2018 GEICO 500

Talladega Superspeedway, the track where the race will be held

Talladega Superspeedway, formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway, 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. A tri-oval, the track was constructed in 1969 by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking. The track currently hosts NASCAR's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and 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 is a 2.5-mile-long (4.0 km).

Ty Dillon was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 47.182 seconds and a speed of 202.959 mph (326.631 km/h).[11]

Jamie McMurray was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 46.947 seconds and a speed of 203.975 mph (328.266 km/h).[12] The practice was marred by a three-car crash on the back-straightaway that resulted in McMurray barrel rolling several times into the inside catchfence while Ty Dillon and Ryan Newman were also involved. “When I realized I was going to flip, I actually shut my eyes because I don’t really want to see what’s getting ready to happen,” McMurray said. “And then it just kept, it seemed like forever. I opened my eyes a couple times and I couldn’t, I’m like I don’t know if I’m going up or down or where it’s going to hit next. So I was just thankful when it finally … a couple of times I thought it was going to stop and it just kind of kept going.” McMurray's accident led to NASCAR reducing the restrictor plates from 7/8th to 55/64th of an inch.[13]

Stage 1 Laps: 55

Stage 2 Laps: 55

Stage 3 Laps: 78

• Lead changes: 16 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 6 for 29
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 16 minutes and 46 seconds
• Average speed: 152.489 miles per hour (245.407 km/h)

Fox Sports covered their 18th race at the Talladega Superspeedway. Mike Joy, six-time Talladega winner – and all-time restrictor plate race wins record holder – Jeff Gordon and four-time Talladega winner Darrell Waltrip called the race in the booth for the race. Jamie Little, Vince Welch and Matt Yocum handled the action on pit road for the television side.

MRN had the radio call for the race which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the race in the booth when the field raced through the tri-oval. Dave Moody called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley called the race from a platform inside the backstretch when the field raced down the backstretch. Kyle Rickey called the race from the Sunoco spotters stand outside turn 4 when the field raced through turns 3 and 4. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley, Kim Coon, and Steve Post worked pit road for the radio side.