By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

You’ve been hearing about ‘Dega all weekend, and now we’ve got full photo coverage of both the Aaron’s 312 and the Aaron’s 499 live in our Events section. Check out the fan’s-eye view of all the three-wide, bump-drafting, paint-trading, high-octane chaos—and don’t forget that we’ve got images of nearly every one of those hot vintage race cars from the International Motorsports Hall of Fame thrown in as well!

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By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Of all the locales on the NASCAR circuit, Talladega is the one most infamous for its fans. But for the most part, the people I met were just like race enthusiasts anywhere else: super-friendly, a little boozy, and just out for a good time. Kurt Busch fan Ernest White managed to get his picture taken alongside his favorite driver’s car. Joe and Brenda from Missisippi were way wasted before the action even started on Sunday, and someone in the stands had even brought a baby—don’t be alarmed, they brought some baby-sized earplugs too. Sure, there were some overeager douchebags, and of course there were some guys getting arrested, but all in all the place had a pretty happy vibe. And wait’ll you see the rides that some of these race fans rolled in on—more after the jump.

Continue reading "Talladega: NASCAR Superfan Gallery" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Talladega is NASCAR’s longest, fastest track, and the crashes are proportionate. Everyone who drives at this track is forever on edge in anticipation of The Big One: that epic and nearly inevitable multi-car pileup that Dale Jr. once described as looking like the work of a gigantic invisible child on a destructive rampage. At every Talladega race, the Big One is always lurking, a monster in a dark tunnel: you might not see it coming, but it’ll get you sooner or later. During the Aaron’s 312, Saturday’s Nationwide Series Race, something approximating The Big One befell the field when Kevin Lepage pulled out of pit road into 200 mph traffic, a catastrophic move that resulted in 15 cars getting wrecked. But at the Aaron’s 499, things were disturbingly tranquil until close to the end. With only a couple of cautions for blown tires, the tension was mounting until Tony Stewart and a bunch of other drivers got caught up in what’s been dubbed "the Little Big One." There were a couple of close calls, like when Paul Menard skillfully managed to go spinning across the frontstretch infield instead of taking out other cars on the track. And then of course, all hell broke loose in the final lap.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout—look how Junior nearly lifts Elliott Sadler’s drive-wheels off the ground. Aggressive nose-to-tail racing was going on all day long, a necessary part of restrictor-plate runs. Since the cars are set up so equally, drafting is one of the few ways drivers can get ahead of the pack, building on each other’s momentum to gain the speed necessary to pass.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

This very amateur fan video, taken with my hundred-dollar point-and-shoot Casio, might give you some idea of what it’s like to watch the Talladega race from the stands. Well, some idea, minus the tire-smoke and the bone-shaking engine rumble and the soot in your hair and that yummy high-octane emissions smell. Actually scratch that, you can’t really approximate on film what it’s like to be there no matter how fancy a camera you have. I’m still divided about the best vantage point for a race. Front-row trackside like I was at the Daytona 500, where you can almost taste the cars as they blast by—or up in the tower where you can see more of the action, which is almost always the recommended position. I’m leaning toward trackside, just for the in-your-face experience of it all—at superspeedways, the cars are always tiny dots on the backstretch anyway, so it’s not so much of an advantage to be seated higher up. But you can decide for yourself—I got footage from all over the stands.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

The Sprint Cup race today ended under caution as the field exploded with not one, but two final-lap wrecks that collectively took out a big chunk of the pack and left the track strewn with tire shreds and smoldering car parts. As per NASCAR rules regarding final-lap cautions, the win automatically goes to whoever’s in first place when the yellow flag flies. Kurt Busch did some great driving today, dodging bullets that most certainly would’ve swept a lesser driver into some badass wrecks, and he fully deserves to bask in the glory of his win. But from what I could see from where I was sitting, there were a number of other drivers who were hurtling toward the win at the moment that the field was frozen, and that whole pack was racing so hard in those final two miles that it was a letdown to not get to see them thrash it out to the bitter end. What do you think: would Kyle have won anyway, even under a restart? Or was he just at the right place at the right time?

(This struck me funny: in the post-race interview, Kyle said he was real glad with how that final lap "paid out. Er, played out." Heh).

As soon as this workday’s over, I’m hopping on an overnight flight to Talladega so that you don’t miss one moment of this weekend’s NASCAR action. In addition to being a helluva racetrack, ‘Dega has a reputation for the wildest attendanceship on the NASCAR circuit, and I’m definitely curious to see what all this boozy, brawling fuss is about. I’ll try my darndest to make the Nationwide race on Saturday, and then bring you full coverage of Sunday’s Sprint Cup race, the Aaron’s 499, featuring high-speed bumper-to-bumper racing by all of NASCAR’s big dogs. Stay stuck to the blog this weekend for a fan’s-eye view of the races!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I’m heading to Alabama on Friday for CarDomain’s next NASCAR adventure: I’m gonna try to hit both the Aaron’s 312 and the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega this weekend, and will of course be bringing you trackside photos and fan’s-eye-view coverage right here in the blog! Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR’s biggest and fastest track: at 2.66 miles, it’s a behemoth, and just like at Daytona, the monster length and the steep banking combine to let the cars go so fast that they need to run restrictor plates to keep them from flying into the grandstands.

There’s quite a bit at stake this weekend: Jeff Gordon has won the last two Sprint Cup races at Talladega and will be gunning hard for a third, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be making his landmark 300th career start at the race on Sunday. But with the restrictor-plated cars all running in tight bumper-to-bumper packs at 200 mph, a multi-car wreck like this one in ’96, which sent Ricky Craven flying through the air leaving tire-tracks on the roofs of passing cars, can be touched off by the slightest miscalculation. Let’s hope our guys drive safe this weekend on NASCAR’s wildest track!