Talladega Driving Experience

“I sold my bike for my last trip to Talladega in May…Very addictive. Best money I ever spent and hands down the most fun I ever had…” Steve Mahaffey

Safety at Talladega Superspeedway

Racetrack Specifications

Location:

Description of Talladega, Alabama:

Accommodations:

Hotels: Courtyard Anniston Oxford Phone: (256) 831-7995 Distance: 16 miles Hampton Inn Oxford Phone: (256) 831-8958 Distance: 16 Miles Condominiums: Lincoln Harbor Overlook 256-268-5300 Distance: 10 Miles Bed & Breakfasts Somerset House Bed and Breakfast Phone: (877) 761-1117 Distance: 1 mile River Rest Bed and Breakfast Phone: (866) 670-7378 Distance: 12 mile

Restaurants: Fuji Japanese Cuisine Outback Steakhouse Cracker Barrel Transportation: Birmingham International Airport (BHM) (45 miles) Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) (115 miles) Talladega Municipal Private Airport (ASN) (8 miles) General aviation (on site)

History:

When the racetrack first opened, its speed was so high at nearly 200 mph that it created a problem.  Tire companies were unable to develop a compound that could hold together at those speeds for multiple laps.  As a result, the Professional Drivers Association (PDA) and its leader Richard Petty left the racetrack on the racetrack’s very first race weekend, declaring the situation unsafe.  To appease the thousands of fans that had traveled so far to see the race, however, the founder of NASCAR and the International Speedway Corporation, Bill France, went ahead with the race.  Using the drivers that did not participate in the boycott and a few that had raced on the previous day, Fortunately, the full 500 miles were run with no significant incidents.

Once races started being run at the Talladega Superspeedway, it became the site of record successes for a number of racecar drivers.  Richard Brickhouse was the first NASCAR Cup winner at Talladega, Pete Hamilton was the first to win two major events there, David Pearson was the first three-time winner, and Buddy Baker was the first four-time winner.  These winners were eclipsed by "The Intimidator," the late Dale Earnhardt, who posted 10 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins at Talladega in his years of driving.  His son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., has already posted five wins at Talladega.

Talladega Superspeedway was also home to what some have called "the greatest 1-2-3 finish in motorsports."  In the 1981 UAW-Ford 500, rookie Ron Bouchard won by just one foot over Darrell Waltrip and by two feet over Terry Labonte in the final 500 yards.

The 2005 UAW-Ford 500 looked as if it could be anybody’s race, but on the last and most important lap of the race, NASCAR great Dale Jarrett came up from behind and landed a spectacular victory, winning over Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  Jarrett's win put a Ford in Gatorade Victory Lane at Talladega for the first time in 7 years, coinciding nicely with UAW-Ford's debut as the racetrack's fall NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event sponsor.

Jimmie Johnson won the 2006 race, but not before 22 drivers swapped the lead 56 times.  In May of that year, Talladega Speedway was repaved for the fifth time, resulting in a record fall 2006 race weekend with the highest attendance the racetrack had ever had.  In a head-spinning display of racecar driving, 23 drivers swapped the lead 63 times in the UAW-Ford 500, and a total of 15,951 passes for position were made.

The track speed at Talladega Superspeedway is so high that it is one of only two racetracks on the NASCAR circuit that force teams to use a restrictor plate limiting the engine's horespower to restrict their top speeds.  There is an interesting aerodynamic side effect of this restriction; it allows two cars running together to go much faster than a single car can by itself.  As a result, Talladega Superspeedway races frequently have a large pack of cars running just inches away from each other.

Two 188-lap Sprint Cup Series races and one 117-lap Nationwide Series race are held each year at Talladega Superspeedway.  The The spring Sprint Cup race is referred to as “Aaron’s 499,” in honor of a rent-to-own chain based in Atlanta.  The 94-lap ARCA RE/MAX series also runs at Talladega, as does the same-length Craftsman Truck Series.

The Talladega Superspeedway is not only the biggest, the fastest, and the longest of motor speedways, it is the site of momentous racing events whose historic presence is still felt there.  On the racetrack where “The Intimidator” won 10 races and Dale Jarrett beat out Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the spirit of high-speed racing still lives on today as racing changes and evolves.   That racetrack, those cars, and the hearts of millions of enthusiastic racing fans are all part of the Talladega Superspeedway racing experience, making it timeless and unforgettable.