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Post: May 13th 2011
Talladega Shake & Bake
Your Car Care REPs are on track and ready to give you the shake & bake. April 16th was the 42nd annual Talladega Davis 499 race held at Talladega Superspeedway. This historic speedway is located in Talladega, Alabama and has unique origins. The winner of this year’s race is driver Jimmie Johnson and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. This was the second closest win in the history of NASCAR racing. Jimmie Johnson edged out Clint Bowyer by 0.002 of a second for the victory flag. Today we’ll discuss the history of The Dega Superspeedway and highlight some of this year’s exciting race.
Talladega Superspeedway was opened in 1969. One of the main reasons it was built was as an answer to the only oval racetrack at the time, the Daytona International Speedway. The builder of the Talladega (Bill France) wanted to build a track that was longer and faster than the Daytona Speedway. The Dega Speedway is a tri-oval shape that is 2.66 miles long (after 1 lap) and the longest tri-oval track in the US. Because of its size it’s been nicknamed the “Big One” by drivers and fans. The first race at the Dega was amazing with the finish being 3 cars side by side. Driver Richard Brickhouse later claimed the victory. Talladega Superspeedway has the record for the fastest recorded time by a NASCAR stock car in a closed oval course, with the record of 216.309 MPH set by Rusty Wallace.
The Dega Speedway has been plagued with problems in the past. There have been several crashes, wrecks, deaths even unexplained phenomena’s at the speedway. During a race in 1973, racecar driver Bobby Isaac, midway into the race, suddenly pulled his car over and discontinued the race. He said he couldn’t continue the race anymore. When questioned later as to why, he was quoted as saying that he heard voices telling him to park his car and get out. A movie that depicts this unexplained phenomenon at Talladega is “Talladega Nights” staring Will Ferrell (which I find extremely funny and love to watch over & over). Will Ferrell’s character “Ricky Bobby” is coming back onto the race scene after a hiatus. In the middle of a race he thinks he’s on fire and suddenly stops, gets out of his car and strips down to his underwear rolling around trying to put out the imaginary fire that’s consuming him. In 1987 at the Talladega Speedway Bobby Allison’s racecar was catapulted into the air after a blown engine. His car was caught by the safety catch fence and did not enter into the spectator area, but pieces of his car went flying through the fence and injured several spectators. This led to many safety changes being enacted by NASCAR officials. Bobby Allison’s sons followed in their dad’s foot pedals and became racecar drivers. His youngest son, Clifford Allison, was fatally injured in a practice NASCAR run, and 1 year later his oldest son, Davey Allison, was killed in a helicopter crash at Talladega Speedway. This had many wondering, is the Talladega Speedway cursed?
Some say that there is a curse on the land that the Talladega Speedway is built on. Others say that the land used was an Indian burial ground and this is the reason for the mysterious mishaps. One version of the story states that Native Americans originally used the grounds to race horses. During a race an Indian chief was thrown from his horse and died of his injuries. No one is certain of the original purpose of the land usage. But it is clear that there have been unexplained mishaps and untimely deaths at the Dega. It should be noted that motoracing is an extremely dangerous sport. Over 150 drivers have died among the most competitive racetracks. Race crews and spectators have also become casualties of the sport as well.
The Talladega Superspeedway still attracts race fans from all over the country. In recent years NASCAR has implemented new rules governing how fast cars can go on tracks like the Dega and Daytona speedway. These rules have been enlisted to ensure the safety of drivers and spectators. One rule is restrictor plates. Restrictor plates limit the amount of fuel and air going into a race engine, thus limiting the speed a racecar can achieve. Before the restrictions racecars could run in excess of 210 MPH. Now they are reduced to running 200 MPH or less. To help gain more speed within the guidelines of the new NASCAR rules drivers are able to race in a draft team mode. This is where 2 cars race extremely close to each other almost bumper to bumper. This form of racing allows the rear car to push the front car and ride inside the front cars slipstream. This natural momentum gains 10-12 MPH on the track and reduces drag.
This year’s Dega 1st place winner, Jimmie Johnson, had the legendary Dale Earnhardt Jr. pushing his #48 Chevy to victory (this is JJ’s 54th NASCAR win). A lot of drivers and fans are not fond of the draft form of racing. Dale Jr. is one of the more outspoken drivers against it. In an interview Dale Earnhardt Jr. was quoted as saying “I don’t really like the two-car stuff. It’s uh … just silly. “I’m hoping this kind of racing goes away fast, so we don’t have to talk about this no more. This is a bunch of crap.” I personally visit a lot of race related websites regularly. After the race I found that most of the fans agree with Jr. and had some serious outspoken comments regarding it. In my opinion I’m 50-50 for it and against it. I feel that with this new form of racing if your pushing your pretty much guaranteed not to come in 1st place. But on the other hand I feel that it brings to the sport a more teammate type of strategy that is seen in other sports but not commonplace in motor sports. Here’s why. In this form of racing the pusher is driving so close to the lead car that all the rear car driver sees is the leads spoiler. There is constant radio communication with your teammate to figure out your next move. This to me makes for a more strategic approach to racing than the all out “everyone for themselves” sprint to the finish line.
Watching this year’s race I truly enjoyed the historic finish. The official margin was 0.002 of a second, tied for the closest finish in the history of NASCAR’s top circuit with Ricky Craven’s win at Darlington in 2003. Coming down the stretch cars were 4 lanes wide and it was anyone’s race. Clint Bowyer (being pushed by Kevin Harvick) looked like he was about to get the flag and drive down victory lane when Jimmie Johnson came roaring down the inside lane for an epic finish and the Talladega bragging rights for 2011. 2nd place winner Clint Bowyer was quoted, as saying “If you didn’t like that finish, forget about the race, there’s something wrong with you”. It was one of the greatest motor race finishes I’ve seen in a while. Jeff Gordon came in 3rd place & Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in 4th place to complete the shake & bake tag team victory. It’s also great to note that there were some spinouts during the race but no fatalities.
Motoracing can be a dangerous sport but than again what real sport isn’t. Football, boxing, hockey all come to mind when thinking of injuries. Maybe not life threatening, but the danger is there nonetheless. Some fans and drivers say that the new rules are turning a lot of people away from NASCAR racing. I don’t feel new rules are turning away people from NASCAR. I feel that NASCAR racing needs to be rejuvenated with a jolt of new energy. It might take a fresh new exciting personality to bring life back into the sport of motoracing. We’ll be on the hunt for new faces and trends. Your Car Care REPs are here to infuse you with heart pounding thundering horsepower, just think of us as your personal pit-stop crew. Until next time, stay on track.
Your Car Care REPs
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