History of Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega Superspeedway is a motorsports complex located in Talladega, Alabama. It was constructed in the 1960s in place of abandoned airport runways by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by NASCAR's founding France family along with Daytona International Speedway and several other racetracks. At 2.66 miles (4.28 km) long, Talladega is the largest oval track in the Nextel Cup Series and has seating provisions for over 175,000 patrons.

The start/finish line is placed after the pit exit because Bill France wanted to have higher ticket sales towards that side, as well as centered with pit road. The unusual placement has affected the outcome of several races (the start/finish line is normally placed across from the center of pit road). The track is adjacent to and visible from Interstate 20.

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame is adjacent to the Talladega Superspeedway.

In the early days of NASCAR, a one-mile, oval track was originally planned to be built in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Local religious leaders opposed the construction of such a large track, and NASCAR founder Bill France decided to instead build the track in Alabama at Talladega.

Talladega got off to a controversial start when the Professional Drivers Association, a union of drivers led by Richard Petty, went on strike the night before the inaugural Talladega 500. The union was concerned with the speed which could be attained due to the track's length and steep banking, and the perceived threat to driver safety that this posed. Bill France took to the track himself in a car and drove around it at high speeds. NASCAR also ran a successful support race, but it was not enough, and the PDA drivers went on strike. Replacement drivers from the previous day's race were asked to race, and tickets were good for future races. The race was the only win for Richard Brickhouse and was the debut race for six-time Winston/Nextel Cup Owners' Champion Richard Childress.

Speeds well in excess of 200 mph (320 km/h) were commonplace at Talladega. Talladega Superspeedway has the record for the fastest recorded time in a closed oval course, with the record of 216.309 mph (348.116 km/h) set by Rusty Wallace on June 9, 2004.  Wallace circled the 2.66-mile (4.28-km) tri-oval in 44.270 seconds, which surpassed the previous record held by Bill Elliott (212.809 mph) set in 1987. Buddy Baker was the first driver to qualify at a speed over 200 mph, with a 200.447 mph lap during qualifying on March 24, 1970. Baker was also the first recorded driver to break the 200 mph barrier at the track, with a speed of 200.096 mph in a test session.

In 1987 Bobby Allison experienced a tire failure while going through the "tri-oval" portion of the track, which sent his car airborne. His car tore out a portion of the frontstretch catch fence, nearly entering the crowd. NASCAR imposed rule changes to slow the cars after the incident, with a 1988 rule requiring cars running there and at Daytona to use restrictor plates. The most often cited reason is a fear that the increasing speeds were exceeding the capabilities of the tires available at the time, as high-speed tire failure had led to some gruesome crashes at slightly lower speeds. The plates limit the amount of air and fuel entering the intake manifolds of the car, greatly reducing the power of the cars and hence their speed. This has led to the style of racing held at Talladega and Daytona to be somewhat different from that at other superspeedways and to be referred to by NASCAR fans as "restrictor-plate racing".

The reduced power affects not only the maximum speed reached by the cars but the time it takes them to achieve their full speed as well, which can be nearly one full circuit of the track. The racing seen at Talladega today is extremely tight; often in rows of three or four cars, and sometimes even 5 wide on the straightaways throughout most of the field, as the track is wide enough to permit such racing.

Such close quarters due to the cars being so close to each other, however, makes it extremely difficult for a driver to avoid an incident as it is unfolding in front of him, and the slightest mistake often leads to massive (and often frightening) multi-car accidents - dubbed "the Big One" by fans and drivers - and Talladega is notorious for such, and always has been. It is not uncommon to see 20 or more cars collected in them. Such huge crashes are less frequent at Daytona, which is a more handling oriented track.

The danger of "The Big One" not only can cause extensive damage to cars during a race, but it can affect points standings overall... especially during the Chase for the Cup, since the UAW-Ford 500 is part of the Chase schedule, although such big wrecks occasionally occurred even before the restrictor plates were introduced as well.