Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega, Alabama

On an unassuming stretch of land suited for soybean farming located next to a couple of abandoned airport runways, crews constructed the biggest, fastest and most competitive superspeedway in the world - - Talladega Superspeedway.

Since Alabama International Motor Speedway (as it was called until 1989) opened its gates in September of 1969, the track has surpassed every initial expectation in terms of sheer size, speed and competition.

Talladega, Ala. emerged as the top choice among several possible sites in the Southeast, with the main criteria for selection being availability of land, access to the interstate system and a population base of at least 20 million people within 300 miles. Anniston insurance executive Bill Ward, a race driver and fan himself, helped NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation founder William H.G. (Bill) France find the land in Alabama, following a casual conversation with France in Daytona in the mid-1960s.

Several obstacles had to be overcome, including financing. With France as the guiding force, however, construction began on the 2,000-acre site on May 23, 1968, with the first race being the 'Bama 400 Grand Touring race on Saturday, September 13, 1969. Ken Rush drove his Camaro to Victory Lane in that event. The next day, Richard Brickhouse won the first Grand National (now NASCAR NEXTEL Cup) race, the Talladega 500 (now known as the UAW-Ford 500), edging Jim Vandiver and Ramo Stott.

Setting precedents
Putting that first race weekend on the record books wasn't as easy as it may sound, however. The practice and qualifying speeds were so high (Charlie Glotzbach won the pole at 199.466 mph) that the tire companies - try as they might - could not in the time available come up with a compound that held together for many laps. The Professional Drivers Association (PDA), led by Richard Petty, declared the situation unsafe, and left the track Saturday afternoon.

Buddy Baker won three straight races, both 1975 races and the 1976 spring event, then added another, the Aaron's 499 in the spring of 1980, to become the first four-time winner. Darrell Waltrip, Bobby Allison and Jeff Gordon have since joined him in that category, tying four ways for third on the all-time series win list here.

In 1987, Bill Elliott established a world stock-car record when he posted a speed of 212.809 mph. in qualifying for the Aaron's 499. Mark Martin established a 500-mile stock-car record in 1997 when he won the caution-free spring Aaron's 499 with an average speed of 188.354 mph.

But the track's true dominator was Dale Earnhardt, who posted 10 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins at Talladega over the years. Earnhardt's first victory was in the 1983 UAW-Ford 500, driving for Bud Moore. He won again the next year in his first season with Richard Childress. When he captured the 1990 UAW-Ford 500, he became the first three-time winner of that event, then added UAW-Ford 500 wins in 1991, 1993 and 2000.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has quickly followed in his father's footsteps. Dale Jr. won the 2001 UAW-Ford 500, defending the title for his late father. Dale Jr. swept both races at Talladega in 2002 and won the 2003 Aaron's 499 for an unprecedented four-in-a-row winning streak. With a win in the 2004 UAW-Ford 500, he now is second in terms of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series wins here, with five.
Delighting fans with fierce competition

The track itself is 2.66-miles long, four lanes wide and is banked 33 degrees on each end, with 18-degree banking in the tri-oval. This layout has produced some of the fastest and most competitive racing in history. The backstretch is nearly 4,000 feet long, and stock cars have reached speeds in excess of 220 miles per hour there in competition.

The grandstands seating capacity is 143,231 including the most recent expansion of the O.V. Hill South Tower. The 212-acre all-reserved infield holds many thousands more.

Perhaps the greatest 1-2-3 finish in motorsports occurred in the 1981 UAW-Ford 500, when rookie Ron Bouchard passed both Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte in the final 500 yards to win by less than a foot over Waltrip and two feet over Labonte. Labonte got even with the 30-year-old track 18 years later, when he edged Joe Nemechek by .002 seconds to win the Aaron's 312 Busch Series race. The finish had to be reviewed several times before a winner was determined.

The 1984 Aaron's 499 set a motorsports standard with 75 official lead changes in a 500-mile race. In 1986, 26 of the 40 drivers who started the UAW-Ford 500 led at least one lap, 19 of them under green flag racing.

In 1993, the UAW-Ford 500 became the first 500-mile race to produce 1,000 official lead changes over the years, an amazing feat considering the race was only 25 years old, and has only 188 laps - or opportunities - to record lead changes.

But competition always has been fierce at Talladega, no matter what time of year. In the 2000 UAW-Ford 500, 26 cars finished on the lead lap, a NASCAR record for a 500-mile race.