Talladega Superspeedway (formerly known as Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, United States. Built in 1969, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The track is owned by NASCAR and led by track president Josh Harris. The grandstand can seat 80,000 as of 2022. Along with the main track, the track complex also has a roval-style road course.
In the early 1960s, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. built the track near Talladega, Alabama, after a failed proposal to build one in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Over its first couple decades, the track gained a reputation as a fast and wild facility with speeds of over , major accidents, and unusual occurrences. NASCAR's introduction of the restrictor plate and the appearance of pack racing in the late 1980s exacerbated its chaotic reputation, with several "Big One" accidents involving 10 or more cars.
Description
Configuration Talladega Superspeedway in its current form is measured at , with 33 degrees of banking in the turns, 16.5 degrees of banking in the tri-oval section, and two degrees of banking in the straights. The track, similar in shape to the NASCAR-owned Daytona International Speedway, differs from Daytona due to its start-finish line; Talladega's start finish line is around a away from the track's center point. Within NASCAR's schedule, Talladega Superspeedway is the longest oval NASCAR races on during the season. The track also has a roval-style road course.
Amenities Talladega Superspeedway is located near Interstate 20. As of 2022, Talladega Superspeedway has a capacity of 80,000, down from 143,000 in 2003. The track's infield covers about 270 acres, and hosts around 2,700 RV parking spots. In total, the track complex covers around 3,000 acres, the largest on the NASCAR schedule.
Race weekend party scene Talladega Superspeedway is known for its infield party scene during race weekends, gaining a reputation for a chaotic, Woodstock/Mardi Gras-type atmosphere. The party scene has been described by ESPN's Ryan McGee as "full of redneck engineering and school buses and questionable decisions". Games, parades, and nudity has been reported by numerous journalists as being commonplace; with reporter Mike Hembree stating that the focus of the party scene was "toward beer, liquor, racing, boobs and, somewhat down the list, college football." Elizabeth Blackstock, writer for Jalopnik, stated that at Talladega, "People turn into animals. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it looks like when humans just cease giving a fuck, I highly recommend finding your nearest infield campground." Considered to be "notoriously rowdy" in the 1980s, by the 2000s, Talladega Superspeedway officials started to crack down on "hard-core lawlessness", adding in a makeshift jail and making the scene "more civilized".
Track history
Planning and construction
Failed Spartanburg proposal
Sometime in the early 1960s, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. made initial plans to construct a superspeedway in Spartanburg, South Carolina, with the help of Spartanburg native Joe Littlejohn. In October 1963, designs for the Spartanburg track were drawn up by C. H. Moneypenny, with it planned to be built near the Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport. An official announcement was made on February 18, 1964, with stated hopes of building 50,000 seats and a budget of "near a million dollars"; it was also touted as a "little Daytona". However, while France Sr. later stated that plans were "far away from building" in March, local residents near the airport immediately raised opposition towards the proposal in the Spartanburg City Council; particularly due to concerns of increased noise. Despite further rumored plans to build a new airport terminal for the airport, further opposition was raised due to local blue laws. Despite this, in May, France Sr. continued to scout for potential sites. The proposal was eventually rejected by the local city council; the rejection, which heavily contributed to the declining racing scene of Spartanburg that started in the start of the 1960s, was seen by locals as the point of no return of the city's decline. In an interview, longtime NASCAR driver James Hylton stated that the city council "stuck a knife in their hearts, their own hearts. Because if the city fathers in Spartanburg and Spartanburg County had approved that, this would be Talladega... All the people who had a vote on that really didn't understand racing. They really didn't have a clue as to what the future held."
Anniston Air Force Base proposal According to multiple people associated with Talladega Superspeedway's beginnings, sometime in 1965, former driver and businessman Fonty Flock convinced France Sr. to scout the Anniston, Alabama, area. At the beginning of 1966, The Anniston Star reported that France Sr. was negotiating to build a $1.5 million (adjusted for inflation, $) facility in Eastaboga near the Talladega Municipal Airport. However, according to France Sr., local Alabama tax laws and the cost of surrounding land were deterrents to the track's construction. In February, France Sr. had reportedly began negotiations in Gadsden. However, in the next several months, France Sr. and city of Talladega officials resumed negotiations for the Eastaboga proposal. In August, the Alabama Senate passed a measure to allow Talladega and its nearby cities to finance the track with their own credit. The measure was signed by governor George Wallace soon after; by this point, Talladega Industrial Development Board chairman O. V. Hill stated that the budget for the project had risen to $6 million (adjusted for inflation, $), and planned to host a capacity from 40 to 50 thousand seats. Leaders of the now-proposed track also hoped to raise $3 million and acquire approximately 1,500 acres of land to kickstart the project. Nearing the end of the year, leaders awaited a verdict from the Union Oil Company on whether they would invest $3.5 million for the project.
France Sr. later stated hopes of starting construction in the summer of 1967 and to open the track sometime in 1969. A finalized plan of the project was reported in April 1967, which according to France Sr. was "economically justified". In June, France Sr. stated in The Anniston Star that the "bond market just isn't what it should be at the present"; however, speculated rumors of Pure Oil, a subsidiary of Union Oil, investing the entire amount needed to finance the project were also being made, with a feasibility report stating that the project was "highly favorable". In the next month, a party associated with France and Pure Oil were reported to have invested two-thirds of the financing needed for its construction, along with the city of Talladega offering 650 acres. At the beginning of 1968, France Sr. announced that the track would be longer than the France Sr.-owned Daytona International Speedway by "400 [to] 600 feet". In the same announcement, he also stated that he aimed to start construction in a couple of months and that the project was "90 percent assured". On March 14, Talladega County officials announced that they hoped for a final verdict on access road financing in order to finally approve the project; however, a sale of $2 million to First Alabama Securities relating to industrial bonds failed to go through. Despite this, France Sr. and Hill did not consider the lack of funds to be a major problem, and instead were so confident that they thought that the purchase would nevertheless be secured within the next month. In April, the city of Talladega gave France Sr. 2,000 acres at the site of the former Anniston Air Force Base.
On May 16, 1968, France Sr. officially announced the construction of the project along with a new airport runway near the track, which came at a final projected cost of $5 million and an opening date in September 1969. Groundbreaking occurred seven days later, with the facility officially being named the Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS). At the groundbreaking ceremony, France Sr. stated plans to host NASCAR, sports car, and motorcycle events at the facility. France Sr.'s son, Bill France Jr., was placed in charge of AIMS. During construction, the track was advertised to have bankings steeper than Daytona International Speedway and potential average speeds over . In October, work began on constructing grandstands, which involved bulldozing part of the Talladega Mountains. In April 1969, a "roval" road course was announced by France Sr. That same month, reports by the Associated Press stated that AIMS was selling 70 tickets daily on average. In July, the amount of tickets sold daily was "100 or more", with the goal of 100,000 people coming to the inaugural race being "assured". The next month, the only construction fatality occurred when W. L. Harry died when a crane hit his head, crushing his skull.
Chaotic first years
1969 Talladega 500 A date to christen AIMS was scheduled for September 14, 1969, for the 1969 Talladega 500. The first tire tests for the facility were run by LeeRoy Yarbrough and Donnie Allison in early August, with both claiming unofficial world closed circuit speed records. Both drivers complained of "rough places" on the surface of the track during testing. Later in the month, Bobby Allison in a newly-unveiled Dodge Charger Daytona ran another test session; Bobby later claimed that the track had "great big holes" in its surface. France Sr. admitted the appearance of three holes due to Hurricane Camille, but also claimed that the holes were filled before Bobby made testing runs. On race weekend, although the track surface was completed, numerous amenities, including VIP suites, were either unfinished or "barebones" according to longtime motorsports journalist Dave Despain.
The track officially opened to the public on September 9 for practice sessions for the Talladega 500. The track surface drew complaints from drivers, particularly drivers from the newly-formed Professional Drivers Association (PDA), a drivers' union. PDA drivers Cale Yarborough, Buddy Baker, and Charlie Glotzbach all reported that the surface was "rough" and caused increased tire wear amongst both Goodyear and Firestone tires; the two tire suppliers for the race. Baker later added, "they haven’t built a tire out of anything that will stand up if you hit a chuckhole at 200 miles per hour". Tires were also reported to have only lasted 4 laps until they became "shredded", with Firestone pulling out of the event. Anniston Star writer George Smith remarked that due to the never-before-seen speeds in NASCAR, "no one really knew what to expect of speeds in the 195-200 m.p.h. range." As a result of the complaints, drivers asked France Sr. if the race to be postponed; he refused, mainly due to the high cost of building the track, which France Sr. feared would bankrupt the track if the race was postponed. He proceeded to tell the drivers to race at slower speeds; this was refused by the drivers. After an incident that involved Yarbrough punching France Sr. after France Sr. called Yarbrough too scared to race, a meeting involving 36 PDA drivers almost unanimously agreed to withdraw from the event.