Official Release

Denny Hamlin was the top-finishing Toyota with a sixth-place result in Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race at Talladega Superspeedway. Camry driver Gray Gaulding also earned a top-10 finish with an eighth-place result at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET SS – Finished 2nd - ON THE RACE. "I don't know that it was a good kind of crazy, but that's the problem we are in. Proud of the guys on this Caterpillar Chevrolet with RCR and ECR to do what we did. We tried to play it smart and in the end we were close, but not close enough. I got double-teamed with the No. 2 and the No. 22 (Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano). That was the difference."

With most of the focus on the Camping World Truck Series playoff picture, Spencer Boyd patiently managed the Talladgea draft to finish 13th, a career high. Boyd has spent the latter part of the season running in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for SS Green Light Racing in the No. 07, but had an opportunity to run his 3rd Truck race this year in DJ Copp’s No. 83.

Joey Logano led the way for the Ford Performance and Team Penske contingent in qualifying with the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford Fusion for Sunday afternoon’s Alabama 500, turning the third fastest lap time.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR., NO. 88 MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS – Pole Winner - WHAT’S IT LIKE TO GET A POLE ON YOUR FINAL ATTEMPT AT TALLADEGA? “We got a pole earlier this year at Daytona. We’ve been fighting our teammate, Chase (Elliott) and his group for poles at these tracks for a long time and it’s been a lot of fun to be honest with you, how these two teams have pushed and elevated each other."

BRAD KESELOWSKI – No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion – “That’s not bad. I wanted a little bit more. I want to be in the top-six, which is good. It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good, so we’ll take that and move forward.”

Donnie Allison, two-time Talladega Superspeedway winner and original member of the famed Alabama Gang, will lead the field to green in Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s historic No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Sunday’s Alabama 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) playoff race. The blue and yellow, white numeral machine was driven by Dale Sr. during the 1979 and 1980 MENCS seasons and was presented to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as a retirement gift from the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Talladega Superspeedway on Friday.

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media today at Talladega Superspeedway to discuss his final restrictor plate race, plans for next year beyond the TV booth, tracks he will miss, stage racing at a plate track and other topics including three very special gifts...

Before six-time Talladega Superspeedway winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes his final laps at the track he considers his "second home" in Sunday’s Alabama 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) race, the track surprised him Friday afternoon by presenting him – on permanent loan – with the No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by his father Dale Earnhardt Sr. to the 1980 NASCAR Championship title. The presentation was made by Grant Lynch, Charmain of Talladega Superspeedway, and Alabama Senator Gerald Dial, Chairman of the Board of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF), located outside of the 2.66-mile track.

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 MOUNTAIN DEW CHEVROLET SS, met with members of the media today at Talladega Superspeedway to discuss his final restrictor plate race, plans for next year beyond the TV booth, tracks he will miss, stage racing at a plate track and other topics including three very special gifts...