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Jalen Milroe, Alabama Football players join RFK Racing for NASCAR Geico 500 at Talladega
Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

NASCAR has arrived in Talladega for the Geico 500. Of course, a group of Alabama Football players had to make the trip. The state of Alabama loves some stock car racing and the RFK Racing team was happy to welcome in these players from the Crimson Tide.

There is no better place to be than the races. NASCAR at Talladega is a special and sacred weekend. It’s fun to see these Alabama Football players getting to take in the sights and sounds of the Cup Series.

RFK Racing has a good chance at snagging a win in the Geico 500, too. With Bama backing them, how could they lose? Jalen Milroe, Kobe Prentice, Malachi Moore, Devonta Smith and more were on pit road to get hats and hang out with the pit crew before today’s race.

Maybe RFK is letting them know if the football thing doesn’t work out, there’s always working on a pit crew as a jackman or something.

There are a lot of avenues for athletes to take nowadays in NASCAR. It isn’t all about driving. In fact, you could argue the pit crews have only gotten more valuable in recent years with the Next Gen car and track position being king. Brad Keselowski and Jack Roush getting a little foot in the door. Bama to RFK Racing pipeline coming?

Joking aside, this is always fun to see. NASCAR needs things like this to stay culturally relevant and look like the cool sport that it really is. Everyone loves watching cars go fast and be loud, and if you don’t, keep it to yourself. Hopefully, the Bama players feel right at home watching the Geico 500.

Geico 500 threatened by rain, looks good ahead of green flag

Leading up to the race weekend it looked like it would be another rainout for NASCAR. This sport just can’t avoid the bad weather sometimes. Truthfully, the forecast looked like it would be a similar weekend to the Daytona 500.

Thankfully, it appears that the weather is manageable at worst for the Geico 500. NASCAR worked all morning to get the track dry and be ready for more showers and sprinkles in the meantime. Now it looks like the green flag could drop on time, which would be great for TV viewers and those in the stands.

Of course, if more rain does come through and the race is put on hold, there is a concern with the daylight. This race needs three to three and a half hours to be completed. The sun will go down and with no lights at the track, that would be the end of the race.

So, it’s a battle against the elements and a literal race against time for NASCAR. The Geico 500 looks like it is going to be just fine, fans are packed in the stands at Talladega and we are almost ready to go racing at one of the most iconic venues in motorsports.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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