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Talladega Superspeedway
In September 1969, Alabama International Motor Speedway, which is now known as Talladega Superspeedway, officially opened its doors to the public. A spot of land suited for soybean farming and located next to several abandoned airport runways would be designated as the site for the largest, fastest and most competitive super speedway in the world. In 1989, the name changed from Alabama Motor Speedway to Talladega Superspeedway. Since it's inception, the facility has exceeded every expectation relating to size, speed and competition.
This site in Talladega was chosen among several others in the Southeastern United States in part due to it's land availability, convenient interstate access and a large population. Bill Ward joined with William France to help locate the land in Alabama as a result of a 1960s conversation in Daytona, Florida. Ward initially found what he believed to be the perfect site. After it's discovery, he immediately sat up a meeting with then-mayor James Hardwick and several other city officials. In order to convince them to support the building of a speedway, he invited them to Daytona for the Firecracker 400 race. It was then that the group observed, first hand, the popularity of the sport, along with it's economic potential. From that point on, everyone was on board with the idea of construction.
However, before the new facility could be built, several concerns needed to be addressed. The first of which was financing. With France at the head of the project, construction began in May 1968 on a 2000-acre sit that would open just a year later as a racing facility. After construction was complete, the speeds at the track were so high that the facility was deemed unsafe. Due to the high speeds, the tire companies were unable to create a compound that held together for this large amount of laps. France made a command decision to run the race anyway, using the competitors that decided not to leave the track that day. With thousands of fans having traveled just as many miles, they decided that the show must go on. The full race was ran without major incident.
The high speeds and competition that once drew competitors away from Talladega are the very factors that have since drawn them back. It's here that many records have been set, broken and careers have been made. Having earned it's reputation as the largest, fastest and most competitive track on the NASCAR circuit, drivers earn an impressive reputation by being the first to cross the checkered flag. A 2.66 mile, four lane super speedway with 33 degree banks on each end and 18 degree banking in the tri-oval are the standard at Talladega. This design has provided the sport with some of the most competitive, action packed races in history.
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