild at Talladega; Chase Elliott Joins Select Company With 2nd Win; Team Penske Looks to Add Another Talladega Win; Jimmie & Chad Parting Ways After 2018; Who's Hot and Who's Not - Talladega[More](10-12-2018)
A look at many news, notes and story lines for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega, see the stats on the NASCAR National Series News & Notes -- Talladega Superspeedway
A look at some of the top statistical performers and top-10 driver ratings at Talladega, see the stats on the Statistical Advance - Analyzing Talladega Superspeedway page
Aric Almirola finds long-awaited redemption with Talladega win: Aric Almirola has been tantalizingly close to winning this season, only to come up empty. On Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, he finally got to light the victory cigar. When the No. 41 Ford of Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch lost fuel pressure on the final lap of the 1000Bulbs.com 500, Almirola was there to collect his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory since 2014 and clinch a spot in the Round of 8 in the series Playoffs.[More](10-14-2018)
#10-Aric Almirola won the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. The win is his 1st win of 2018, 1st win at Talladega and 2nd career win.
#14-Bowyer finished 2nd followed by #17-Stenhouse, Jr., #11-Hamlin, #22-Logano, #47-Allmendinger, #48-Johnson, #20-Jones, #21-Menard, and #95-Smith.
The race ended under NASCAR Overtime after an accident with three laps remaining. Stewart-Haas Racing cars dominated the race and were running first through fourth when the final caution came out. Before the race restarted, #4-Harvick ran out of fuel and had to pit. On the final restart, pole winner #41-Busch was the leader, but he ran out of gas on the final lap to give Almirola the victory.
Stage 1 was won by #41-Busch, finished 14th.
Stage 2 was won by #4-Harvick, finished 28th.
Several other Playoff drivers had problems during the race:
#42-Larson spun on lap 103 after a tire blew out. He rebounded to finish 11th
#88-Bowman was caught in an accident with three laps remaining and could not finish. He was 33rd.
#2-Keselowski ran out of fuel before the final restart. He finished 21st. His teammate #12-Blaney also had to pit for fuel and finished 29th.
#9-Elliott was in an accident on the final lap and finished 31st. #18-Busch suffered damage in the same incident and was 26th.
There were 15 lead changes among 11 drivers and 8 cautions for 32 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 153.707mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, laps led, cautions and more at:
Unofficial Race Results (pdf)
Cumulative Report (pdf)
Penalty Report (pdf)
See OFFICIAL race results & points standings on the Official Race & Points Report (pdf).
Where the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Playoff drivers finished at Talladega:
#10-Aric Almirola, 1st
#14-Clint Bowyer, 2nd
#22-Joey Logano, 5th
#42-Kyle Larson, 11th
#41-Kurt Busch, 14th
#78-Martin Truex, Jr., 23rd
#18-Kyle Busch, 26th
#2-Brad Keselowski, 27th
#4-Kevin Harvick, 28th
#12-Ryan Blaney, 29th
#9-Chase Elliott, 31st
#88-Alex Bowman, 33rd
MENCS at Talladega
- Aric Almirola (Stewart-Haas): 2nd career win (July 2014 at Daytona); snaps 149-race winless streak
- Almirola: 1st win with Stewart-Haas Racing; joined team at start of season
- Almirola: 3rd driver of Hispanic descent to win multiple Cup Series races (Frank Mundy, 3 wins; Juan Pablo Montoya, 2 wins)
- Almirola: 5th driver in series history with first 2 career wins at Daytona and Talladega (Ricky Stenhouse Jr., David Ragan, Jimmy Spencer, Pete Hamilton)
- Almirola: clinches spot in Round of 8; has never finished better than 16th in points (in 7th full Cup season)
- Almirola: 3rd time this season driver has won race leading only final lap; 1st time its happened at Talladega since April 2009 (Brad Keselowski's 1st win)
- 10th time in last 18 Talladega races that race was decided with a last-lap pass (12th time in span it was decided in final 2 laps
- Stewart-Haas Racing: 1st win at Talladega (entered day as 1 of 3 tracks where team had never won, and only one series races at twice a season)
- Stewart-Haas Racing: 1st time its had 4 drivers win in a season (Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch are others); last team with 4 winners in a season was Joe Gibbs Racing in 2016
- Clint Bowyer (Stewart-Haas): finished 2nd; 6th time Stewart-Haas Racing has finished 1-2 in a race, 3 of those have come this season
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway): finished 3rd; best finish since winning at Daytona in July 2017 (2 of 3 top-5 finishes this season have come at Talladega)
- Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas): led 108 laps and finished 14th; 4th driver in last 25 seasons to lead 100+ laps at Talladega
(ESPN Stats & Info)
Race Fast Facts - Talladega
Aric Almirola (P) won the 50th Annual 1000Bulbs.com 500, his second victory in 275 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2018.
This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 18 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Clint Bowyer (P) (second) posted his 13th top-10 finish in 26 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 15th top-10 finish in 2018.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (third) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 11 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (19th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kevin Harvick (P) leads the point standings by 17 points over Kyle Busch (P).
(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(10-14-2018)
2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings:
[after Talladega - race 2 of 3 in the Round of 12, 5 of 10 in the Playoffs]
1) #10-Aric Almirola, Talladega win
2) #9-Chase Elliott, Dover win
3) #4-Kevin Harvick, 3128, +63
4) #18-Kyle Busch, 3111, +46
5) #22-Joey Logano, 3104, +39
6) #41-Kurt Busch, 3095, +30
7) #14-Clint Bowyer, 3086, +21
8) #78-Martin Truex Jr., 3083, +18
Currently outside the top 8 to advance to the next round:
9) #2-Brad Keselowski, 3065, -18
10) #12-Ryan Blaney, 3061, -22
11) #42-Kyle Larson, 3057, -26
12) #88-Alex Bowman, 3015, -68
See the Unofficial Drivers Points Standings page (pdf) and Unofficial Owners Points Standings page (pdf)
See OFFICIAL race results & points standings on the Official Race & Points Report (pdf).
Top-Ten Stage 2 Results (lap 110) of the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway (lap 110/188):
#4 Harvick, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#14-Bowyer, 9pts
#41-Busch, 8pts
#10-Almirola, 7pts
#11-Hamlin, 6pts
#12-Blaney, 5pts
#18-Busch, 4pts
#3-Dillon, 3pts
#22-Logano, 2pts
#2-Keselowski, 1pt
Top-Ten Stage 1 Results (lap 55) of the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway (lap 55/188):
#41-Busch, 10pts, 1 playoff point
#14-Bowyer, 9pts
#4-Harvick, 8pts
#10-Almirola, 7pts
#22-Logano, 6pts
#12-Blaney, 5pts
#9-Elliott, 4pts
#11-Hamlin, 3pts
#88-Bowman, 2pts
#13-Dillon, 1pt
Lucky Dogs, drivers that got a lap back during the cautions (and their finish):
Caution 1: None, no one on track a lap or more down.
Caution 2: #72-LaJoie, 32nd
Caution 3: #99-Cassill, 22nd
Caution 4: #21-Menard, 9th
Caution 5: #42-Larson, 11th
Caution 6: #17-Stenhouse, Jr, 3rd
Caution 7: #48-Johnson, 7th
Caution 8: #31-Newman, 25th
See the starting lineup for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway on the Starting Lineup Page (pdf).
To the rear: #00-Gase (unapproved adjustments), #42-Larson (unapproved adjustments)
NASCAR Overtime Race Procedure: Rule and notes on the NASCAR Overtime rules/news/stats page.
Wave Around: how the wave around rule works: All vehicles between the leader and the caution vehicle at the start/finish line when the "one to go" signal is given by the starter are considered "Wave Around" eligible. "Wave Around" vehicles will not be permitted to enter pit road at any time during this yellow flag/caution period. "Wave Around" vehicles must receive the green flag on the race track before being permitted to enter pit road without a penalty. Vehicles under a penalty and the "Free Pass" vehicle will not be eligible to receive a "Wave Around".
Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway have been made.
With 40 cars running, pit stalls 1, 31, & 42 are not in use.
Pole winner #41-Busch chose pit stall 1, the first stall available [as do most pole sitters].
Outside pole winner #14-Bowyer took pit stall 15, with an opening in front of it.
#4-Harvick, who starts 3rd, took the 5th stall.
The final pit stall was taken by #9-Elliott, who starts 5th.
To see where the drivers/teams pit stall is, see the pit selection chart on Jayski.com's Pit Stall Selection chart.(10-14-2018)
Links to results, practices, qualifying PDF's: (will be added as available)
Official Race & Points Report
Race Results
Drivers Points
Owners Points
Cumlative Race Report
Penalty Report
Pitstalls
Starting Lineup
Qualifying Results
Qualifying Order
Happy Hour Practice Speeds
Latest / Final Entry List
Preliminary Entry List
See the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race results page
QUALIFYING INFO, PRACTICE SPEED and ENTRIES
Kurt Busch leads Stewart-Haas sweep in Talladega qualifying: All four Stewart-Haas Racing cars were amply endowed with speed for Saturday's knockout qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway. Kurt Busch was just glad he got the pick of the litter.[More](10-13-2018)
Kurt Busch won the Busch pole for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway with speed of 195.804mph for his 5th pole of 2018, 1st at Talladega and 27th of his career. Busch has won once from the 26 previous poles.
#14-Boywer will start 2nd followed by #4-Harvick, #10-Almirola, #9-Elliott, #48-Johnson, #88-Bowman, #24-Byron, #18-Busch, #11-Hamlin, #78-Truex, Jr., and #17-Stenhouse, Jr.
#41-Busch was also quickest in the first round with a speed of 195.225mph.
Driver who will miss the race: #97-Starr
See round-by-round qualifying results on the Qualifying results page (pdf) and the complete starting lineup on the Starting Lineup page (pdf).(10-13-2018)
Where the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Playoff drivers will start at Talladega:
#41-Kurt Busch, 1st
#14-Clint Bowyer, 2nd
#4-Kevin Harvick, 3rd
#10-Aric Almirola, 4th
#9-Chase Elliott, 5th
#88-Alex Bowman, 7th
#18-Kyle Busch, 9th
#78-Martin Truex, Jr., 11th
#2-Brad Keselowski, 18th
#12-Ryan Blaney, 19th
#22-Joey Logano, 20th
#42-Kyle Larson, 34th
Talladega Superspeedway - Qualifying Fast Facts:
Kurt Busch (P) won the Busch Pole Award Pole Award for the 50th Annual 1000Bulbs.com 500 with a lap of 48.906 seconds, 195.804 mph.
This is his 27th pole in 643 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races.
This is his fifth pole and 23rd top-10 start in 2018.
This is his first pole in 36 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Clint Bowyer (P) (second) posted his 13th top-10 start of 2018 and his ninth in 26 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Kevin Harvick (P) (third) posted his ninth top-10 start at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his 23rd in 31 races this season.
William Byron (eighth) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
(NASCAR Statistics)(10--13-2018)
First Round of Qualifying for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is over, after 15 scheduled minutes.
#41-Busch 195.225
#14-Bowyer 195.046
#4-Harvick 194.654
#10-Almirola 194.484
#9-Elliott 194.243
the rest of the top 12: 88 48 24 11 18 17 78
out of the top 12 and not advancing to round 2: 19 34 20 38 43 2 12 22 3 31 47 6 95 37 32 62 13 21 1 23 7 42 96 15 00 99 97 72 51
Driver who will miss the race: #97-Starr.
(10-13-2018)
Coverage of Qualifying for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is scheduled for Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 4:35m/et.
Television (TV): NBCSN, 4:30pm/et
Radio: Live online at Motor Racing Network (MRN)
Superspeedway Qualifying Format for Daytona/Talladega: The qualifying format at superspeedways consists of the following:
· Two rounds of qualifying, with the top-12 posted lap speeds advancing to the second round
· Race vehicles taking one, timed lap in each round of qualifying
· Each race vehicle will be released in a predetermined timed interval as determined by NASCAR, with the sanctioning body reserving the right to have more than one vehicle engaging in qualifying runs at the same time
· Qualifying order for the first round will be determined by practice speeds, slowest to fastest; final round qualifying order is determined by slowest to fastest speeds from the first round
· A 10-minute break will occur between the first qualifying round and the final round
· Upon completion of the first qualifying round, the field will be set with positions 13 and beyond determined from first round qualifying speed
· The 12 fastest vehicles from the first round will have their speeds reset for the final round with starting positions 1-12 determined by the fastest laps in the final round
· NASCAR will impound race vehicles following each qualifying lap; vehicles advancing to the final round will be allowed to adjust tape and utilize a cool-down unit during the 10-minute break only.
Qualifying Order for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is posted. The order for the first round is determined by practice speeds, slowest to fastest. Final round qualifying order is determined by slowest to fastest speeds from the first round.
The first driver to be lined up on pit road will be #97-Starr.
The final driver lined up on pit road will be #4-Harvick.
For the qualifying order, see the Qualifying Order page (pdf).(10-13-2018)
Happy Hour (final) practice for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is over, after 75 scheduled minutes, the top five, slowest and notes:
#4-Harvick 204.227
#10-Almriola 203.957
#22-Logano 202.478
#14-Bowyer 202.431
#17-Stenhouse, Jr. 202.388
best 10 consecutive lap avg (of 18 drivers): #10-Almirola 200.693.
slowest: #99-Cassill 186.914 & #97-Starr 186.108.
notes: There were no on-track incidents during practice.
See the fastest speeds, best 10 consecutive lap average, laps run on the Happy Hour Practice speeds page (pdf) (10-13-2018)
Entry List for the 1000Bulbs.com 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway is posted, 41 eams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
36 teams with Charters are guaranteed to make the field. The rest need to make the field via qualifying / qualifying races / rules book (owners attempts/points).
Some of the drivers entered include: #00-Gase, #6-Bayne, #7-Kennington, #23-Yeley, #51-Ware, #62-Gaughan, #72-LaJoie, #95-Smith, #97-Starr, #99-Cassill
Those required to qualify on time: #7-Kennington, #62-Gaughan, #96-Earnhardt, #97-Starr, #99-Cassill.
See the full entry list on the Entry List (pdf)
For qualifying rules and formats, see the Qualifying Rules page
How to Calculate Track Speeds: use the formula Speed = Distance divided by Time. Distance is Track Length, and Lap Time into Hours. Once hour is 3600 seconds, so the calculation for a 48 second lap at Talladega(2.5 miles) would be: Speed = 2.5 x (3600/48), = 2.5 x 75 = 187.500mph. For a 19 second lap at Talladega(.533 miles): Speed = .533 x (3600/19), = .533 x 189.474 = a speed of 100.990mph
Weather Channel
Accuweather
National Weather Service
Race Weather
Race Day Forecast
Weather Bug
Weather Underground
Brian Neudorff @NASCAR_WXMAN
Aaron Studwell @RaceWeather
Talladega Goodyear Tire Notes See complete tire information for the race weekend across all series on the [Goodyear Tire Notes - Talladega Superspeedway page.(10-9-2018)
RACE & CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Vegas Insider
Race and Championship odds
NASCAR Top-Five Finish Prediction
Talladega Race Preview by Micah Roberts
Bovada Sportsbook:
Race and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship