The 10th race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season is the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Here is a list of the 40 drivers set to compete in the race.
Nine of the 36 races on the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series schedule have been completed, with one of those nine races, the Daytona 500, which opened up the season back in February, having been a restrictor plate race.
The 10th race of the season is the second restrictor plate race of the season, and it is set to take place this Sunday. This means that only two restrictor plate races will remain on the schedule after this Sunday, with one in the regular season at Daytona in July and one in the playoffs at Talladega in October.
This Sunday’s GEICO 500 is set to be held at the four-turn, 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway tri-oval in Lincoln, Alabama. A total of 188 laps are set to be contested at the track, although given the recent history of races at the track, overtime may be needed to officially settle the race.
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Four of the last seven Talladega races have gone past their scheduled distance of 188 laps, including last season’s May Talladega race, which was won by Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. The most recent Talladega race last October, which was won by Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski, ended after only its scheduled 188 laps. However, two consecutive Talladega races have not ended after only their 188 scheduled laps since the October Talladega race in the 2013 season and the May Talladega race in the 2014 season both did so.
For just the second time in the 2018 season and the first time the Daytona 500, which opened up the season back on Sunday, February 18th, the field is set to be full for a Cup Series race, as 40 drivers are entered into the GEICO 500.
For the 41st consecutive race at Talladega, the Cup Series field is full. From the April Talladega race in the 1998 season until now, there has never been a Cup Series race at Talladega without a full field, whether the field size limit has been 43 drivers (until the 2015 season) or 40 drivers (starting in the 2016 season).
With all of this in mind, this Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway should be a thriller. Here is the full entry list for the 10th race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Rank | Driver | Car, Team, Manufacturer |
| 1 | Joey Gase | #00, StarCom Racing, Chevrolet |
| 2 | Jamie McMurray | #1, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 3 | Brad Keselowski | #2, Team Penske, Ford |
| 4 | Austin Dillon | #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 6 | Trevor Bayne | #6, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 8 | Aric Almirola | #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 9 | Denny Hamlin | #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 10 | Ryan Blaney | #12, Team Penske, Ford |
| 11 | Ty Dillon | #13, Germain Racing, Chevrolet |
| 12 | Clint Bowyer | #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 13 | Ross Chastain | #15, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | #17, Roush Fenway Racing, Ford |
| 15 | Kyle Busch | #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 16 | Daniel Suarez | #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 17 | Erik Jones | #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota |
| 18 | Paul Menard | #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford |
| 19 | Joey Logano | #22, Team Penske, Ford |
| 20 | Gray Gaulding | #23, BK Racing, Toyota |
| 21 | William Byron | #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 22 | Ryan Newman | #31, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet |
| 23 | Matt DiBenedetto | #32, Go Fas Racing, Ford |
| 24 | Michael McDowell | #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 25 | Chris Buescher | #37, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 26 | David Ragan | #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford |
| 27 | Kurt Busch | #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford |
| 28 | Kyle Larson | #42, Chip Ganassi Racing, Chevrolet |
| 29 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | #43, Richard Petty Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 30 | A.J. Allmendinger | #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet |
| 31 | Jimmie Johnson | #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 32 | Timmy Hill | #51, Rick Ware Racing, Ford |
| 33 | Reed Sorenson | #55, Premium Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 34 | Brendan Gaughan | #62, Beard Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 35 | Cole Whitt | #72, TriStar Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 36 | Martin Truex Jr. | #78, Furniture Row Racing, Toyota |
| 37 | Alex Bowman | #88, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet |
| 38 | Timothy Peters | #92, RBR Enterprises, Ford |
| 39 | Kasey Kahne | #95, Leavine Family Racing, Chevrolet |
| 40 | D.J. Kennington | #96, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Toyota |
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Be sure to tune in to Fox at 2:00 pm ET on Sunday, April 29th to watch the live broadcast of the 2018 GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama.