Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is the biggest, fastest, most competitive motorsports facility in the world. Records for both speed and competition have been established at Talladega.
Talladega Superspeedway can accommodate more than 143,000-seated guests and thousands more in the 212-acre infield. The track offers van tours to visitors daily during working hours except on weeks around events. Adjacent to the track is the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum, which is also open daily.
Track Facts:
Acreage
∙ Originally built in 1969, Talladega Superspeedway property now covers approximately 3,000 acres including the track site and parking areas.
∙ The infield area is 212 acres.
Track
∙ Talladega Superspeedway is a 2.66-mile tri-oval course.
∙ The north and south turns are banked 33 degrees and the grandstands tri-oval is banked 16.5 degrees.
∙ The track is 48-feet wide with an apron that is an additional 12 feet in width.
∙ The frontstretch is 4,300′ long, while the backstretch is 4,000′ long.
Records
∙ Talladega Superspeedway holds records for the fastest 500-mile stock car race(188.354 mph, May 10, 1997, winner: Mark Martin), the most lead changes in a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event (75, May 6, 1984) and the most leaders in a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event (26, twice, July 27, 1986 & April 22, 2001), earning it the distinction of being "NASCAR's Most Competitive Track."
Location
∙ Talladega Superspeedway is located on Speedway Boulevard, which runs parallel to Interstate 20. The track is 40 miles east of Birmingham, Ala. at Exit 168 and 95 miles west of Atlanta, Ga. at Exit 173.
SAFER Barriers
∙ SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers are designed to absorb some of the energy and therefore lessen impact for the driver on contact.
∙ The SAFER wall project began in the fall of 2000 and remains an ongoing safety initiative for NASCAR, the Indy Racing League, Dr. Dean Sicking and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The barriers were first used in May 2002 for the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
∙ In October 2002, Talladega Superspeedway became the second track hosting NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events to begin installing the barriers. Although SAFER barrier technology had not yet advanced at that time to enable their use along the outside of the high-banked turns at Talladega, the track was able to install the barriers in the inside retaining wall at the exit of Turn 4 and the entrance to Turn 1 of the track.
∙ In April 2004, advances in SAFER barrier research had progressed considerably, and Talladega Superspeedway was able to add SAFER barriers on all four turns, the tri-oval and the inside retaining wall of the backstretch.
∙ The SAFER wall at Talladega Superspeedway is 40 inches high and extends through the turns and tri-oval about 30 inches from the track wall.
Racing Activity
∙ Talladega Superspeedway presents five separate racing shows each year as host to the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, the NASCAR Busch Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA).
∙ The facility is used for various automotive testing purposes as well as by driving schools. Driving schools that regularly visit Talladega Superspeedway include Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure, Richard Petty Driving Experience and Racing Experience, Inc, Racing Experience, Inc. and Jeff Gordon Racing School.
∙ The facility is occasionally used by film production companies for television commercial and motion picture shoots.
Grandstands
∙ Talladega Superspeedway's grandstand seating capacity is 143,231.
∙ There are reserved grandstands on both the east and west sides of the track.
∙ The grandstand seating area on the west side of the track is one mile in length. It includes Gadsden, Lincoln, Anniston O.V. Hill North, O.V. Hill South, Birmingham, Moss-Thornton and Talladega Grandstands, Gadsden, Lincoln, Anniston, O.V. Hill North, O.V. Hill South, Birmingham, Moss-Thornton and Talladega Towers, as well as Tri-Oval and Start/Finish Line Suites.
∙ Along the east side and out of the track's second turn is the Allison Grandstand, named for the famous Alabama racing family that includes racers Bobby, Donnie, Clifford and Davey Allison.
Pit Road
∙ Pit Road at Talladega Superspeedway is 1,730′ long from entrance to exit.
∙ Each of the 47 stalls on pit road at Talladega is 32′ by 18′.
∙ The area behind the wall of each pit stall is 30′ by 21′.
Garages
∙ The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series garage at Talladega Superspeedway is a 32,400-square-foot structure with a total of 62 bays. Each of these bays is 14′ by 24′ and has electrical outlets for each team.
∙ The NASCAR Busch Series/Craftsman Truck Series garage at Talladega Superspeedway is a 23,250-square-foot structure with a total of 68 bays. Each of these bays is 12′ by 21′ and has electric outlets for each team.
∙ The ARCA RE/MAX Series Paddock is located behind the NASCAR Busch Series/Craftsman Truck Series Garage.
Scoring Tower
∙ The scoring tower located in the track's infield is 148′ tall and displays the positions of all of the cars on track. The first 10 positions during a race are always displayed on the tower, with positions 11-43 rotating on the bottom two spaces.
∙ There are 7,440 light bulbs used for the scoring position displays.
∙ The power it takes to run the scoring pylon throughout a race day could also power approximately five 3-bedroom homes for the same period of time.
