Talladega Superspeedway
Track Length – 2.66 mile
Seats – 143,200
The fastest and biggest track on the NASCAR schedule is Talladega. Located in North Talladega County in Alabama, the speedway was built on top of an old World War II airport. Even from it’s beginnings in 1969, Talladega quickly became known for the speeds that the cars could reach on the long track. Driver Bill Elliot set a speed record at the track in 1987 (pre restrictor plate) when he reached a speed of 212 MPH on a qualifying lap. Today, Talladega is one of only 2 restrictor plate races in NASCAR, Daytona being the other.
The high speeds at Talladega make drafting a very common sight at the race. It’s not uncommon to see a group of 20 to 25 cars together at one time. Because of the large number of cars going close to 200 MPH at the race, all of the drivers fear the “Big One” or big crash that usually happens at this race.
Talladega gets 2 of the races in the NASCAR season and is a fan favorite. The Aarons’s 499 is in April and the Amp Energy 500 is in November.
