The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series travel to Talladega Superspeedway this week. Both series will have two practice sessions Friday. The XFINITY Series Sparks Energy 300 is set for 1 p.m. Saturday with the Cup Series GEICO 500 closing out the weekend Sunday at 2 p.m. Both races will be televised on FOX.
Brad Keselowski is the defending Cup Series race winner, capturing his fourth checkered flag at Talladega last spring to go with six top fives and nine top 10s. He’s sixth in the point standing and has already been to victory lane twice this season.
Talladega is famous for its unpredictability and volatile nature and the inaugural Cup Series race was no exception. But did you know that it was held during a driver boycott?
The first race was scheduled at what was then known as Alabama International Motor Speedway (the name was changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989), for Sept. 14, 1969. The drivers, who had recently formed the Professional Drivers Association with Richard Petty as president, wanted to postpone the event because of concerns about the effects of the fast speeds on tire wear and the lack of grip on the rough track. When NASCAR refused, most of the drivers decided not to race and went home. The field was filled by drivers recruited on short notice by Bill France Sr. and was won by Richard Brickhouse, his first and only win in the series.
But did you know that Richard Childress was one of those last minute drivers? France was offering drivers extra money to compete in the event to fill out the field and Childress thought that it was too good an opportunity to pass up. He finished 23rd in the first race of his 285-race career in the Cup Series as a driver.
“It was a big break,” Childress said. “I left that day with seven or eight grand, bought me some land and built my first race shop. It was being in the right place at the right time. It was just one of the lucky breaks. Life’s all about the breaks and when you take advantage of them. That was the difference of me making it and not making it.”
Although Talladega is nicknamed “Earnhardt Country,” NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott left his mark there as well. Elliott holds the record for the fastest pole at Talladega, set on April 30, 1987, at a speed of 212.809 mph. But did you know it is also the fastest all-time qualifying lap in NASCAR history? It is likely a record that will never be broken since the following year, restrictor plates were implemented at NASCAR’s superspeedways.
NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee, Davey Allison, won his first race at Talladega in the 1987 Winston 500. Nine other drivers, including Brad Keselowski (04/26/2009), Brian Vickers (10/08/2006), Ken Schrader (07/31/1988), Phil Parsons (05/01/1988), Bobby Hillin Jr. (07/27/1986), Ron Bouchard (08/02/1981), Lennie Pond (08/06/1978), Dick Brooks (08/12/1973) and Richard Brickhouse (09/14/1969) went to victory lane for the first time at the 2.66-mile track.
Although luck often has more to do with winning at Talladega, than skill, did you know that three Hendrick Motorsports drivers are included in the top five list of best driver ratings at Talladega?
Chase Elliott, third in the point standings, enters Talladega with the best driver rating (97.1) but has only made two Cup starts at the track, finishing fifth and 12th in his rookie season with one pole at the track.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a disappointing season to date but hopes to turn things around in “Earnhardt Country” as he searches for his first win this year. He heads to Talladega with the second-best driver rating (92.0) and leads all active drivers with six wins; four of those are consecutive, from the fall of 2001 – 2003. Only his father has won more, claiming 10 career victories. Earnhardt’s last win was in May 2015. He also leads all active drivers in laps led with 960. If he leads 40 more laps, he will become the third driver in the series history to lead 1,000 laps at Talladega.
Kurt Busch is currently 17th in the point standings but has the third-best driver rating at Talladega (88.8), Matt Kenseth has the fourth-best driver rating at the track (88.0) and Jimmie Johnson rounds out the top five with a driver rating of 87.9, with two wins, seven top fives, 11 top 10s and one pole.
Will one of the drivers mentioned above win the GEICO 500 at Talladega or will there be a “big one” that shuffles the field and deals up an unexpected winner? Anything can happen at ‘Dega so don’t miss the action this Sunday at 2 p.m. on FOX.
While you’re waiting, check out the video below to see a wild wreck from last year’s GEICO 500.
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