By Rich Foust
Charlotte Motor Speedway is actually located in Concord, North Carolina, just outside Charlotte and opened in 1960, hosting its first World 600, now known as the Coca Cola 600. Unfortunately, about one year later, the track fell into chapter 11 bankruptcy, due to poor ticket sales.
Today, Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts three Sprint Cup Series, two Nationwide and one Camping World Truck Series events, among other racing action each year. Continue reading
By Rich Foust
The Chase enters its fourth race at the track that, in the blink of an eye, can make or break the dreams of a championship for any driver and his team.
Talladega Superspeedway is located north of Talladega, Alabama, on ground formerly known as Anniston Air force base.
This track is a tri-oval and is known for its steep banking and unusual location of the start finish line. Talladega is NASCAR’s longest track at 2.66 miles. Turns 1 and 2 are banked at 33 degrees, turn 3 at 32.4 degrees, turn 4 at 32.5 degrees and the back straight is at a mere 3 degrees .
The lap record was set in 1987 by Bill Elliott at 44.998 seconds and still stands unchallenged today.
Originally named Alabama International Motor Speedway, the track opened on September 13, 1969, at a cost of 4 million dollars.
The first race at Talladega did not go as planed due to tire issues. Most all drivers walked away from their cars and substitute drivers filled those seats, except for Bobby Isaac, who ran his qualifying laps, before climbing out of his car to never return again. Although there were many issues during the race, it ended in a historic three-wide finish, with Richard Brickhouse as the winner.
Other drivers to get their first win at Talladega are Brian Vickers and Brad Keselowski.
‘Dega, as it’s affectionately called, is known for its high speed chess match type of racing. Tight, close racing, more often then not, leads to “The Big One,” which looms over every driver’s mind from the green flag to the inevitable crash that can take out half the field.
As a by-product of this style of racing, the race this Sunday at Talladega, could be a game changer for all Chase contenders – good or bad.
So fans, put some extra padding on the edge of your chair, because it’s more than likely, this is where you’ll spend most of the race this weekend. Talladega is the most exciting, yet unpredictable race of The Chase.
Ask Rich your NASCAR technical questions and he’ll answer them in his weekly blog. Reply below with your question or via email to [email protected]
By Rich Foust
Formerly known as Dover Downs Speedway, the track was renamed in 2002 to Dover International Speedway and is located in Dover, Delaware. They broke ground in 1966 and opened in 1969 and host two cup events each year. It is a one mile oval with 24 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 degrees of banking on the straights. The surface is concrete, although it was asphalt until 1995 and now seats 135,000. Continue reading
By Rich Foust
New Hampshire Motor Speedway opened in 1990 and hosts two cup events each year. It’s a 1.058-mile oval, 65 feet wide with 1 degree of banking on each straight for 1500 feet and finally the turns are banked at a slight 2/7th degree. Continue reading
By Rich Foust
The first race of the Chase is behind us and almost all Chase contenders had a stellar day at Chicagoland Speedway. But for some it was challenging and in some cases, a downright disappointing day… Continue reading