Know Your Track: Talladega

Talladega Superspeedway

Track Name: Talladega Superspeedway

           

Nicknames: "'Dega"

Location: Talladega, Alabama

Capacity: 80,000

Date of First Race: September 14, 1969

Layout: Talladega is a 2.66 mile asphalt "Tri-oval" and is one of two superspeedways in NASCAR (Daytona being the other). Talladega's four turns are banked at an astounding 33 degrees, which help provide some of the fastest sustained speeds in NASCAR. Talladega is the longest track on the NASCAR circuit.

Current Sprint Cup Races:

• May 3, 2015 - Talladega 500, a 500 mile, 188 lap regular season points race. This is a Sunday afternoon event.
• October 25, 2015 - Geico 500, a 500 mile, 188 lap Chase race. This is the final race of the Contender Round of the Chase and the sixth out of ten Chase races overall. This is a Sunday afternoon event.

Most Wins:           

• All-Time: Dale Earnhardt, 10 wins
• Active: Jeff Gordon, 6 wins
• Latest Winner:
• 2014 Aaron's 499: Denny Hamlin
• 2014 Geico 500: Brad Keselowski

Description: Quite frankly, Talladega is an unforgiving beast. Along with Daytona, 'Dega is one of the two superspeedways in NASCAR, a.k.a. a track that is so long and so fast that NASCAR requires the cars to use restrictor plates to prevent the packs of cars from reaching sustained speeds of 220mph or more. Also like Daytona, the use of the restrictor plate keeps the field of 43 cars all racing in a tight pack, meaning one bobble or mis-timed bump from a driver can lead to chaotic and frightening crashes, making everyone thankful for the safety measures NASCAR has today.

However, when the drivers are able to avoid automotive carnage, the finishes at the track can be as close as a few inches. This win, by Jimmie Johnson, tied the closest finish in NASCAR history at .002 seconds.

                                     

Talladega also presents an interesting dynamic with it's place in The Chase, and that dynamic being that it scares the shit out of the drivers trying to advance to the next round of The Chase. The fact that Talladega's Chase race is a cutoff race and the unpredictability of when and where the big crash is going to happen means that drivers trying to advance in The Chase here either have to race extremely conservative, or just hope and pray that they aren't involved in the big wreck when it happens. Simply put, 'Dega is a nightmare for driver's and their teams, but highly entertaining for (most*) fans.

*Some fans refuse to accept restrictor plate racing as real racing due to the highly uncontrollable nature of it. To each his own, I reckon.

Notable Races:

• 2014 Geico 500 - Due to his position in the points, the only way Brad Keselowski was going to advance to the next round of The Chase was to win the race at Talladega. This is no small task as Talladega is as unpredictable as they come. But Keselowski was able to overcome earlier crash damage and keep his car out front for the final few laps to score an improbable "walk-off" win to keep his championship hopes alive.

Fun Facts: Talladega has been rumored to have been built on top of an Native American burial ground, leading many to believe that this is why gigantic crashes happen at every race here.