GEICO 500 Live: A total of 40 drivers are set to qualify for the 10th race on the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the GEICO 500, at Talladega Superspeedway. After a week off, NASCAR gets back to racing this week at a completely different track than the one it just left in Richmond.
There’s just one question you have to ask yourself this week: “Do I feel lucky?”
After this weekend, we can no longer use the description “restrictor-plate, superspeedway” to describe Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway. A new rules package goes into effect utilizing the new aero package and a smaller tapered spacer that will not work exactly the way the old plate did.
This will increase the horsepower on the engines and NASCAR hopes it improves maneuverability. We will have to wait until the race is over to know what progress has been made in that regard. But the new rules are unlikely to break of the drafting packs we’ve seen over the years – and therein lies the danger on this track.
One minor mistake in a pack of 30 or more cars often leads to carnage on a massive scale. That characteristic of this track isn’t going to go away anytime soon, because NASCAR believes it’s what the fans want to see. As a result, this continues to be a wild card race and fantasy players have a great opportunity to make up ground on the competition if they guess correctly about which marquee racer will crash and who among the dark horses will take his place at the front of the pack.
