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 – won by Richard Brickhouse.

·        The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.

·        Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.

Talladega Superspeedway Data

Season Race #: 32 of 36 (10-20-13)

Chase Race #: 6

Track Size: 2.66-miles

Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 33 degrees

Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 33 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees

Frontstretch Length:  4,300 feet

Backstretch Length:  4,000 feet

Race Length: 188 laps / 500 miles

Top 13 Driver Rating at Talladega

Matt Kenseth.............................. 91.5

Dale Earnhardt Jr....................... 89.9

Jeff Burton................................. 89.3

Brian Vickers............................. 87.3

Kurt Busch................................. 86.8

Brad Keselowski......................... 85.7

David Ragan.............................. 85.0

Aric Almirola.............................. 83.9

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.................... 83.9

Jimmie Johnson......................... 83.1

Jeff Gordon................................ 81.8

Denny Hamlin............................. 81.6

Jamie McMurray........................ 81.5

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2013 races (17 total) among active drivers at Talladega Superspeedway.

Qualifying/Race Data

2012 pole winner: Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 191.455 mph, 50.017 secs. 10-5-12

2012 race winner: Matt Kenseth, Ford, 171.194 mph, (02:56:12), 10-7-12

Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott, Ford, 212.809 mph, 44.998 secs. 4-30-87

Track race record: Mark Martin, Ford, 188.354 mph, (02:39:18), 5-10-97

Notebook

·        There have been 88 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Talladega Superspeedway, one NSCS event in 1969 and two races per year since 1970.

·        Talladega Superspeedway is tied with Michigan International Speedway for holding the ninth most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points paying races (88).

·        431 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega; 294 in more than one.

·        Dave Marcis leads the series in starts at Talladega with 61. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 58 starts; followed by Michael Waltrip with 54.

·        Bobby Isaac won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Talladega in 1969 with a speed of 199.466 mph.  Isaac won the first three poles at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

·        36 drivers have Coors Light poles at Talladega, led by Bill Elliott with eight. Joe Nemechek leads all active drivers with four.

·        10 drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Talladega. Bill Elliott holds the record for most consecutive poles at Talladega with six (1985-1987).

·        Youngest Talladega pole winner: Jimmie Johnson (4/21/2002 – 26 years, 7 months, 4 days).

·        Oldest Talladega pole winner: Mark Martin (10/23/2012 – 52 years, 9 months, 14 days).

·        43 different drivers have won at Talladega Superspeedway, led by Dale Earnhardt with 10. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six.

·        Richard Childress Racing has the most wins at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 12; followed by Hendrick Motorsports with 11.

·        Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Talladega; led by Chevrolet with 38 victories; followed by Ford with 20.

·        13 of the 88 (14.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been won from the Coors Light pole. Only two active drivers have been able to accomplish the feat: Bobby Labonte (1998) and Jeff Gordon (2007).

·        The outside front row (second-place) starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Talladega.

·        33 of the 88 (37.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 20 from second-place.

·        62 of the 88 (70.4%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·        7 of the 88 (7.9%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Talladega was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in the spring of 2000.

·        Youngest Talladega winner: Bobby Hillin Jr. (7/27/1986 – 22 years, 1 month, 22 days).

·        Oldest Talladega winner: Harry Gant (5/6/1991 – 51 years, 3 months, 26 days).

·        Buddy Baker and Tony Stewart are tied for the series’ most runner-up finishes at Talladega with six each.

·        NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-five finishes at Talladega with 23. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 15.

·        Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-10 finishes at Talladega with 27. Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 24.

·        Trevor Bayne leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Talladega with a 9.800.

·        Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Talladega with a 12.556.

·        There have been seven NSCS races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Talladega Superspeedway: spring of 2005 (188/194), fall of 2005 (188/190), spring of 2007 (188/192), fall of 2008 (188/190) spring of 2010 (188/200), fall of 2012 (188/189), and spring of 2013 (188/192).

·        Only two of the 87 races at Talladega Superspeedway have been shortened due to weather conditions: spring of 1987 and fall of 1996.

·        Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway four times; most recently spring of 2013.

·        Jamie McMurray (10/6/2002) made his series debut at Talladega Superspeedway.

·        Juan Pablo Montoya (4/26/2009), David Gilliland (10/8/2006) and Travis Kvapil (10/5/2008) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles at Talladega.

·        2012 series champion Brad Keselowski (4/26/2009), Brian Vickers (10/8/2006) and Ken Schrader (7/31/1988) posted their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Talladega.

·        Nine drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series have posted consecutive wins at Talladega. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the series in consecutive wins at Talladega after posting four consecutive wins from the fall of 2001-2003.

·        16 of the 17 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Talladega Superspeedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Brad Keselowski is the only active series driver to win at Talladega in his first appearance.

·        Matt Kenseth competed at Talladega Superspeedway 25 times before winning last fall; the longest span of any the 17 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

·        Matt Kenseth (25), Terry Labonte (21), Tony Stewart (19), Kevin Harvick (18), Mark Martin (18) and David Ragan (12) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win at Talladega.

·        Jeff Burton leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Talladega without visiting Victory Lane at 39.

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Talladega Superspeedway was the (4/17/2011) race won by Jimmie Johnson with a MOV of 0.002 second – the MOV is tied with the 2003 Darlington race as the closest finishes in the NSCS using electronic scoring.

·        Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Talladega with 839 laps led in 40 starts.

·        Three female drivers have competed at Talladega in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Janet Guthrie, Patty Moise and Danica Patrick.

Driver	Starting Position	Finishing Position	Date	Race Name
Janet Guthrie	13	32	5/1/1977	Winston 500
Janet Guthrie	9	34	8/7/1977	Talladega 500
Janet Guthrie	12	29	8/6/1978	Talladega 500
Patty Moise	36	33	7/30/1989	Talladega Diehard 500
Danica Patrick	23	33	5/5/2013	Aaron's 499

NASCAR in Alabama

·        There have been 107 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races among seven different tracks in Alabama.

Track Name	City	NSCS
Talladega Superspeedway	Talladega	88
Birmingham International Raceway	Birmingham	8
Montgomery Motor Speedway	Montgomery	6
Lakeview Speedway	Mobile	2
Chisholm Speedway	Montgomery	1
Dixie Speedway	Birmingham	1
Huntsville Speedway	Huntsville	1

·        68 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Alabama.

·        Eight drivers from Alabama have won at least one race in NASCAR’s three national series; five have won in the NASCAR Sprint Cup 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
Cale Gale	0	0	1

Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup: Talladega Superspeedway

·        Talladega Superspeedway has been one of the 10 tracks of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since the playoff’s inception in 2004.

·        The best finish in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings by the Chase race winner at Talladega is second in the points by Jeff Gordon in 2007. The winner of the Talladega Superspeedway Chase race has never gone on to win the championship.

·        Clint Bowyer leads the series with the most Chase race wins at Talladega with two (2010 and 2011).

·        The worst finish by the eventual series champion at Talladega Superspeedway is 26th, by Jimmie Johnson in 2006. Johnson was eighth in the standings following the 2006 Talladega Chase race.

·        Chase Contenders have won five of the nine Chase races at Talladega Superspeedway. The four drivers that were not Chase Contenders that won the Chase race at Talladega were NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett (2005), Brian Vickers (2006), Jamie McMurray (2009) and Clint Bowyer (2011).

Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup: Talladega Superspeedway

·        Four of the 2013 Chase Contenders are former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase race winners at Talladega Superspeedway: Clint Bowyer (2), Jeff Gordon (1), Matt Kenseth (1) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1).

·        The average finish by the eventual series champion at Talladega Superspeedway is 7.9. The last three series champions all finished seventh in the Chase race at Talladega.

·        Chevrolet leads the series in Chase wins at Talladega with five followed by Ford with three and Toyota with one.

·        The most dominant performance by a Chase race winner at Talladega Speedway is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s victory in 2004. He led 78 of the 188 laps (41% of his laps completed) - most by a Chase race winner at Talladega.

Eventual champion’s points position and point deficit to the standings leader following the fifth Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race:

Season	Champion	Points Back From Leader	Points Position Following Fifth Chase Race
2004	Kurt Busch	0	1st
2005	Tony Stewart	0*	2nd
2006	Jimmie Johnson	-146	7th
2007	Jimmie Johnson	-68	2nd
2008	Jimmie Johnson	0	1st
2009	Jimmie Johnson	0	1st
2010	Jimmie Johnson	0	1st
2011	Tony Stewart	-24	5th
2012	Brad Keselowski	0	1st

Note: 2011 and 2012 are under the current points per finish system

* - Tony Stewart was tied with Jimmie Johnson in points following the fifth Chase race in 2005. Johnson was seeded first due to the tie-breaker (wins).