Talladega Superspeedway has a well-documented history of chaos and carnage that places it rather high among the tracks that drivers, particularly ones in a favorable position in the points standings, don’t look forward to.
This is often due to Talladega presenting a formidable and relatively unique combination of challenges.
Starting with the introduction of the carburetor restrictor plate in 1988, the 2.66-mile tri-oval greatly leveled the playing field among the competitors. True, the big budget teams can potentially finish in the back at any speedway. But at Talladega, they can end up at the bottom of the finishing order without really having a notable reason why.
Additionally, the tightly grouped cars are prone to catastrophic accidents that wipe out several of them at a time, whether they were part of the reason for the melee or not. Such crashes are all too often accepted as inevitable by teams and fans alike.
Except that they aren’t inevitable at all. Three times, the NASCAR Cup Series has completed a 500-mile race at Talladega without a caution flag. That’s right, not even a single sheet-metal-obliterating accident. And all three occurred over a span of just six years.
I wouldn’t fault anyone who doesn’t know this. With each return to Talladega, those three caution-free days get further away in more ways than one.
In April of 1997, Mark Martin was in the midst of a winless streak. He hadn’t won a NASCAR Cup Series race since October of 1995. Talladega presented Martin and his team with an opportunity to break out of the slump. After all, he had won the very same race in April of 1995.
But persistent rain on Sunday and Monday and an upcoming trip to Sears Point Raceway (now Sonoma Raceway) forced NASCAR to postpone the event to an off date the week following the next race at Sears Point.
When the series returned to Alabama, Martin was suddenly the most recent winner, having won from the pole at Sonoma. He started the Winston 500 in 18th position and led three times for a total of 46 laps en route to his second consecutive win.
Unusual was the fact that Martin led the final 31 laps, an extraordinarily long stretch for the end of a Talladega race. Finishing second that day was Dale Earnhardt, who led the most laps but left Talladega still mired in a winless streak of his own.
The yellow flag never waved that day, a welcome relief from the track’s previous few events, which even today are remembered as much for the crashes as for anything else. The two prior Cup visits had resulted in Ricky Craven‘s flight into the catchfence and the accident that broke Earnhardt’s collarbone.
Four years later, the Cup teams rolled into Talladega again. The pain of the most recent superspeedway race, the 2001 Daytona 500, was still lingering, and it didn’t seem as though anyone wanted to run the next one. If there was ever a race that needed to be caution free, this was it.
Somehow, even with one of the most competitive aero packages ever, the best stock car drivers in the world proved such, completing all 188 laps under green. Bobby Hamilton picked up his fourth and final career Cup win in a car owned by Andy Petree. It was the first win as an owner for Petree, who, before becoming an owner, won a pair of championships as Earnhardt’s crew chief.
Following Hamilton’s win, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed victory in the next two races at the track. This meant that in the fall of 2002, Earnhardt could achieve a feat only the legendary Buddy Baker had ever managed: three straight wins at Talladega.
This, too, turned into a wildly competitive affair, with 35 lead changes until lap 150. That’s when Earnhardt Jr. took the top spot and never gave it up, pacing the final 39 circuits en route to the win. Tony Stewart finished second, his second year in a row following the red No. 8 across the line in the October Talladega race.
Despite what recent history might lead one to believe, it actually is possible to finish a race at Talladega without needing to utilize every flatbed tow truck in sight. The Cup drivers have done it before, and you never know when they might do it again.
About the author
Frank Velat has been an avid follower of NASCAR and other motorsports for over 20 years. He brings a blend of passionate fan and objective author to his work. Frank offers unique perspectives that everyone can relate to, remembering the sport's past all the while embracing its future. Follow along with @FrankVelat on Twitter.
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