Following two weeks of short track action, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the biggest track on the schedule at Talladega Superspeedway.
For the second consecutive race, there are 41 cars entered and one will go home following qualifying on Saturday.
Tony Stewart made his return to competition last weekend and is entered again for the GEICO 500. However, due to the heightened risk of injury at Talladega, he will only start the race to earn points and then climb out for Ty Dillon to compete.
Bobby Labonte will be back behind the wheel of the No. 32 car for GO FAS Racing for the second time this season. He competed in the first restrictor plate race of the season at Daytona and finished 31st. He competed in all four plate races in 2015 with his best result of 23rd coming last October at Talladega.
Front Row Motorsports has a third car entered this weekend as David Gilliland pilots the No. 35 Shaw’s Southern Belle Seafood Ford. He attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 but did not make the field. If he qualifies on time this weekend, this will be his first start of 2016. He finished second in the 2013 spring Talladega race, behind former FRM teammate David Ragan.
Michael Waltrip will compete in the No. 55 for Premium Motorsports on Sunday. If he makes the field, this will be his second start of the season after finishing 30th at Daytona with BK Racing. He finished fourth in this race in 2013.
Defending race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will look to rebound after crashing in the first restrictor plate race of 2016. Despite the wreck, he will compete in the same car as his Hendrick Motorsports team repaired the ride named “Amelia” after the Daytona accident.
Cars return to the track beginning on Friday at 2:30 p.m. for opening practice and final practice at 4:30 p.m. (all times ET). The field will be set on Saturday with single-car qualifying starting at 12:30 p.m. Coverage of the GEICO 500 will begin on Sunday at 1 p.m. on FOX.
Car No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Sponsor | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jamie McMurray | Chevy | McDonald's | Chip Ganassi Racing |
2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford | Miller Lite | Team Penske |
3 | Austin Dillon | Chevy | Dow - Energy & Water / Intellifresh | Richard Childress Racing |
4 | Kevin Harvick | Chevy | Busch Fishing | Stewart-Haas Racing |
5 | Kasey Kahne | Chevy | Farmers Insurance | Hendrick Motorsports |
6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | AdvoCare | Roush Fenway Racing |
7 | Regan Smith | Chevy | Golden Corral | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
10 | Danica Patrick | Chevy | Aspen Dental | Stewart-Haas Racing |
11 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | FedEx Express | Joe Gibbs Racing |
13 | Casey Mears | Chevy | GEICO | Germain Racing |
14 | Tony Stewart | Chevy | Bass Pro Shops | Stewart-Haas Racing |
15 | Clint Bowyer | Chevy | AccuDoc Solutions | HScott Motorsports |
16 | Greg Biffle | Ford | Ford EcoBoost | Roush Fenway Racing |
17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | Fifth Third Bank | Roush Fenway Racing |
18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | Skittles Marvel | Joe Gibbs Racing |
19 | Carl Edwards | Toyota | ARRIS | Joe Gibbs Racing |
20 | Matt Kenseth | Toyota | Dollar General | Joe Gibbs Racing |
21* | Ryan Blaney # | Ford | Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center | Wood Brothers Racing |
22 | Joey Logano | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | Team Penske |
23 | David Ragan | Toyota | Schluter Systems | BK Racing |
24 | Chase Elliott # | Chevy | NAPA Auto Parts | Hendrick Motorsports |
27 | Paul Menard | Chevy | Moen / Menards | Richard Childress Racing |
30* | Josh Wise | Chevy | Curtis Key Plumbing | The Motorsports Group |
31 | Ryan Newman | Chevy | Caterpillar | Richard Childress Racing |
32 | Bobby Labonte | Ford | Rimrock Devlin | GO FAS Racing |
34 | Chris Buescher # | Ford | Love’s Travel Stops / CSX-Play it Safe | Front Row Motorsports |
35* | David Gilliland | Ford | Shaw's Southern Belle Seafood | Front Row Motorsports |
38 | Landon Cassill | Ford | FR8Auctions | Front Row Motorsports |
41 | Kurt Busch | Chevy | Monster Energy | Stewart-Haas Racing |
42 | Kyle Larson | Chevy | Target | Chip Ganassi Racing |
43 | Aric Almirola | Ford | Fresh From Florida | Richard Petty Motorsports |
44 | Brian Scott # | Ford | Twisted Tea | Richard Petty Motorsports |
46 | Michael Annett | Chevy | Pilot Flying J | HScott Motorsports |
47 | A.J. Allmendinger | Chevy | Kroger / Hungry Jack / Crisco | JTG Daugherty Racing |
48 | Jimmie Johnson | Chevy | Lowe's | Hendrick Motorsports |
55* | Michael Waltrip | Toyota | Peak & BlueDEF | Premium Motorsports |
78 | Martin Truex Jr. | Toyota | Bass Pro Shops / TRACKER Boats | Furniture Row Racing |
83 | Matt Dibenedetto | Toyota | Dustless Blasting | BK Racing |
88 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevy | Nationwide | Hendrick Motorsports |
95 | Michael McDowell | Chevy | Thrivent Financial | Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing |
98* | Cole Whitt | Chevy | TBA | Premium Motorsports |
A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.
Now we will have to listen how a great plate driver that M W is from old D W.