TALLADEGA, AL – Will fans sitting in Talladega Superspeedway’s grandstands and infamous infield for the May 3, GEICO 500, see four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon add to his Talladega legacy with yet another victory?
Regardless, the six-time Talladega winner – the winningest active driver at NASCAR’s Most Competitive track – has proven to be one of the best ever at the mammoth 2.66-mile venue. The list of accomplishments of Gordon, who is scheduled to make his final springtime start at Talladega in the GEICO 500, speak for themselves. Included are some career highlights that have made NASCAR history:
- Gordon’s six wins rank second to Talladega Superspeedway winner Dale Earnhardt, who reigns with 10 triumph
- Gordon has the most victories in the springtime GEICO 500 event with four (2000, 2004, 2005, 2007)
- In 44 starts (first in 1993 at age 21) at the biggest and baddest track on the planet, he has an incredible 15 top-five finishes
- Gordon’s three pole positions at Talladega have all come during the GEICO 500 spring event and rank him third behind Bill Elliott and Ernie Irvan, who each have four top-starting spots for the GEICO 500
- He is the last driver to win at Talladega Superspeedway from the pole position – the 2007 GEICO 500
- His 847 laps led at Talladega is the most of any active driver
- His victory in the 2007 GEICO 500 was his 77th career win, pushing him past Dale Earnhardt, Sr., for sixth place on the all-time NASCAR list. He currently now has 92 trips to victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series which places him third behind Richard Petty and David Pearson.
- Most memorable win at Talladega for Gordon? The 2004 GEICO 500 in which he and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. were racing neck and neck for the win in the late stages of the race. As Earnhardt, Jr. made a move to pass for the lead, the caution came out and the field was frozen. Fans believed Earnhardt’s move to pass had come early enough, but after looking at replays, it was determined that Gordon was indeed out front when the caution came out, giving him the win. The partisan Earnhardt crowd wasn’t too happy with the result.
Jeff Gordon quote on Talladega Superspeedway:
“I have had some great memories at Talladega, some big wins. I learned a lot from Dale Earnhardt Sr. about racing on restrictor plate tracks like Talladega. I remember watching him do things that I didn’t think were possible, and a few years later, taking that knowledge and utilizing it in getting some wins. It’s something that I am very proud of.
“One race in particular I remember at Talladega was the year (2004) the caution came out at the perfect time when I was racing Dale Earnhardt Jr. late in the race. Of course the fans all thought he was ahead of me and you¹re in JR nation in Talladega, so you don¹t want it to be a controversial call against Dale Earnhardt Jr. They (NASCAR) went back and said we were the winner and the place erupted. It went crazy with fans throwing drink cans, seat cushions and beer cans on the track. It was a like a minefield. It was pretty crazy.”
Can Gordon add yet another historic GEICO 500 victory to his resume and claim his seventh overall Talladega Superspeedway triumph? Will he join Elliott and Irvan as the only drivers to win four top-starting spots for the GEICO 500? Those questions and more will be answered May 1-3.
Talladega’s weekend kicks off on Friday (May 1) with practice sessions for the GEICO 500 (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series) and Winn-Dixie 300 (NASCAR XFINITY Series), as well as practice, qualifying and green flag for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards event, set to start at 5 pm (CST). The evening concludes with “The “Big One on the Blvd” Mardi Gras-style parade, which will feature NASCAR drivers and fan competitions on the track’s infield Talladega Blvd.
Saturday’s slate includes qualifying for the GEICO 500 and Winn-Dixie 300, followed by the start of the Winn-Dixie 300 at 2 p.m. (CST). The day concludes in the evening with the Talladega Superspeedway traditional Infield Concert. The concert is free with the purchase of a Sunday GEICO 500 (12 noon CST start) admission ticket. For ticket information, call 1-877-Go2-DEGA or visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
All seating along the fronstretch grandstands and towers are equipped with roomy and comfortable 21- and 22-inch wide chair back seats. Large High Definition Sprint Vision video boards that were implemented in 2014 will be back – three are permanent – and placed along the frontstretch to provide views of the whole track to every seat in the house. The video boards, three of which that are now permanent, are an initiative that is planned to be implemented at all International Speedway Corporation (ISC) tracks in the coming years.
About Talladega Superspeedway
NASCAR speeds back into Talladega Superspeedway May 1-3 for the GEICO 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and Winn-Dixie 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series event. NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track (record 88 lead changes in 188 laps), with the circuit’s steepest banking (33 degrees) and longest distance (2.66 miles), is the most fun and fan-friendly, offering up hundreds of acres of free camping, amazing kids ticket prices and special offers for military members and college students. Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s “Party Capital” thanks to the track’s infamous infield, which features the traditional Saturday Night concert and the world renowned Talladega Blvd, home of the “Big One on the Blvd” party. The historic venue features the most comfortable seats in motorsports, large video viewing boards (a new initiative planned for future implementation at all ISC tracks) lining the frontstretch and endless activities for fans throughout its event weekends. Log on to www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 877-Go2-DEGA for more information.
