The 2014 GEICO 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on October 19, 2014, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Contested over 194 laps on the 2.66-mile (4.28-kilometre) super speedway, it was the 32nd race of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the sixth race of ten in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Brad Keselowski held off hard charges from Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Landon Cassill to score his sixth win of the season. Kenseth finished second, while Clint Bowyer, Cassill, and Newman rounded out the top five. The top rookies of the race were Austin Dillon (13th), Cole Whitt (15th), and Kyle Larson (17th).

Talladega Superspeedway is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama, United States. 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 by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in the 1960s. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line - which is closer to turn one than at Daytona. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series. Talladega Superspeedway is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66 miles (4.28 kilometres), and the track at its peak had a seating capacity of 175,000 spectators, although the current capacity is 80,000 seats.

On September 4, NASCAR announced changes to the knockout format for Daytona and Talladega in an effort to speed up the qualifying process.

The following modifications were made to the knockout qualifying format for restrictor plate races. All other rules first implemented at the Las Vegas race will continue to be used.

“This revision in national series qualifying at Talladega should be more exciting for our fans,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR senior vice president of competition and racing development. “It will feature a more accelerated pace, provide greater opportunity for team strategy to come into play and it should more closely resemble actual racing conditions.”

Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 47.788 and a speed of 200.385 mph (322.488 km/h). Kyle Busch was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 49.056 and a speed of 195.205 mph (314.152 km/h). Brian Vickers won the pole with a time of 48.825 and a speed of 196.129 mph (315.639 km/h). “I thought that coming to three (laps) to go that we literally no shot,’’ said Vickers, who scored his first career Sprint Cup victory at this track in 2006. “We were way back. Like a half a straightaway behind the whole field and they all checked up and gave me a chance and gave me a run.’’ Justin Allgaier, Joe Nemechek and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. failed to qualify. “I thought being the last car in line would be beneficial for us,’’ Stenhouse said. “We had Jeff Gordon leading the pack there I thought we would have a good shot at putting a good lap in, but my spotter was telling me, ‘Hey, you have 30 seconds to get across the start-finish line’ as we were entering Turn 3. I don’t guess Eddie d'Hondt (No. 24 team spotter) was giving him a lot of information. He kept slowing the pack down, and we didn’t get a good lap and never got across the start-finish line in time. My spotter was giving me the information I needed, and I wish (Gordon’s spotter) would have been doing the same.” Jeff Gordon started 43rd for only the second time in his career. “The plan was shot before the plan started,’’ Gordon said. “I messed up ultimately. I just mistimed getting to the line. The whole group was going so slow, I knew I had to have a gap. When I came across the line, I thought I had enough to be able to complete that lap and get one more, which was the only way we were going to be to make it (to the second round), but we came up short. It’s a mess out there. It’s not easy.’’ Originally, Nemechek made it through the first round, but his time was disallowed after the oil tank encasement was found to be improperly installed. This allowed Reed Sorenson, who originally failed to qualify, to start the race. Brad Keselowski qualified fifth, but due to an alternator change (parc fermé rules are in effect at Talladega), started from the rear along with Matt Kenseth, who changed an engine. Terry Labonte, who made his final start, qualified ninth (although he had to go to the rear of the field due after NASCAR made the team change their paint scheme). It was his best qualifying performance since Sonoma 2005. "You know, it's only about the third time I've said this is gonna be my last race, but this is really gonna be the last one," he said Saturday. "It's been fun."

The race started with Brian Vickers leading the field to the green. He didn't hold the lead for long as Jimmie Johnson took the lead from him on lap one, but Ryan Blaney took the lead from Johnson on lap two. Then Johnson retook the lead on lap 15. Johnson ducked onto pit road to make his first stop of the race on lap 39.

The first caution of the race flew on lap 60 when Jamie McMurray cut a tire and turned down into Joey Logano past the exit of turn 4. "It's not destroyed, but it's pushed in. I see zero damage behind the exhaust," Keselowski's spotter Joey Meier reported to the crew. Jimmie Johnson took the lead back from Kahne when the leaders pitted.