Jack Link's 500 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jack Link's 500

NASCAR Cup Series
Venue	Talladega Superspeedway
Location	Talladega, Alabama, United States
Corporate sponsor	Jack Link's
First race	1970 (1970)
Distance	500.08 miles (804.80 km)
Laps	188 Stages 1/2: 60 each Final stage: 68
Previous names	Alabama 500 (1970) Winston 500 (1971–1993, 1997) Winston Select 500 (1994–1996) DieHard 500 (1998–2000) Talladega 500 (2001) Aaron's 499 (2002–2014) GEICO 500 (2015–2024)
Most wins (driver)	Jeff Gordon Brad Keselowski (4)
Most wins (team)	Hendrick Motorsports (8)
Most wins (manufacturer)	Chevrolet (22)
Circuit information
Surface	Asphalt
Length	2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Turns	4

The Jack Link's 500 is an exciting NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. This race usually takes place in April or May. The 1997 event was the fastest NASCAR race ever, with cars averaging 188.354 miles per hour! It was also the first race at Talladega that didn't have any caution periods.

This race was once considered one of NASCAR's "Grand Slam" events. Even today, it's seen as one of the five "Crown Jewel" races, alongside other big events like the Brickyard 400. Austin Cindric is the most recent winner, having won the race in 2025.

Exciting Races Through the Years

GEICO sponsored the race from 2015 to 2024, when it was known as the GEICO 500.

• 1975: This race had many crashes. It was the first win for Buddy Baker since 1973. Sadly, a pit road accident during the race resulted in the death of Randy Owens, who was working on Richard Petty's car.
• 1977: This race had an amazing 63 lead changes! On the very last lap, four cars battled for the win. Darrell Waltrip won in a thrilling finish.
• 1984: A motorsports record was set with 75 lead changes in this race. Cale Yarborough won by passing Harry Gant on the final lap.
• 1985: Bill Elliott made an incredible comeback, starting almost two laps behind. He caught up to the leaders and won the race from Kyle Petty.
• 1987: A scary crash happened when Bobby Allison's car went airborne into the catch fence. The race was stopped for two hours to fix the fence. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. This crash led to new rules for car speeds at tracks like Talladega. This race was also the first win for Bobby Allison's son, Davey Allison.
• 1993: On the last lap, Ernie Irvan passed Dale Earnhardt. Then, Rusty Wallace crashed violently after touching Earnhardt, flipping several times across the finish line.
• 1994: Dale Earnhardt won this race and dedicated it to Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, who had died in a crash earlier that day. There were two big crashes in this race, involving many cars.
• 1997: Mark Martin won the fastest NASCAR race ever at Talladega, averaging 188.354 miles per hour! The race finished in just 2 and a half hours.
• 2000: Jeff Gordon earned his 50th career win. He started way back in 36th place, which was the farthest starting spot for a winner at Talladega.
• 2001: Bobby Hamilton won this race, which was his last victory before he passed away in 2007. It was also the second time a Talladega race finished without any caution flags.
• 2003: A huge crash happened on lap 4, involving 27 cars! Despite being caught in the crash, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made an amazing comeback to win his fourth straight Talladega race. There was some debate about whether he went below the yellow line to pass, but NASCAR said it was a fair move.
• 2004: Jeff Gordon won, but the race ended under a caution flag. Fans were upset and threw trash onto the track because they wanted to see a green-flag finish. This led to NASCAR creating the "green-white-checkered" rule for future races.
• 2009: A wild finish saw Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards battling for the win. Edwards' car crashed into the catch fence, flipping into the air. Eight fans were injured, but not seriously. Keselowski won in one of the biggest upsets of the decade.
• 2010: This race is often called "the Greatest Talladega Race Ever." It set a record with 88 lead changes among 29 different drivers! The race went into three "NASCAR Overtime" attempts. Kevin Harvick won by a tiny margin of 0.012 seconds.
• 2011: This race tied the record for most lead changes in a regular race (88). It also had one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history, with a margin of just 0.002 seconds! Jimmie Johnson won in a thrilling finish.
• 2013: After a long rain delay, the race finished in near darkness. Front Row Motorsports drivers David Ragan and David Gilliland surprised everyone by finishing first and second. This race is sometimes called "The 7 hours of Talladega" because it took so long.
• 2016: This race had eight crashes, including four "Big Ones" (multi-car accidents). Only seven cars finished without damage. Brad Keselowski won as another crash happened at the finish line.
• 2019: This was the first Talladega race since 1987 without restrictor plates, which are devices used to limit engine power. Chase Elliott won after a final lap crash sent Kyle Larson's car flipping.
• 2020: Ryan Blaney won in a very close photo finish. The race was delayed by rain. Before the race, a rope tied like a noose was found in Bubba Wallace's garage stall. The racing community showed huge support for Wallace, and an FBI investigation found it was not a hate crime.
• 2021: Joey Logano's car went airborne and flipped over during the race. Despite being involved in the same crash, Brad Keselowski continued and won the race.
• 2023: Kyle Busch earned his first Talladega win in 15 years. This happened after Bubba Wallace and Ryan Blaney caused a "Big One" crash on the final lap.
• 2024: Tyler Reddick took the win after Michael McDowell made a bad block, causing a "Big One" crash at the finish line. Corey LaJoie's car ended up on its side!

Past Winners

• 1974: The race was made shorter because of the energy crisis at the time.
• 1987: The race was shortened because it got dark. This was due to a long stop (red flag) to fix the safety fence after a big crash.
• 1991 & 2006: These races were moved from Sunday to Monday because of rain.
• 1997: This race was delayed by two weeks due to rain. It became the first Talladega race without any caution flags.
• 2001: This was the first restrictor-plate race after Dale Earnhardt's passing. It was the second Talladega race ever to have no caution flags.
• 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2020, 2021, & 2023: These races went into "NASCAR Overtime" (also called a green–white–checker finish). In 2010, it took three tries to finish the race! In 2013, only one overtime attempt was allowed because it was getting too dark after a long rain delay.
• 2010: This race set a record for the most lead changes (88) in a single race.
• 2011: This race also set a record for lead changes and had one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history, by just 0.002 seconds!
• 2020: The race was moved from April to June because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then delayed again by rain.

Drivers with Multiple Wins

Teams with Multiple Wins

Manufacturer Wins