Former Winners at NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track Say It Offers Best Racing on the Planet
Photo cutline: Four-time Talladega Superspeedway winner Darrell Waltrip (left) and Sterling Marlin, a two-time victor at the 2.66-mile venue, showcase a photo spotlighting one of their Talladega triumphs during a visit with Nashville media Wednesday.
NASHVILLE, TN – Hearing fans talk about the one-of-a-kind racing at Talladega Superspeedway has always been music to the ears of three-time NASCAR Champion Darrell Waltrip. Wednesday, it was only appropriate that Waltrip, along with two-time Talladega winner Sterling Marlin, were in Music City – Nashville, TN – to “sing” the praises of NASCAR’s Most Competitive track, which hosts the GEICO 500 on May 7.
“It’s an animal – the biggest, most mammoth, and most intense…. close, pack racing that separates itself from other tracks,” admitted the NASCAR Hall of Fame driver now turned TV analyst from nearby Franklin, TN. “Talladega offers racing like nowhere else anywhere. It’s 200 mph, three-and-four wide just inches apart, jockeying for position and you can’t go anywhere but within that tight pack. And, Talladega’s not that far away from us here in Nashville…it is sort of a hometown (Cup) track to us now.”
Waltrip is an expert on the matter. A winner of four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races at TSS (1977, 1979 & a 1982 sweep), he knows that Talladega Superspeedway, only a short drive from Nashville, holds the NASCAR Cup record for lead changes of 88 (2010, 2011), as well as the most leaders of an event at 29 (2010).
Now, with the invent of NASCAR’s new 3-stage format (points are awarded for the top-10 finishing positions during each stage to help determine a champion at the end of the year), the battle for supremacy at Talladega will be at an all-time high.
“It’s going to be something to see at Talladega,” said Waltrip, who made his first career NASCAR start at TSS in 1972 driving a Mercury purchased from the legendary Holman-Moody team. “Drivers are fired up and are driving hard throughout the race to gain points now. They have always run three-and four-wide at Talladega anyway, so I can’t imagine how they will tackle the race now. You may see someone run over the driver in front of them, trying to get to the front, and then create ‘The Big One,’ and I can tell you it will happen. I was skeptical about the new format, but it’s working, and we are seeing great racing through the field.”
Marlin, who hails from nearby Columbia, TN, hasn’t competed in NASCAR’s premier division since 2009, but fondly remembers his trips to Gatorade Victory Lane at Talladega. They came back-to-back in the fall of 1995 and spring of 1996 while driving the familiar No. 4 for Morgan McClure Racing.
“I agree with Darrell, Talladega is a special place for the fans, and for me personally,” said Marlin, whose win in ’95 came from the pole position. “I remember going to the races there with my Dad (former driver Coo Coo Marlin) and learning about drafting. I worked on his crew for years, including the times he finished fifth there twice (1975). Always loved the place, and loved the art of drafting. It’s always been a great show for the fans. Intense for the drivers and that produces good racing. I just remember how good it felt when I finally won Talladega, finally crossing that finish line,” added Marlin, a two-time Daytona 500 champ.
When it came to talk about the track’s finish line, Waltrip chimed in on the location of it – noting it is 1,250 feet past the mid-section of the tri-oval closer to turn one. “It was genius of (Talladega founder) Bill France, Sr. to put it there. Many races have been lost in that extra piece of real estate. I know as I was one of them in 1981 when Ron Bouchard came out of nowhere and passed both Terry Labonte and I. Then, years later (2011), they were four-wide, two rows deep coming to the line and Jimmie Johnson (who was fifth coming out of turn four) won by inches. Just genius! It’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough and that makes Talladega different from the rest.”
Who will get across that unique finish line first for the upcoming GEICO 500? Get tickets now to see 40 of the sport’s best drivers tackle the 2.66-mile, one-of-a-kind track and punch their ticket to NASCAR’s season-ending playoffs. And, with a GEICO 500 ticket, fans can see an iconic country music artist – the one and only Charlie Daniels. His band perform the traditional Saturday Night Concert the night before the GEICO 500.
Talladega Superspeedway’s action-packed race weekend event schedule includes the following:
Friday, May 5
8:30 AM – 10:20 AM General Tire 200 ARCA Racing Series Final Practice
10:30 AM – 11:25 AM Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice
12:30 PM – 1:25 PM Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Final Practice
1:30 PM – 2:25 PM GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Practice
3:30 PM – 4:25 PM GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice
5:00 PM Green Flag – General Tire 200
ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards Race
(76 Laps, 202.16 Miles)
7:00 PM “Big One On The Blvd” Fan Infield Parade & Competitions
Saturday, May 6
9:30 AM Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series Qualifying
12:00 PM Green Flag – Sparks Energy 300
NASCAR XFINITY Series Race
(113 Laps, 300.58 Miles)
3:00 PM GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying
7:30 PM Traditional Infield Concert – Headlined by The Charlie Daniels Band
Sunday, May 7
1:00 PM Green Flag – GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race
(188 Laps, 500.08 Miles)
About Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track (record 88 lead changes in 188 laps), most banked (33 degrees), and longest (2.66 miles), as well as 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. The historic venue, built in 1969, 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. It is the site of the most comfortable seats in motorsports, large video viewing boards lining the frontstretch and endless activities for fans throughout its event weekends. Talladega Superspeedway’s next NASCAR weekend is set for May 5-7 with the Sparks Energy 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race and the GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series event, in addition to the General Tire 200 for the ARCA Racing Series. Log on to www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 877-Go2-DEGA for more information.
