compiled by Mike Forde
NASCAR Media Services
History
· Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969.
· The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.
· Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.
Notebook
· There have been 82 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since the track opened in 1969; two a year every year except the inaugural season, which had just one.
· Richard Brickhouse won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
· Bobby Isaac won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in September 1969. Isaac won the first three poles there.
· 35 different drivers have won poles.
· Bill Elliott leads all drivers with eight poles.
· 40 different drivers have posted victories, led by Dale Earnhardt Sr. (10); 18 drivers have won more than once.Kevin Harvick won his first Talladega race this past April.
· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in victories, with six.
· Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing each have 10 wins, more than any other organization.
· 31 of 81 races have been won from a top-two starting position, including 13 from the pole; 23 have been won from a starting position outside the top 10. The most recent driver to win from the pole was Jeff Gordon in 2007 (spring).
· The furthest back in the field a race winner started was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in 2000.
· Mark Martin’s pace in the 1997 spring race set an all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup record for the fastest race ever. He won the caution-free race with an average speed of 188.354 mph and covered the 500-mile distance in two hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. had four consecutive victories (October 2001 through April 2003), the most ever by a driver there. Buddy Baker (three – May 1975 through May 1976) is the only other driver to win more than two consecutive races there.
· Since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993, every race that has ended under green has had a margin of victory under half a second. In April, the MOV was 0.011 seconds, the second-closest margin at Talladega.
NASCAR In Alabama
· There have been 101 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Alabama.
· 65 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Alabama.
· There have been seven race winners from Alabama in NASCAR’s three national series:
Driver | NSCS | NNS | NCWTS |
Bobby Allison | 84 | 2 | 0 |
Davey Allison | 19 | 0 | 0 |
Neil Bonnett | 18 | 1 | 0 |
Donnie Allison | 10 | 0 | 0 |
Red Byron | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Steve Grissom | 0 | 11 | 0 |
Rick Crawford | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Talladega Superspeedway Data
Race #: 33 of 36 (10-31-10)
Track Size: 2.66 miles
· Banking/Corners: 33 degrees
· Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees
· Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
· Frontstretch: 4,300 feet
· Backstretch: 4,000 feet
Driver Rating at Talladega
Denny Hamlin 95.9
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 93.3
David Ragan 92.5
Tony Stewart 89.0
Jeff Burton 87.1
Jeff Gordon 86.0
Joey Logano 85.3
Kurt Busch 85.0
Jamie McMurray 84.4
Jimmie Johnson 83.6
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (11 total) at Talladega.
Qualifying/Race Data
2009 pole winner: None (weather)
2009 race winner: Jamie McMurray, 157.213 mph, 11-1-09)
Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (212.809 mph, 44.998 seconds, 4-30-87)
Track race record: Mark Martin (188.354 mph, 5-10-97)
Estimated Pit Window: Every 34-36 laps, based on fuel mileage
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