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163-476: Talladega Superspeedway (formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway from 1969 to 1989) is a 2.66-mile (4.28 km) tri-oval superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama . The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1969; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR . The track has been owned by NASCAR since 2019 with Brian Crichton serving as the track's president. The facility has

326-458: A confidence trickster , was able to launder thousands of dollars worth of equipment from multiple organizations, including Sterling Marlin , Goodyear , and NASCAR themselves. After attempting to race and subsequently being parked during the race for being too slow, he vanished without a trace despite a manhunt, and was only found in 2022 when he agreed to reveal himself for a podcast. At the 1986 Winston 500 , spectator Darren Crowder broke into

489-403: A " roval " (a blend word combining "road course" and "oval") is an oval track racing facility that features a road course in the infield (and/or outfield), that is usually linked to the oval circuit. This type of course makes for a multi-purpose track, and allows the facility to be used for both oval and road racing. A typical combined road course consists of the oval portion of the track, using

652-475: A "Talladega Curse" which stemmed from the belief that the track was built on cursed indigenous American land as a result of the Trail of Tears ; an idea that has been dismissed by former Talladega Superspeedway general manager Grant Lynch as a marketing ploy created by Jim Hunter, a past publicity director for the track. In the 1973 Winston 500 , a crash involving 19 cars hospitalized four drivers; Wendell Scott , one of

815-523: A "fun-filled" atmosphere that breaks fans away from the confines of grandstand seating without sacrificing the view. Below the porch was an interactive fan zone featuring amusement rides, a go-kart track, show cars and merchandise trailers. After the 2015 racing season, the Party Porch was torn down with the backstretch grandstands as part of the DAYTONA Rising project. As of August 2024, track records on

978-510: A 1/8 mile version. Perhaps the most unusual concentric oval facility is Dover Speedway- Dover Downs . The one-mile oval track encompasses a 0.625-mile harness racing track inside. Oval tracks usually have slope in both straight and in curves, but the slope on the straights is less, circuits without any slope are rare to find, low-slope are usually old or small tracks, high gradient are more common in new circuits. Circuits like Milwaukee Mile and Indianapolis Motor Speedway have 9° banking in

1141-532: A 2005 Award for Excellence from Design-Build Institute of America. Following the success of the UNOH Fanzone at Daytona, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway each built a similar infield fanzone. On December 9, 2016, the speedway announced that the University of Northwestern Ohio purchased entitlement rights to the fanzone, and that the area will be named 'UNOH Fanzone'. On January 25, 2024, it announced

1304-601: A 500-lap or 400-lap distance. Short tracks in many cases have lights installed and routinely host night races. The short ovals still form the backbone of NASCAR in the feeder series. Three race tracks of this type are also represented in the Cup: Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond. Tracks with potential for future cup races are the Iowa Speedway built in 2006, the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway used until 1984 in

1467-463: A capacity from 40 to 50 thousand seats. Leaders of the now-proposed 2.5 miles (4.0 km) 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

1630-422: A concentric 1/4-mile oval layout. The 1/4-mile layout became a popular venue for legends car racing . The name "legends oval" was derived from this use. They have also seen use with go-karts, short track stock cars, and other lower disciplines. This idea was adopted by numerous tracks including Texas Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kentucky Speedway , Las Vegas Motor Speedway , and Iowa Speedway which has

1793-480: A confined space, overtaking is very common as vehicles may travel two and three abreast. This forces drivers to use strong mental discipline in negotiating traffic. There are drawbacks, however. Should an accident occur at the front of the pack, the results could block the track in a short amount of time. This leaves drivers at the back of the pack with little time to react and little room to maneuver. The results are often catastrophic as numerous cars may be destroyed in

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1956-420: A day later than expected due to rain. The repave was met with positive reactions from drivers, including Tony Stewart and Dennis Setzer . It was eventually completed by September 25 of that year, in time for ARCA Re/Max Series testing. The next year, Lynch was replaced by general manager Rick Humphrey, with Lynch being transferred to work at the corporate ISC offices. A $ 13 million, two-phase renovation project

2119-479: A desire to bring football back to the track. On July 2 and 3, 2022, the track hosted Daytona Soccer Fest, a 2 day event highlighted by a friendly match between heated Colombian rivals América de Cali and Deportivo Cali and a NWSL regular season match between the Orlando Pride and Racing Louisville FC . In 1994, Sega released an arcade game called Daytona USA , using their Model 2 Arcade hardware. It

2282-449: A final length of 3.560 mi (5.729 km) for the complete road course. In 2003, the backstretch chicane was modified once again. The middle leg was repaved and widened, and now cars would enter through the first leg, and exit out of the second leg. The existing third leg was abandoned. This allowed cars a cleaner entry into oval turn three. After favorable results, in 2010 the third leg was demolished and removed permanently. In 2005,

2445-551: 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,

2608-545: A food truck event. As of April 2024, the fastest official lap records at Talladega Superspeedway (formerly Alabama International Motor Speedway) are listed as: In June 2005, a collaborative movie project between NASCAR and Sony Pictures was announced, with Will Ferrell slated as the lead actor. Initially put into doubt, the working title was eventually announced as Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby in February 2006. Although most of movie's production took place in

2771-473: A grandstand capacity of 80,000 as of 2022. Along with the main track, the track complex also features a 4-mile (6.4 km) long roval -style road course. After a proposal in Spartanburg, South Carolina , fell through in the early 1960s, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. opted to seek his proposal elsewhere, eventually landing on an area near Talladega, Alabama . Over the track's first couple decades, it gained

2934-413: A lap of 171.499 miles per hour (276.001 km/h). In August 1974, A. J. Foyt took the overall closed-circuit speed record from Mario Andretti , setting a speed of an average speed of 217.315 miles per hour (349.735 km/h). Foyt's record was broken a year later by Mark Donohue , with Donohue setting an average speed of 221.160 mph (355.923 km/h). In the 1980s, the women's world record for

3097-461: A length of one mile or more. Since the introduction of the intermediate oval, Superspeedway is an oval race course of 2 miles or longer. There are six active superspeedways in the United States, the most famous being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway , both 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. These tracks were built in 1909 and 1959 respectively. Indianapolis Motor Speedway

3260-492: A light rain. Some tracks (e.g., Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA) have "rain or shine" rules requiring races to be run in the rain. Safety has also been a point of difference between the two. While a road course usually has abundant run-off areas , gravel traps, and tire barriers, oval tracks usually have a concrete retaining wall separating the track from the fans. Innovations have been made to change this, however. The SAFER barrier

3423-412: A live entertainment stage, additional food and drink areas and various other activities and displays. The 2004 renovation of the infield, headed by design firm HNTB , was the first major renovation of the infield in the history of the track. In addition to the fanzone, a new vehicle and pedestrian tunnel was built under turn 1. The tunnel posed a challenge to engineers because it was to be built under

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3586-445: A lot of oval tracks, which neither have a classical geometric shape nor still represent a modern tri-oval in the strict sense. While these courses still technically fall under the category of ovals, their unique shape, flat corners, hard braking zones, or increased difficulty, often produces driving characteristics similar to those of a road course. Some facilities feature several ovals track of different sizes, often sharing part of

3749-460: A new circuit coming in three layouts. In addition to the oval and Rolex 24 Hour layouts in Gran Turismo , there also exists a Daytona 200 layout in the game. Forty-one people have been fatally injured in on-track incidents: 24 car drivers, twelve motorcyclists, three go-kart drivers, one powerboat racer, and one track worker. The most notorious death was that of Dale Earnhardt , who was killed on

3912-449: A notable exception. Many 1-mile dirt ovals were used by stock cars or champ cars before race tracks with dirt surfaces were removed from the racing calendar in the early 1970s. Many of these racetracks got the nickname "Fairgrounds” — for example Arizona State Fairgrounds , California State Fairgrounds and Michigan State Fairgrounds Speedway . The origin of these racetracks was in harness racing , which commonly used 1-mile tracks. Also,

4075-448: A renovated and heavier catchfence replaced the original catchfence in 1988. On January 30, 1989, Helton became the president of the track; on the same day, the track was renamed to Talladega Superspeedway, with publicity director Jim Freeman stating in a press release that "it's shorter, and everybody called it 'Talladega' anyway". Under Helton's leadership, numerous renovations to Talladega Superspeedway were made. In 1990, upgrades to all of

4238-422: A reputation for being a fast, wild, and chaotic track, with speeds of over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h), major accidents, and unusual occurrences being commonplace. NASCAR's introduction of the restrictor plate and the subsequent appearance of pack racing in the late 1980s exacerbated its chaotic reputation, with " Big One " accidents involving 10 or more cars occurring often; a phenomenon that has lasted into

4401-499: A result of Allison's crash, NASCAR introduced the restrictor plate to reduce speeds; a requirement that lasted until 2019. In October 1987, Naman announced his intents to retire to become a member of the board of directors at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame , with former Atlanta International Speedway general director Mike Helton taking his position. In the aftermath of Bobby Allison's 1987 crash at AIMS,

4564-405: A road course, there are many different lines that can work on an oval track. The preferred line depends on many factors including track conditions, car set-up, and traffic. The oval track driver must choose which line to use each time they approach a corner. On a short track in a 25-lap feature race, a driver might not run any two laps with the same line. Both types of racing place physical demands on

4727-463: A second infield road course configuration was constructed, primarily for motorcycles . Due to fears of tire wear on the banked oval sections, oval turns 1 and 2 were bypassed giving the new course a length of 2.950 mi (4.748 km). The Daytona SportBike that runs the Daytona 200 however, uses the main road course except for the motorcycle Pedro Rodríguez Hairpin (tighter than the one used for cars;

4890-474: A second-tier NASCAR Busch Series race in 2002, a 27-car pileup occurred, breaking an all-time record for the most cars involved in an incident in any of NASCAR's top three series in the modern era. At the Aaron's 499 that same year, an incident late in the race involved two dozen cars. The record was tied at the 2003 Aaron's 499 , where the accident set a new all-time NASCAR Cup Series record for most cars involved in

5053-417: A single accident. This type of accident is often called " The Big One ". Oval track racing requires different tactics than road racing. While the driver does not have to shift gears nearly as frequently, brake as heavily or as often, or deal with turns of various radii in both directions as in road racing, drivers are still challenged by negotiating the track. Where there is generally one preferred line around

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5216-428: A single incident. Another catchfence incident occurred at the 2009 Aaron's 499 , when Carl Edwards ' car went airborne on the final lap, crashing into the catchfence and injuring seven spectators. Three years later at the 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 , a 25-car accident occurred on the final lap of the race. In 2018, ISC announced a $ 50 million renovation to the track's infield which aimed to completely revamp

5379-411: A slow pace throughout Naman's tenure. In 1975, AIMS officials announced renovations worth over $ 200,000; among said renovations was the addition of a new press box on the track's frontstretch that costed around $ 150,000, additional loudspeakers, and additional spectator gates. Further renovations to paddock areas were announced in 1977, along with the addition of a new 2,200-seat grandstand. A second repave

5542-461: A stand-alone road course layout(s) in the infield not directly linked to the oval layout, or otherwise using only a short portion of the oval. Combined road courses combine the high speed characteristics of ovals with the technical precision of road courses . It allows road racing disciplines the unique experience of being held in the stadium style atmosphere of an oval superspeedway. Numerous combined road courses saw widespread use with sports cars in

5705-539: A substantial sum of money from the Pepsi company after attempting to obtain the money to finish construction from the Coca-Cola Company and being turned down. For years from when the track opened to France's death, France never allowed Coca-Cola to be sold as a concession at any of the tracks he owned as a result. The first practice run on the new track was on February 6, 1959. On February 22, 1959, 42,000 people attended

5868-491: 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

6031-442: A year-by-year basis starting in 1990, staying for a seven-year stint until leaving at the end of their 1996 season. IROC made its last year-by-year stint starting in 1999, racing there until 2003 (with the exception of 2002). The AMA Superbike Championship raced at the circuit in the early 1980s, first making their appearance in 1980. The series made their last appearance at the circuit in 1983. In 1974, initial plans were made for

6194-499: Is 2.500 mi (4.023 km) long with 31° banking in the turns and 18° banking at the start/finish line. The front straight is 3,800 ft (1,200 m) long and the back straight (or "superstretch") is 3,000 ft (910 m) long. The tri-oval shape was revolutionary at the time as it greatly improved sight lines for fans. It is one of the three tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit that are considered "drafting tracks",

6357-621: Is a race track in Daytona Beach , Florida , United States , about 50 mi (80 km) north of Orlando . Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500 , the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. The venue also hosts the 24 Hours of Daytona , one of three IMSA races that make up the Triple Crown of endurance racing . In addition to NASCAR and IMSA,

6520-424: Is around a 1 ⁄ 4 mile (0.40 km) away from the track's center point. Within NASCAR's schedule, Talladega Superspeedway is the longest oval NASCAR races on during the season. Talladega Superspeedway also features a roval -style road course, measuring at 4 miles (6.4 km). Talladega Superspeedway is located near Interstate 20 . As of 2022, Talladega Superspeedway has a capacity of 80,000 according to

6683-538: Is held near the summer solstice , Daytona's endurance race is held in winter (meaning more of the race is run at night). The track's lighting system is limited to 20% of its maximum output for the race to keep cars dependent on their headlights. The 3.810 mi (6.132 km) road course was built in 1959 and first hosted a three-hour sports car race called the Daytona Continental in 1962. The race length became 2,000 km (1,200 mi) in 1964, and in 1966

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6846-405: 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

7009-545: Is the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama . Built in 1969, it is 2.66 miles (4.28 kilometers) long, and holds the current record for fastest speed in a stock car, lapping at an average of 216.309 mph (348.116 km/h) and reaching 228 mph (367 km/h) at the end of the backstretch. Daytona and Talladega are the pinnacle of stock car superspeedway racing, where restrictor plates are mandated by

7172-661: The MotoGP races were run counter-clockwise, with some reconfigured corners to fix corner apex problems. Michigan was also an example of a clockwise combined road course. Another example is the Adelaide International Raceway in Australia which combines a 2.41 km (1.50 mi) road course with an 0.805 km (0.500 mi) speedway bowl. The Bowl forms a permanent part of the road course and also runs clockwise. At many tracks, multiple configurations are available for

7335-561: The Sports Business Journal . At its peak, the track contained a capacity of 143,000 according to a 2003 spectator's guide given by the Montgomery Advertiser . The track's infield covers approximately 270 acres according to Business Insider , and hosts around 2,700 RV parking spots. In total, the track complex covers around 3,000 acres, with the facility being the largest on the NASCAR schedule. Talladega Superspeedway

7498-451: The 1996 Winston Select 500 , Ricky Craven was involved in a 14-car accident that sent Craven's car airborne at nearly the same spot during Horton's crash in 1993; however, due to a newly-added catchfence that was added in the turn in the wake of Horton's crash, Craven's car was able to stay within the track confines. Heading into the new millennium, major accidents continued, with incidents involving at least 20 cars occurring frequently. At

7661-533: The 24 Hours of Daytona . Since 2018, NASCAR has held the Bank of America Roval 400 on a combined course at Charlotte . In some rare examples, the combined road course layout is run in the opposite direction to the oval circuit. For instance, at Indianapolis the oval is run counter-clockwise, but the combined road course used during the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Indianapolis is run clockwise. However

7824-500: The AMA Grand National Championship , before it was moved in 2017 to the tri-oval section and became a TT course. There is also a short paved kart/autocross track in the infield just inside of turn 3. The SCCA holds autocross on this track in addition to hosting sprint karting races during KartWeek. In February 2012, it was announced that a 0.400 mi (0.644 km) paved short track would be constructed along

7987-739: The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game Gran Turismo 7 . Daytona International Speedway is also featured in Forza Motorsport 6 and Forza Motorsport 7 for the Xbox One and Windows 10. The circuit returned to the Forza series in Forza Motorsport (2023) for Xbox Series X/S and Windows. Real Racing 3 ' s second NASCAR update featured the Daytona International Speedway as

8150-435: The "International Horseshoe") closer to its preceding turns. Also, the chicane on the backstretch was modified. A new entry leg was constructed approximately 400 ft (120 m) earlier, resulting in a longer, three-legged, "bus stop" shape. Cars would now enter in the first leg, bypass the second leg, and exit out of the existing third leg. Passing would now be possible inside the longer chicane. The construction resulted in

8313-445: The "World Center of Racing". Lights were installed around the track in 1998, and today it is the third-largest single-lit outdoor sports facility. The speedway has been renovated four times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010. On January 22, 2013, the fourth speedway renovation was unveiled. On July 5, 2013, ground was broken on "Daytona Rising" to remove backstretch seating and completely redevelop

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8476-571: The 1969 Talladega 500, with NASCAR officials stating the attendance was "disappointing". In June, reporters stated that AIMS had covered up several parts of grandstands with tarp due to a lack of spectators during races. A series of races held at AIMS in July were described by Anniston Star writer Tommy Hornsby as "a complete flop". In October 1970, AIMS appointed Don Naman, promoter of the Tennessee-based Smoky Mountain Speedway , as

8639-424: The 1970s and early 1980s. However, their use at the professional level has since diminished considerably, since most layouts lacked the desirable topography and competitive challenges of natural road courses. In addition, most combined road course circuits offer poor sightlines for fans sitting in the grandstands. Oftentimes the challenging infield portion is obscured or not visible at all from the grandstands that line

8802-429: 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". Sometime in the early 1960s, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. made initial plans to construct a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) superspeedway in Spartanburg, South Carolina , with the help of Spartanburg native Joe Littlejohn . In October 1963, designs for

8965-499: The 2.500 mi (4.023 km) tri-oval are followed as: 183.165 mph (294.775 km/h) As of March 2024, the fastest official race lap records at the Daytona International Speedway are listed as: Daytona has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), which enables year-round use of the facility. Light frosts are in theory possible, but unlikely, during the 24-hour event's nighttime under clear conditions, but general racing conditions are mild also during winter. With

9128-824: The 2000s were of this type. These include the Chicago Motor Speedway and the Walt Disney World Speedway , which were built during the 1990s construction boom but used for only four years. The historic Nazareth Speedway , which was paved in 1986, was completely abandoned after the 2004 season. Physically, many mile oval still exist such as the Rockingham Speedway and the Pikes Peak International Raceway . However, these racetracks have not been used by nationally important motorsports events for years. There are only three 1-mile tracks left on

9291-507: The 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William "Bill" France Sr. to host racing that was held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course . His banked design permitted higher speeds and gave fans a better view of the cars. The speedway is operated by NASCAR pursuant to a lease with the City of Daytona Beach on the property that runs until 2054. The venue describes itself as

9454-406: The 7,800-seat Gadsden Tower, was added in 1997; by this point, temporary stands were also added to accommodate more fans for its NASCAR races. Another 11,000-seat tower was announced the following year, increasing the total capacity of the track's grandstands to 120,000; the project was the track's ninth expansion in the last decade. Within the same year, the track also received a makeover; landscaping

9617-664: The Cup, and the Memphis Motorsports Park, which had races of the Busch Series back then until the 2000s. The Auto Club Speedway is to be converted from a 2-mile super speedway to a 1/2 mile short track in 2024. Synonymous with the name, a 1-mile (1.61 km) oval is a popular and common length for oval track racing. The exact measurements, however, can vary by as much as a tenth of a mile and still fall into this category. Most mile ovals are relatively flat-banked, with Dover being

9780-524: 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 rose to $ 6 million (adjusted for inflation, $ 56,344,615), and planned to host

9943-461: The NASCAR racing calendar: Phoenix, Loudon, and Dover. IndyCar only returned to 1-mile oval racing with the addition of the Milwaukee Mile in 2024 after 9 years of it being off the schedule. Also referred to with the general term of "speedway", these courses are 1 to 2 miles (1.6 to 3.2 km) in length, but the term is particularly reserved for 1.5-mile (2.4 km) tracks. At the beginning of

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10106-611: 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

10269-485: 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

10432-611: The United States is 1,262, with 901 of those being oval tracks and 683 of those being dirt tracks. Among the most famous oval tracks in North America are the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway . Pack racing is a phenomenon found on fast, high-banked superspeedways. It occurs when the vehicles racing are cornering at their limit of aerodynamic drag , but within their limit of traction . This allows drivers to race around

10595-529: 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;

10758-418: 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

10921-408: The back straight of the oval. As they are separate tracks, this creates a unique situation where different races can actually be run on both the oval and the full road course at the same time. Also unique is that unlike most combined circuits which use the oval track's start/finish line and pits, in the case of Calder Park it is the road course start/finish line and pits that are used. This configuration

11084-568: The backstretch Allison Grandstands. In lieu of the Allison Grandstands, officials decided to honor the Alabama Gang by renaming the backstretch. The track's reputation as a chaotic facility continued into the 1990s and the new millennium. As part of the introduction of the restrictor plate mandated in the wake of Bobby Allison 's crash in the 1987 Winston 500, cars were made drastically slower; an unintended consequence due to slower speeds

11247-638: The backstretch of the Speedway's main course, for NASCAR's lower-tier series to compete at during Speedweeks called the UNOH Battle at the Beach , which is similar to the Toyota All-Star Showdown , formerly held at Irwindale Speedway . The first races were held on that track in February 2013. The track was shortened to a 0.375 mi (0.604 km) oval in 2014 by shorter straightaways. The future of racing at

11410-487: The car version is used as an acceleration lane for motorcycles). On September 26 and 27, 2006, the IndyCar Series held a compatibility test on the 10-turn, 2.73 mi (4.39 km) modified road course, and the 12-turn 2.950 mi (4.748 km) motorcycle road course with 5 drivers. The drivers who tested at the track were Vítor Meira , Sam Hornish Jr. , Tony Kanaan , Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon . This marked

11573-514: The cars coming towards and moving away from their vantage point. Traditional ovals (such as Indianapolis ) offered only limited linear views of the course, and required fans to look back and forth much like a tennis match. The tri-oval shape prevents fans from having to "lean" to see oncoming cars, and creates more forward sight lines. The modern tri-ovals were often called as cookie cutters because of their (nearly) identical shape and identical kind of races. Additional prominent examples: There are

11736-415: The circumference of the oval track, so many fans choose to view from the ground level inside the infield – leaving the grandstands mostly empty and unsightly. Many combined road course layouts have been abandoned. However, some have enjoyed extended life as venues for testing, driving schools, and amateur race meets . Since 1962, the most famous race continuously held on a combined road course has been

11899-529: The city announced the stadium was replacing its entire surface with FieldTurf , and thereby eliminating the flat-track racing at the stadium. To continue racing, speedway officials built the Daytona Flat Track, a new quarter-mile dirt track outside of turns 1 & 2 of the main superspeedway. It seats 5,000 in temporary grandstands and opened in December 2009 for WKA KartWeek. From 2010 to 2016, it also hosted

12062-465: The closed-circuit speed record was broken numerous times. Over the course of two days, Lyn St. James broke the women's record and became the first women to break over 200 mph, setting a lap of 204.233 mph (328.681 km/h) on the second day of testing. The women's world record was broken three times within the next five years; St. James broke her own record in October 1988, and Patty Moise broke

12225-581: The combined road course layout(s). An example of an outfield combined road course can be seen at the Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne , Australia . The Calder Park complex has a 1.119 mi (1.801 km) high-banked oval speedway called the Thunderdome as well as a separate road course. The road course and the oval can be linked via two short roads that connect the front straight of the road course to

12388-459: The decade, including a six-hour endurance event in 1978. Although IMSA was scheduled to race at the circuit in 1979 in another six-hour event at the track, they opted to withdraw from the event. The International Race of Champions (IROC) made occasional appearances at Talladega Superspeedway throughout its existence. The series first appeared in 1984 for a one-off appearance, opting to come back two years later before leaving again. IROC came back on

12551-444: The driver. A driver in an IndyCar race at Richmond International Raceway may be subject to as many lateral g-forces (albeit in only one direction) as a Formula One driver at Silverstone . Weather also plays a different role in each discipline. Road racing offers a variety of fast and slow corners that allow the use of rain tires . Paved oval tracks generally do not run with a wet track surface. Dirt ovals will sometimes support

12714-486: The drivers, IndyCar will no longer drive super speedways outside of Indianapolis. Michigan Speedway was part of the series from 2002 to 2007, AutoClub Speedway from 2002 to 2005 and a second time from 2012 to 2015, Pocono was used by IndyCar between 2014 and 2019. In NASCAR they are still an essential part of the racing calendar. The closed and partially demolished Texas World Speedway , was the original "sister track" to Michigan. The two-mile oval, with its 22-degree banking,

12877-474: The early twentieth century had wood surfaces. Indianapolis Motor Speedway 's track surface used to be made entirely of bricks, and today, 3 feet (0.91 m), or one yard, of original bricks remain exposed at the start-finish line. Each was hand laid over a 2-inch (51 mm) cushion of sand, then leveled and the gaps filled with mortar. Before the work was completed, locals nicknamed the track "The Brickyard". A combined road course , colloquially referred to as

13040-518: The early years of the Indy Racing League , the series visited several intermediate tracks. The higher-downforce, normally aspirated IRL-type cars proved to be competitive at several of the tracks. The CART series however, mostly stayed away as the faster, more powerful Champ Cars were generally thought to be too fast for this type of circuit. This became evident at the 2001 Firestone Firehawk 600 , when drivers experienced vertigo-like symptoms, and

13203-410: The event in front of a crowd of 64,000, which was lower than expected. However, second-place finisher Jim Vandiver , who was driving an older Dodge model, accused NASCAR of rigging the race; the protests were unsuccessful. The track's second season oversaw decreasing attendance and increased disdain over the quality of racing at the track. The 1970 Alabama 500 saw a decrease of over 10,000 people from

13366-602: The event. Despite almost every major driver withdrawing from the race, with the exceptions of Tiny Lund and Bobby Isaac , France Sr. announced his intents to still run the race, stating in The Anniston Star , "I can't guarantee you how many cars will run right now, but there will be a race Sunday afternoon." After the first race ever ran at the track, a 400 miles (640 km) preliminary NASCAR Grand American Series race won by Ken Rush , France Sr. decided to seek out non-PDA, Grand American, and PDA scab drivers to race in

13529-432: The facility were ran 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

13692-461: The final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 on February 18, 2001. Earnhardt is still Daytona International Speedway's most successful driver, with a total of 34 career victories (12 Daytona 500 qualifying races, 7 NASCAR Xfinity Series races, 6 Busch Clash races, 6 IROC races, 2 Pepsi 400 July Races and the 1998 Daytona 500 ). The Hard Rock Bet Fanzone is an access package similar to pit passes for fans to get closer to drivers and race teams. The fanzone

13855-673: The first time since 1984 that open wheel cars have taken to the track at Daytona. On January 31 – February 1, 2007, IndyCar returned for a full test involving 17 cars. On July 8, 2020, NASCAR announced that it would race the Daytona road course in all of its national series for the first time in mid-August (with the Cup Series racing the Go Bowling 235 ), due to current COVID-19 pandemic health restrictions in New York state (requiring 14 days self-isolation on arrival from other states) preventing

14018-406: 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

14181-452: The following year, increasing the grandstand capacity of AIMS to 72,000. In November 1986, talks of annexing AIMS into the city of Talladega was proposed by Talladega mayor Larry Barton in order to pay off a $ 1 million deficit; however, annexation talks died down by early next year. Within the track's early years, the track became known for its fast speeds, with multiple world records being broken; some records were more than once were broken at

14344-469: The frontstretch grandstands were made so they could withstand a double-tiered system; 2,000 seats were also added to the Birmingham Tower, along with a new media center. A new infield campground was added in May 1992; it was met with relative praise. Further additions to the Birmingham Tower were announced later that year, with around 3,000 seats being constructed. At the end of 1993, Helton left to become

14507-451: The frontstretch seating. The renovation was by design-builder Barton Malow Company in partnership with Rossetti Architects. The project was completed in January 2016, and cost US $ 400 million. It emphasized improved fan experience with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances (called "injectors"), as well as wider and more comfortable seats, and more restrooms and concession stands. After

14670-444: The garage and media center along with the additions of several amenities, including additional suites and a new infield tunnel. Work on the project started in October of that year, and was completed in September 2019. Also in 2018, Lynch announced his retirement from the track, ending a 25-year reign. It took effect after the 2019 1000Bulbs.com 500 , with vice president of marketing and sales Brian Crichton replacing Lynch. The next year,

14833-548: The high banking, crews had to excavate over a million square yards of soil from the track's infield. Because of the high water table in the area, the excavated hole filled with water to form what is now known as Lake Lloyd , named after Joseph "Sax" Lloyd, one of the original six members of the Daytona Beach Speedway Authority. (The lake was stocked with 65,000 fish, and France arranged speedboat races on it.) 22 tons of lime mortar had to be brought in to form

14996-535: The history of NASCAR and IndyCar, this oval size was not very common. Until 1990, there were only five examples. Two of these, the Marchbanks Speedway (1.4 miles) and the Trenton Speedway (1.5 miles), were demolished in the 1970s and 1980s, and only three—Charlotte Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway—have survived to this day. All other ovals of this type were built after 1994. During

15159-455: The hospitalized four, was left so badly injured that the accident effectively ended his racing career. That same year at the Talladega 500 , driver Larry Smith became the first fatality at the track when Smith blew a tire and hit the wall, suffering major head injuries. In the same race, longtime driver Bobby Isaac retired abruptly from both the race and full-time racing after he stated that he heard voices in his head telling him to quit during

15322-500: The inaugural Daytona 500. Its finish was as startling as the track itself: Lee Petty beat Johnny Beauchamp in a photo finish that took three days to adjudicate. When the track opened it was the fastest race track to host a stock car race, until Talladega Superspeedway opened 10 years later. On April 4, it hosted a 100 mi (160.9 km) Champ Car event which saw Jim Rathmann beat Dick Rathmann and Rodger Ward , at an average speed of 170.26 mph (274.01 km/h), at

15485-417: 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

15648-466: The main event; he also let in the smaller Grand American "pony cars", which had less power, run in the event. Chrysler , who was set to debut the winged Dodge Charger Daytona at the event, replaced Bobby Allison with PDA scab Richard Brickhouse . To appease fans, France Sr. also announced that any fan with a Talladega 500 ticket stub could attend any Daytona or Talladega race for free in 1970. The race ran without any major issues, with Brickhouse winning

15811-471: The naming rights had been purchased by Hard Rock Cafe and named 'Hard Rock Bet Fanzone' after their sports betting service. The Budweiser Party Porch was a 46-foot-high (14.0 m) porch located along the backstretch of the track. It was built on top of a portion of the backstretch grandstands and includes a 277-foot-wide (84.4 m), 33-foot-tall (10.1 m) sign, the largest sign in motorsports. The porch featured tables, food and drinks, offering fans

15974-470: The oldest oval race track, the Milwaukee Mile was originally a race track for horse racing . In NASCAR, 1-mile oval tracks are among the intermediate tracks. IndyCar rates these tracks as short ovals, since IndyCar does not usually run on ovals shorter than 3/4-mile. The 1-mile ovals have lost a great deal of their former importance for oval racing. Most of the racetracks abandoned by NASCAR or IndyCar in

16137-585: The only long, flat tracks on the schedule. Auto Club Speedway, which joined Indianapolis, Michigan and Pocono as the one of four superspeedways used in the Verizon IndyCar Series , was the site of Gil de Ferran 's qualifying lap of 241.428 mph (388.541 km/h) in the CART FedEx Championship Series in 2000 , the fastest qualifying lap recorded at an official race meeting. Due to the low number of spectators or safety concerns by

16300-418: The only one shaped like a noose across NASCAR-owned tracks. To further modernize the track, a scoring pylon was removed in 2024 to get spectators to look at modern video screens for live scoring. Since the track's inaugural season of racing in 1969, the facility has held two annual NASCAR Cup Series weekends per year for most of its history: the spring Jack Link's 500 and the fall YellaWood 500 . The former

16463-425: The others being Talladega Superspeedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway . On July 15, 2010, repaving of the track began. This came almost a year earlier than planned due to the track coming apart during the 2010 Daytona 500 . The project used an estimated 50,000 tons of asphalt to repave 1.4 million square feet (130,000 m ) including the racing surface, apron, skid pads and pit road. Because of good weather,

16626-448: The oval race tracks. As a result, the racetracks have lengths of different accuracy. The following table shows the values that NASCAR, IndyCar and CART/CCWS used to determine the lap speeds and track records. A typical oval track consists of two parallel straights, connected by two 180° turns. Although most ovals generally have only two radii curves, they are usually advertised and labeled as four 90° turns. While many oval tracks conform to

16789-492: The pavement from a flat straightaway to a banked corner. France took the plans to the Daytona Beach city commission, who supported his idea and formed the Daytona Beach Speedway Authority. The city commission agreed to lease the 447-acre (180.9  ha ) parcel of land adjacent to Daytona Beach Municipal Airport to France's corporation for $ 10,000 a year over a 50-year period. France then began working on building funding for

16952-457: 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." 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.

17115-404: The present day. Talladega Superspeedway in its current form is measured at 2.66 miles (4.28 km), 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

17278-463: The project and found support from a Texas oil millionaire, Clint Murchison, Sr. Murchison lent France $ 600,000 along with the construction equipment necessary to build the track. France also secured funding from Pepsi-Cola , General Motors designer Harley Earl , a second mortgage on his home and selling 300,000 stock shares to local residents. Ground broke on construction of the 2.500 mi (4.023 km) speedway on November 25, 1957. To build

17441-479: The project was completed ahead of schedule. On October 9, 2013, Colin Braun drove a Daytona Prototype car prepared by Michael Shank Racing to set a single-lap record on the tri-oval configuration of 222.971 mph (358.837 km/h). During NASCAR events, it takes less than a minute for the cars to complete a lap around the 2.500 mi (4.023 km) tri-oval course. While the more famous 24 Hours of Le Mans

17604-528: 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

17767-450: 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

17930-861: The race track construction boom of the late 1990s, these tracks began to be labeled with the rather derogatory term "cookie cutter" tracks, as their differences were perceived to be minimal. In 1992, Charlotte became the first intermediate track to install lights and allow for night racing. It is now commonplace for these types of tracks to host night races. Intermediate tracks usually have moderate to steep banking. Almost all modern race tracks that are still used in NASCAR and IndyCar today are of this type. Since their size allows them to compromise high speeds with sightlines, especially tri- and quad-ovals of 1.5-mile length have become commonplace in major racing series that use oval tracks. While intermediate speedways were designed primarily with stock cars in mind, they were also believed to be suited to host Indy cars as well. In

18093-462: The race was cancelled for safety reasons. As of 2020, the IndyCar Series has only one race remaining at a high-banked intermediate track ( Texas ). These tracks began to be removed from the Indy car schedule in the late-2000s and early-2010s due to low crowds and serious crashes, including the fatal accident involving Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas in 2011. Originally a superspeedway was an oval race track with

18256-427: The race's safety car and took it for a joyride in what is considered by longtime NASCAR journalist Steve Waid as "Talladega’s most bizarre incident". At the 1987 Winston 500 , Bobby Allison blew a tire in the track's frontstretch at high speeds, causing his car to go airborne and crash into a protective catchfence, injuring four spectators. Considered to be one of the most influential moments in NASCAR's history, as

18419-418: The race. At the 1974 Winston 500 , ten of the top 11 qualified cars reported that their cars had been "sabotaged", with various mechanical failures being found and deliberately caused; the culprit was never found. Two more fatalities, pit crew member Randy Owens and driver Tiny Lund , both occurred in 1975 in separate races. Unusual incidents continued into the 1980s. At the 1982 Winston 500 , L. W. Wright ,

18582-475: The record soon after St. James' attempt the following year in December. Moise proceeded to break her own record a month later, setting a lap of 217.498 mph (350.029 km/h). "Jim Hunter started all that... in the old, old days he was the PR director here. He was trying to come up with some way to build the mystique of Talladega. So he put together kind of a little public relations deal of talking about how Talladega

18745-443: 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

18908-536: The renovations were complete, the track's grandstands had 101,500 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000. The project was finished before the start of Speedweeks in 2016. NASCAR founder William France Sr. began planning for the track in 1953 as a way to promote the series, which at the time was racing on the Daytona Beach Road Course . France met with Daytona Beach engineer Charles Moneypenny to discuss his plans for

19071-451: The same accident, Jimmy Horton 's car went over the protective wall; the first of its kind since 1969 in the NASCAR Cup Series. Later in the race, Neil Bonnett 's car went airborne and hit the catchfence on the track's frontstretch, tearing a 20-foot gap. The next year at the 1994 Winston Select 500 , a multi-car accident involving Mark Martin sent Martin through the infield of the track, with Martin breaking through an infield guardrail. At

19234-454: 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

19397-447: The same front straightaway. The now defunct Ascot Speedway featured 1/2 mile and 1/4 mile dirt oval tracks, and Irwindale Speedway features 1/2 mile and 1/3 mile concentric paved oval tracks. Pocono Raceway once had a 3/4 mile oval which connected to the main stretch, and circled around the garage area. In 1991, Charlotte Motor Speedway connected the quad oval start-finish straight to the pit lane with two 180 degree turns, resulting in

19560-728: The same session, every entrant in the IMSA GTP class broke the course lap record previously set by Oliver Jarvis in a Mazda RT24-P in 2019. During Daytona Beach Bike Week , a supercross track is built between the pit road and the tri-oval section of the track. Historically the track has used more sand than dirt, providing unique challenges to riders. The 2008–2013 track configurations were designed by former champion, Ricky Carmichael . Daytona has hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round uninterruptedly since 1971. Popular dirt-track races in karting and flat-track motorcycle racing had been held at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium but in 2009,

19723-403: The same start/finish line, and same pit area, but a mid-course diversion to a winding road circuit in the infield (and/or outfield). At some point, the circuit leads back to the main oval, and completes the rest of the lap. On some of the faster ovals, a chicane is present on long back-straights, to keep speeds down, and create additional braking/passing zones. Some more complex facilities feature

19886-688: The short track became uncertain after 2015 with the grandstands on the back straightaway being demolished as a part of the Daytona Rising project. In the fall of 1959, the track hosted several high school football games for the Father Lopez Green Wave in the first year of the school's football program. The track hosted four college football games featuring the Daytona-based Bethune–Cookman Wildcats in 1974 and 1975. In early 2014 track president Joie Chitwood expressed

20049-432: The similar construction boom of the baseball/football cookie-cutter stadiums of the 1960s and 1970s, and the subsequent sport-specific stadium construction boom that began in the 1990s. Most of the oval tracks are located in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. However, there are also many oval tracks elsewhere too, as listed below. Daytona International Speedway Former: Daytona International Speedway

20212-475: The speedway. He wanted the track to have the highest banking possible to allow the cars to reach high speeds and to give fans a better view of the cars on track. Moneypenny traveled to Detroit , Michigan to visit the Ford Proving Grounds which had a high-speed test track with banked corners. Ford shared their engineering design of the track with Moneypenny, providing the needed details of how to transition

20375-599: The sport's ruling body to reduce the high speeds accommodated by their steep banking since 1988. Other superspeedways used by NASCAR include the Michigan International Speedway (2.0 miles), Auto Club Speedway (known as California Speedway prior to February 2008) (2.0 miles), and Pocono Raceway (2.5 miles). Auto Club Speedway and Michigan are often considered intermediate tracks by NASCAR due to their similarities with 1.5-mile tracks, while Pocono and Indianapolis are sometimes classified separately, as they are

20538-483: The state of North Carolina , some scenes for the movie's ending were shot at the Talladega Superspeedway. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby was released on August 4, 2006, and is considered to be one of the most beloved racing-related movies of all time. Parts of the 1983 movie Stroker Ace were filmed at the track. Also in 2005, filming for an episode for the eighth season of The Amazing Race

20701-459: 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

20864-467: The time the fastest motor race ever. It was the occasion of Daytona's first fatality: George Amick , attempting to overtake for third late in the race, hit a wall and was killed. April 5, a scheduled 1,000 km (620 mi) sports car event (shortened to 560 mi (900 km) by darkness) was won by Roberto Mieres and Fritz d'Orey , who shared a Porsche RSK , which proved more durable than more potent competition. Lights were installed around

21027-449: The track after Church graduated from high school. Superspeedway Major forms of oval track racing include stock car racing , open-wheel racing , sprint car racing , modified car racing , midget car racing and dirt track motorcycles . Oval track racing is the predominant form of auto racing in the United States. According to the 2013 National Speedway Directory, the total number of oval tracks, drag strips and road courses in

21190-418: The track also hosts races of ARCA , AMA Superbike , SCCA , and AMA Supercross . The track features multiple layouts including the primary 2.500 mi (4.023 km) high-speed tri-oval , a 3.560 mi (5.729 km) sports car course, a 2.950 mi (4.748 km) motorcycle course, and a 1,320 ft (400 m) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes

21353-516: The track came under controversy when a member of Bubba Wallace 's crew reported a potential noose in the midst of the George Floyd protests and the Black Lives Matter movement . A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation later determined that Wallace had not been a victim of a hate crime ; the noose was a garage door pull rope that had existed since October 2019, although it was

21516-618: The track constantly at wide open throttle . Since the vehicles are within their limit of traction, drafting through corners will not hinder a vehicle's performance. As cars running together are faster than cars running individually, all cars in the field will draft each other simultaneously in one large pack. In stock car racing this is often referred to as " restrictor plate racing " because NASCAR mandates that each car on its two longest high-banked ovals, Talladega and Daytona , use an air restrictor to reduce horsepower . The results of pack racing may vary. As drivers are forced to race in

21679-509: The track in 1998 to run NASCAR's July race, the Coke Zero 400 at night. The track was the world's largest single lighted outdoor sports facility until being surpassed by Losail International Circuit in 2008. Musco Lighting installed the lighting system, which took into account glare and visibility for aircraft arriving and departing nearby Daytona Beach International Airport, and costs about $ 240 per hour when in operation. Daytona's tri-oval

21842-481: The track to host a music festival that was organized by the organizers of Woodstock ; the organizers had chosen the track party because "people could take drugs in there and not be bothered by law enforcement." Then-general manager Don Naman, who was a devout Catholic , refused because he thought the festival "wasn’t nice for the community". In 2024, the track hosted the Foodie’s Food Culture Festival,

22005-543: The track was advertised to have bankings steeper than Daytona International Speedway and potential average speeds over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h). In October, work began on constructing grandstands, which involved bulldozing part of the Talladega Mountains . In April 1969, a 4 miles (6.4 km) "roval" road course was announced by France Sr. That same month, reports by the Associated Press stated that AIMS

22168-615: The track's binding base , over which asphalt was laid. Because of the extreme degree of banking, Moneypenny had to come up with a way to pave the incline. He connected the paving equipment to bulldozers anchored at the top of the banking. This allowed the paving equipment to pave the banking without slipping or rolling down the incline. Moneypenny subsequently patented his construction method and later designed Talladega Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway . By December 1958, France had begun to run out of money and relied on race ticket sales to complete construction. He also received

22331-420: The track's first general manager. Within the first month, Naman announced an improvement project that aimed to remove track surface bumps along with renovating press boxes and the track's control tower. As part of the project, the track surface was resurfaced by using a mixture that acted as a sealant. The first race under Naman's tenure saw increased attendance, with 63,500 attending despite heavy doubt placed onto

22494-399: The track, leading to hopes of later races having more attending per race. Within 1972, attendance had rose with Naman stated hopes of building new grandstands; the track also had a better reputation in local Alabama media. The next year, attendance had rose to such a point to where one Anniston Star reporter had described AIMS' future as "all sunshine". Expansions and renovations remained at

22657-414: The track. In March 1970, Buddy Baker became the first person to break 200 miles per hour (320 km/h) on a closed course, setting an average speed of 200.449 miles per hour (322.591 km/h). Seven months later, Bobby Isaac broke Baker's record, setting a lap of 201.104 miles per hour (323.646 km/h). In 1971, Paula Murphy broke the women's world record for the closed-circuit speed record, setting

22820-407: The traditional symmetrical design, asymmetrical tracks are not uncommon. Additional prominent examples: The tri-oval is the common shape of the ovals from the construction booms of the 1960s and 1990s. The use of the tri-oval shape for automobile racing was conceived by Bill France, Sr. during the planning for Daytona. The triangular layout allowed fans in the grandstands an angular perspective of

22983-414: The turns and are considered low banked, superspeedways like Talladega have up to 33° of tilt in curves, Daytona has up to 32°, both are considered high banked. Atlanta is the intermediate track with the highest banking, 28°. Winchester has the highest banking of any active oval track with 37° Track surfaces can be dirt , concrete, asphalt, or a combination of concrete and asphalt. Some ovals in

23146-429: The use of Watkins Glen International . On July 30, a modification of the course to add a chicane near the exit of Turn 12 (Oval Turn Four) was announced, lengthening the course to 3.570 mi (5.745 km). On January 21, 2024, Pipo Derani set the fastest ever recorded lap of the modern Daytona road course, with a 1:32.656 driving a Cadillac V-Series.R during qualifying for the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona . During

23309-486: The vice president of competition for NASCAR , with general manager Grant Lynch taking Helton's position. Under Lynch's tenure, Talladega Superspeedway underwent through constant expansion due to fears that the track was falling behind in quality of amenities of rivaling tracks; particularly tracks built by Bruton Smith 's company, Speedway Motorsports . Seats were added in both 1994 and 1995, with 3,100 and 5,000 seats being added in each year, respectively. A new grandstand,

23472-421: The water table. Another challenge came during construction when three named hurricanes passed by the track, flooding much of the excavation work. The infield renovation involved landscaping and hardscaping, such as a new walkway along the shore of Lake Lloyd, and the construction of 34 new buildings, including garages and fueling stations, offices and inspection facilities, and a club. The renovation project received

23635-596: The years. While some tracks use terms such as "speedway" or "superspeedway" in their name, they may not meet the specific definitions used in this article. A short track is an oval track less than one mile (1.6 km) long, with the majority being 0.5 miles (0.8 km) or shorter. Drivers seeking careers in oval track racing generally serve their apprenticeship on short tracks before moving up to series which compete on larger tracks. Due to their short length and fast action, these tracks are often nicknamed " bullrings ". Professional-level NASCAR races on short tracks usually use

23798-488: Was also announced in 1979 due to heavy rain. That same year, Naman stated that officials hoped to expand to accommodate at least 150,000 fans by 1990. The next year, a new, $ 80,000 scoring stand was added that accommodated around 100 people. In 1985, $ 200,000 worth of renovations were made to the track's garage area and parts of the grandstands. A new, 2,500-seat tower, the Anniston Tower, was constructed in 1986 and completed

23961-554: Was announced in 2009, which aimed to renovate outdated seating and improve accessibility. Lynch came back to his old position the following year when Humphrey was transferred to ISC. The early 2010s saw steep attendance declines due to the effects of the Great Recession ; a peak of approximately 190,000 in the 2003 Aaron's 499 had fallen to 108,500 by the 2012 iteration of the same event. In 2013, track officials announced that grandstand capacity would be decreased to 80,000, demolishing

24124-425: Was announced in April 1999 and completed in October of that year. Another expansion to the O. V. Hill Grandstands was made in 2001, with 5,200 seats being added. By 2003, according to the Montgomery Advertiser , the track hosted a grandstand seating capacity of 143,000. In December 2005, track officials announced a complete repave of Talladega; the first since 1979. Construction on the repave started on May 2, 2006,

24287-627: Was built as a facility for the automotive industry to conduct research and development. Daytona International Speedway was built as a replacement for the Daytona Beach Road Course , which combined the town's main street and its famous beach. Daytona hosts the Daytona 500 , NASCAR's most prestigious race, while the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is home to the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 . The longest superspeedway in North America

24450-400: Was built in 2004 as part of a renovation of the track's infield. Fans are able to walk on top of the garages, known as the "fandeck", and view track and garage activity. Fans can also view race teams working in the garage, including NASCAR technical inspection, through windows. The garage windows also include slots for fans to hand merchandise to drivers for autographs. The fanzone also includes

24613-534: Was built on an old Indian burial ground... You heard the Bobby Isaac story, right? Jim was just building on that." Former Talladega Superspeedway general manager Grant Lynch's comments on the beginnings of the Talladega Curse In the track's early years, numerous incidents that were either deemed unusual or caused either major injury or death occurred at AIMS both on and off the track, leading to beliefs of

24776-421: Was created to provide a less dangerous alternative to a traditional concrete wall. The barrier can be retrofitted onto an existing wall or may take the place of a concrete wall completely. Oval tracks are classified based upon their size, surface, banking, and shape. Their size can range from only a few hundred feet to over two and a half miles. The definitions used to differentiate track sizes have changed over

24939-444: Was developed by their famed "AM2" development team. It featured a fully detailed 3D model of the circuit for the very first time. The soundtrack for the game included vocals by Takenobu Mitsuyoshi . It is widely considered to be one of the most successful and influential racing games of all time. Daytona USA spawned many sequels, both in the arcades and on various home video game consoles. The latest version, Daytona Championship USA ,

25102-467: Was done to make the track visible from Interstate 20 and the seats were colored red and blue to replace the "historically grey and dull" aesthetic of the track. A second phase of expansion following the 1998 renovation was also announced that same year, with hopes of the track eventually hosting "well above 200,000" within its grandstands. A 22,000-seat backstretch grandstand, the Allison Grandstand,

25265-457: Was extended to a 24-hour endurance race known as the Rolex 24 at Daytona . It was shortened again to six hours in 1972 and the 1974 rendition of the race was cancelled entirely. In 1973, a very sharp chicane was added at the end of the backstretch, approaching oval turn three. In 1984 and 1985, the layout was modified, re-profiling road course turns 1 and 2, and moving what is now turn 3 (nicknamed

25428-488: Was first ran in 1970. The latter was first run in 1969 to christen Talladega Superspeedway. Along with its Cup Series races, the facility also hosts lower-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series races. In the 1970s, the IMSA GT Championship raced at the track's road course numerous times. The series first raced at Talladega Superspeedway in 1971, and proceeded to race at the track five more times within

25591-622: Was negotiating to build a $ 1.5 million (adjusted for inflation, $ 14,086,154) 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

25754-500: Was produced at Talladega Superspeedway. In 2010, The Legend of Hallowdega , a mockumentary film produced by RadicalMedia as part of an Amp Energy advertising campaign that poked fun at the alleged Talladega Curse was released on Halloween of that year. Four years later, the track was heavily referenced in the Eric Church song " Talladega ", which detailed Church's experiences with high school friends attending auto racing events at

25917-462: Was released to arcades in 2017. iRacing.com have laser-scanned the facility twice. The first in 2008, and 2011 once the repave was completed. Both are available in official racing series. There has been no word to when and if it will be re-scanned now that the Daytona Rising project has now been completed. Both the oval layout and Rolex 24 Hour layout are available in both PlayStation 3 video games Gran Turismo 5 and Gran Turismo 6 , and in

26080-423: 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. A date to christen AIMS was scheduled for September 14, 1969, for the 1969 Talladega 500 . The first tire tests for

26243-412: Was the introduction of pack racing. As part of restrictor plate racing, major accidents involving numerous cars, often called the " Big One ", occurred often. At the 1993 DieHard 500 , two separate major accidents occurred. Early in the race, multiple drivers were involved in a seven-car crash; one of them, Stanley Smith , suffered a basilar skull fracture that affected Smith for the rest of his life. In

26406-526: Was the site of Mario Andretti's closed-course record of 214.158 mph (344.654 km/h) which stood for 12 years. No major professional series have raced at TWS since the 1990s. The 2.5 mile Ontario Motor Speedway was known as the "Indianapolis of the West", but was bought by the Chevron Land Company in 1980 and partitioned for development. NASCAR and IndyCar use different measuring systems to measure

26569-521: Was used only twice (both in 1987) and has not been used for major motor racing since hosting Round 9 of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship . There have been two distinct oval race track construction "booms" in the United States. The first took place in the 1960s, and the second took place in the mid-to-late 1990s. The majority of tracks from the 1960s boom and the 1990s boom have survived, but some tracks failed to achieve long-term financial success. Incidentally, these two booms loosely coincided with

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