GEICO 500 2016: Five takeaways from Talladega

The 2016 Geico 500 was yet another day of destructive racing at Talladega.

Talladega is always a race prone to big wrecks and some terrifying moments on the track. Add in drivers racing each other more hard because of the threat of rain and it was an absolute day of destruction at the 2016 Geico 500 on Sunday.

The drivers of NASCAR had issues all day on the track and on pit road. Whether it was Denny Hamlin or Danica Patrick spinning out in their pit stall, or even the wrecks on the track, the drivers of NASCAR raced with tremendous anxiety against each other.

While there were plenty of drivers involved in major wrecks on the track, there were also plenty of drivers that were in contention for the win at Talladega. All day long, the lead in the race shifted between multiple drivers, as pole sitter Chase Elliott had to fend off competition from everyone.

While some young drivers gave him a run, it was Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick that proved to be the strongest late in the race as they battled for the lead. While it looked like some clean racing might finally take over the day at Talladega, a massive 17-car wreck unfolded, which drastically changed the layout of the field.

The race would come down to laps remaining with Brad Keselowski and Trevor Bayne fighting for the lead and the win. As the race was nearing it’s end, another massive wreck broke out between Kenseth, Danica Patrick and several other drivers, which sent Kenseth airborne.

Kurt Busch would shoot his way to the front off the restart. However, he would be reeled in by Brad Keselowski, who won the race as the field crashed behind him.

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. destroys his car twice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is typically one of the best drivers in NASCAR when it comes to Talladega. At the Geico 500 on Sunday, Earnhardt Jr. raced like a driver that was competing in his first Talladega race.

Early on in the race, Earnhardt Jr. got loose and ran right into Kasey Kahne and destroyed the front end of his car.

If one big wreck wasn’t enough for Earnhardt Jr., he would also get involved later on in a big wreck with Carl Edwards.

That’s just the way racing goes sometimes.

2. Chris Buescher rolled his car in terrifying fashion

Talladega has big wrecks every year, but if a car rolls on the track, then everyone is holding their breath and hoping the best for the driver. During a big wreck in Sunday’s race, Chris Buescher was involved in a huge wreck and ended up catching air and rolling his car.

Fortunately, he would be alright, but it’s a wreck that no one wants to see at all.

3. The young drivers step up

While NASCAR is usually a track for veterans because of the difficulties of racing at such high speeds with such high risks, the young drivers of NASCAR really stepped up on Sunday.

Chase Elliott started the day on the pole and held his own up front for a while. Trevor Bayne and Kyle Larson also ran N0. 1 and No. 2 and were involved in some huge battles.

Any time a young driver can get experience on a track like Talladega, it can only be a good thing.

4. Michael Waltrip still has it…on occasion

Michael Waltrip is usually cracking jokes with drivers on pit road now that his racing career is over. However, he does race every now and then and on Sunday, Waltrip had a couple moments where he was in the lead at Talladega on the track.

Just when it looked like a great story was unfolding, Joey Logano pushed Martin Truex right into the back of Waltrip and sent him off the track.

Waltrip would eventually recover and work his way to the front near the end of the race. It was fun watching Waltrip on the track again.

5. “The Big One” took half the field in one of the biggest wrecks ever

Talladega is always at risk of having a wreck that just completely takes every driver out of the race. On Sunday, the race had one of those wrecks, when Kurt Busch sent Jimmie Johnson into the wall, which ended up causing an impressive yet equally terrifying 17-car wreck on the track.

It’s not often one wreck can take out half the field, but Talladega is one of those tracks that has the special ability to do something like that. It was a day filled with absolute madness on the track.

Even worse, it wasn’t the final big wreck of the day.

Several cars near the front would get into it and Matt Kenseth went airborne. It might have been the wildest day of racing in Talladega history.

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