October 31, 2009
By Brenda Benedict
Halloween weekend is an appropriate time for NASCAR to make its semiannual trek to Talladega Superspeedway. As the Chase winds down to the last 4 races, NASCAR’s largest and most steeply banked track will host the Amp Energy 500 on Sunday.
Talladega has been the site of many, very scary moments in NASCAR racing. The most recent was April’s race there when Carl Edwards wreck in the final lap sent debris flying into the stands, injuring a fan and providing a spectacular and scary finish to the race.
This weekend is also the 40th anniversary of the opening of Talladega Superspeedway which hosted its first race on September 13, 1969.
NASCAR’s start at Talladega was scary back in 1969. The track was then known as Alabama International Motorspeedway.
The story goes like this. The drivers at that time had an organization that some called a union. It was called the Professional Drivers Association (PDA) and it was led by Richard Petty. The PDA became concerned that the new track was not safe after the practice and qualifying speeds were so high. The pole was won by Charlie Glotzback with a run that came in at almost 200 mph. To make matters worse, the tires were not standing up to those high speeds. So the night before the race, the PDA drivers decided not to participate. They actually went on strike.
Bill France began scrambling to find replacement drivers and even took to the track himself to show it was safe. They were able to assemble a field of racers that most featured drivers who had participated in race a day early there. The race was won by Richard Brickhouse and that became his only NASCAR win. But another notable NASCAR personality made his driving debut at Talladega as another replacement driver-Richard Childress. Childress is now a team owner of one of NASCAR’s premier teams.
Talladega holds records for NASCAR speed records -- including a practice run by Rusty Wallace in 2004 that passed 216 mph. NASCAR implemented restrictor plates on the engines in to limit the speeds but restrictor plates have brought their own problems to the track because drivers run together very tightly and avoiding wrecks becomes difficult.
Talladega is known for its wrecks and we frequently see the ‘big one’ in racing at the high-banked track.
This weekend Talladega is going to set a new record.
Michael Wallace and Chrissy Wallace will compete in the Camping World Truck Series race becoming the first father-daughter to compete in the highest level of NASCAR in the same race. Mike Wallace will drive the No. 48 Andy Hillenburg Racing car, and Chrissy Wallace will drive the No. 08 entry, fielded by Rick Ware Racing.
Chrissy Wallace has paid her racing dues and looks good to finish well at Talladega on Saturday -- possibly even finishing in the top 15. Wallace comes from a top NASCAR family but has worked patiently to develop as a driver. The 21 year old has set many firsts as a driver. She was the first female to win a Bandelero race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first to win in a Legends car at Friendship Speedway in Elkin, N.C., and the first to win a Late Model race at Hickory, North Carolina Motor Speedway in 2007. She finished second in the Pro Challenge Cars track championship at Hickory and has over 50 feature wins in Legends cars. She has 22 wins at Concord Motorsports Park in Legends and Bandelero cars. In 2006, she won seven out of the 10 Arena races in which she competed.
In 2008 Chrissy Wallace began competing in the Truck Series and her career has moving slowly yet steadily along.
Wallace said this recently about her career, “Well, you know, I think I have got a little frustrated, and Dad could definitely agree with me that I've gotten frustrated. I think I've been more frustrated at myself that I haven't been in a car than anything. It is upsetting to go to a race track and see somebody else running the truck you were supposed to run or running the series you were supposed to run and knowing you were supposed to be there. But if I get my hopes all the way down, then I know it's going to be hard to build them back up. So I've had to keep some self-esteem up knowing that there could always be another chance.”
I am hoping to see great racing this weekend. Chrissy Wallace brings some light as we see a new class of female drivers who work hard and do well. Maybe the ‘big one’ we see is actually a big day for racing with a female driving and finishing strong in this male-dominated sport. It will be good for NASCAR and good for us fans.
You can follow me at Twitter @nascarfaithful
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
