The 2017 Alabama 500 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 15, 2017, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66 mile (4.2 km) superspeedway, it was the 31st race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, the fifth race of the Playoffs, and second race of the Round of 12. Brad Keselowski won the first stage and the race, while Ryan Newman finished second and Trevor Bayne finished third. Ryan Blaney won the second stage.

2017 Alabama 500
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Race 31 of 36 in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Date October 15, 2017 (2017-10-15)
Location Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama
Course Permanent racing facility
2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.64 km)
Average speed 131.677 miles per hour (211.914 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Hendrick Motorsports
Time 50.256
Most laps led
Driver Joey Logano Team Penske
Laps 59
Winner
No. 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Dillon Welch (3 & 4)

Report

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Background

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Talladega Superspeedway, the track where the race was held.

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Sprint Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.

Entry list

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No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford
7 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet
14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 Mark Thompson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet
17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford
22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota
24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford
33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet
34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford
37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford
41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford
47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
55 D. J. Kennington Premium Motorsports Toyota
72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet
75 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota
78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota
83 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota
88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.398 seconds and a speed of 197.859 mph (318.423 km/h).[10] During practice, Jimmie Johnson spun in turn 4 after cutting down a left-rear tire from debris.[11]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48.398 197.859
2 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48.411 197.806
3 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 48.413 197.798
Official first practice results

Final practice

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Kasey Kahne was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 50.078 seconds and a speed of 191.222 mph (307.742 km/h).[12]

Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer Time Speed
1 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.078 191.222
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.118 191.069
3 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.332 190.257
Official final practice results

Qualifying

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored the pole position.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 50.256 and a speed of 190.544 mph (306.651 km/h).[13]

Qualifying results

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Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer R1 R2
1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.299 50.256
2 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.356 50.291
3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 50.354 50.301
4 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.376 50.329
5 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.447 50.355
6 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 50.410 50.360
7 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.461 50.459
8 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.514 50.460
9 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 50.486 50.488
10 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 50.501 50.491
11 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 50.570 50.501
12 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.621 50.602
13 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.640
14 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.678
15 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.715
16 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.725
17 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 50.725
18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.746
19 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 50.757
20 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.767
21 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 50.788
22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 50.828
23 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 50.863
24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.875
25 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 50.877
26 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 50.932
27 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 50.957
28 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 50.966
29 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 51.040
30 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.098
31 7 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.101
32 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 51.168
33 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 51.321
34 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 51.434
35 75 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 51.652
36 15 Mark Thompson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 51.787
37 23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 51.928
38 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 51.935
39 83 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 52.379
40 55 D. J. Kennington Premium Motorsports Toyota 52.484
Official qualifying results

Race

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Stage 1

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Start

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the field to the green flag at 2:19 p.m., Joey Logano took the lead on lap 1 and led 19 laps, The first caution of the race flew on lap 27 for a multi-car wreck in the frontstretch, as several drivers tried to drop onto pit road for stops. Jamie McMurray, a playoff driver, was in the heart of the accident as he tried to pit from the track's second lane. McMurray spun and sailed up the track, where he was hit hard by Jeffrey Earnhardt, Others involved in the wreck were Mark Thompson, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher and Erik Jones. Busch, whose car received minor damage, blamed the crash on Jamie McMurray, who admitted he made a mistake.

The race restarted on lap 37 and it remained green for 15 laps, Paul Menard whacked the outside wall to bring out the day's second caution on lap 52, starting a round of pit stops. During the stops, Earnhardt was penalized for speeding on pit road. Menard's accident occurred near the end of the first stage.

The race restarted on lap 55, and Brad Keselowski finished first, followed by Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Jimmie Johnson, The third caution of the race flew on lap 57 for conclusion of the first stage.

Stage 2

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The race restarted on lap 62, Seven-time and reigning series champion Jimmie Johnson wound up in crowded traffic while trying to pit on lap 67. Johnson was bumped by Ty Dillon and that contact pushed Johnson into Danica Patrick. Johnson's car received right rear fender damage.

Debris on the track brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 82.

The race restarted on lap 88.

Ryan Blaney, racing to stay in the playoffs, edged Brad Keselowski to win the race's second stage. Following were Clint Bowyer, Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch, The fifth caution of the race flew on lap 112 for conclusion of the second stage.

Final stage

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Brad Keselowski won the race.

The race restarted on lap 116 and it remained green for 37 laps. The last 40 laps of the race were marred by a series of crashes that significantly thinned out the size of the field. On Lap 153, an apparent blown tire sent Trevor Bayne's car sliding into the outside wall near turn 3, producing the race's sixth caution. Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumped into Daniel Suárez in traffic near the accident, but neither car suffered major damage.

The race restarted on lap 156 and the seventh caution of the race flew two laps later for a multi-car wreck at the back of the field in turn 1. A. J. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer and Cole Whitt were involved. Bowyer, angry at his team because of a slow pit stop that dropped him deep into the field, where he was swept into the accident, got out of his car on pit road and climbed on his pit wagon to complain to the team.

The race restarted on lap 160 and the eighth caution flew six laps later for a three-car wreck in the backstretch involving D. J. Kennington and Joey Gase.

The race restarted on lap 171 and the ninth caution flew two laps later as “The Big One” ensued in turn 3. It started when Martin Truex Jr. tried to go four wide and clipped David Ragan, causing Ragan to spin into Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson and collect an additional 16 cars including Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Austin Dillon, Landon Cassill, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt DiBenedetto, Danica Patrick, Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brendan Gaughan, and Michael McDowell. A lengthy red flag was brought out to allow for cleanup.

The race restarted on lap 176. The tenth caution of the race flew on lap 177 for a smaller Big One in turn 3, as Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney started a multi-car crash that also collected Brendan Gaughan, Kevin Harvick and Trevor Bayne. Earnhardt and Brad Keselowski barely avoided the crash, which resulted in a second red flag for cleanup.

The race restarted on lap 181 and with only a handful of drivers left in the final laps to decide the race winner, more were eliminated with six laps to go when Chase Elliott and Daniel Suarez crashed while racing for the lead. Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson also were collected, which produced the eleventh caution of the race, and a third red flag.

The race restarted on a three lap shootout. Keselowski passed Ryan Newman on the last lap in turn 3 to win the race, with Newman finishing second, Trevor Bayne finishing third, and Logano finishing fourth. Aric Almirola crashed after finishing fifth. Denny Hamlin, Earnhardt, Kasey Kahne, Gray Gaulding and David Ragan rounded out the top ten.[14] Thanks to all of the crashes in the last 40 laps, only 14 cars were running at the finish (with all but Kenseth running on the lead lap), the lowest number of cars to finish at Talladega since 1986, and the most number of cautions at 11 since the spring 2004 race.

Post race

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"The right front was an inch and a half low, and I couldn't really push anybody or get some runs going, and nobody wanted to push me 'cause they could see I was struggling a little bit," Earnhardt said. "But we got lucky and missed a lot of wrecks there. It's real hard to get up there and keep that track position. These plate races get harder and harder to win, and congratulations to Brad."

Race results

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Stage results

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Stage 1 Laps: 55

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 10
2 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 9
3 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 8
4 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7
5 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6
6 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5
7 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 4
8 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 2
10 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1
Official stage one results

Stage 2 Laps: 55

Pos No Driver Team Manufacturer Points
1 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 10
2 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 9
3 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 8
4 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7
5 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 6
6 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 5
7 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4
8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 3
9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2
10 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1
Official stage two results

Final stage results

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Stage 3 Laps: 78

Pos Grid No Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 3 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 188 59
2 27 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 35
3 10 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 188 36
4 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 188 42
5 26 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 188 32
6 15 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 188 32
7 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 30
8 11 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 30
9 39 83 Gray Gaulding (R) BK Racing Toyota 188 28
10 33 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 188 27
11 25 13 Ty Dillon (R) Germain Racing Chevrolet 188 26
12 20 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 25
13 12 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 188 24
14 19 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 187 23
15 14 19 Daniel Suárez (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 184 22
16 2 24 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 182 28
17 28 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 182 20
18 9 21 Ryan Blaney Wood Brothers Racing Ford 177 37
19 35 75 Brendan Gaughan (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 177 0
20 22 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 176 20
21 13 10 Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 175 16
22 24 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 172 15
23 21 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 171 14
24 8 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 171 23
25 4 41 Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 171 21
26 5 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 171 18
27 16 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 171 12
28 30 34 Landon Cassill Front Row Motorsports Ford 171 9
29 18 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 171 13
30 29 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 171 11
31 32 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 171 6
32 37 23 Joey Gase (i) BK Racing Toyota 164 0
33 40 55 D. J. Kennington Premium Motorsports Toyota 164 4
34 38 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 155 3
35 7 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 155 15
36 23 77 Erik Jones (R) Furniture Row Racing Toyota 26 1
37 17 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 25 1
38 34 33 Jeffrey Earnhardt Circle Sport – The Motorsports Group Chevrolet 25 1
39 36 15 Mark Thompson (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 25 0
40 31 7 Justin Marks (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 0
Official race results

Race statistics

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  • Lead changes: 16 among different drivers
  • Cautions/Laps: 11 for 47
  • Red flags: 3 for 35 minutes and 30 seconds
  • Time of race: 3 hours, 47 minutes, 52 seconds
  • Average speed: 131.677 miles per hour (211.914 km/h)

Media

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Television

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NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

NBC
Booth announcers Pit reporters
Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen
Color-commentator: Jeff Burton
Color-commentator: Steve Letarte
Dave Burns
Marty Snider
Kelli Stavast

Radio

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MRN will cover the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

MRN
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Joe Moore
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Announcer: Rusty Wallace
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Backstretch: Mike Bagley
Turns 3 & 4: Dan Hubbard
Alex Hayden
Dillon Welch
Kim Coon
Steve Post

Standings after the race

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References

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  1. ^ "2017 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 5, 2016. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  2. ^ "Talladega Superspeedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  3. ^ "Entry List". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  4. ^ "First Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 13, 2017. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  5. ^ "Final Practice Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 13, 2017. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  6. ^ "Qualifying Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 14, 2017. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  7. ^ "Alabama 500 Results". MRN.com. Motor Racing Network. October 15, 2017. Archived from the original on October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  8. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 16, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  9. ^ "Manufacturer standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. October 16, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  10. ^ Spencer, Lee (October 13, 2017). "Keselowski leads opening Cup practice at Talladega". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  11. ^ "Johnson cuts tire, spins before making practice lap". Official Cite Of NASCAR. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  12. ^ Spencer, Lee (October 13, 2017). "Kahne and Earnhardt lead final practice at Talladega". Motorsport.com. Lincoln, Alabama: Motorsport Network. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  13. ^ Fryer, Jenna (October 14, 2017). "Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes pole for final Talladega race". Associated Press. Lincoln, Alabama: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  14. ^ Hembree, Mike (October 15, 2017). "Brad Keselowski wins wreck-fest at Talladega to advance in playoffs". USA TODAY. Retrieved October 15, 2017.


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