Talladega prepares for spring races

In a little over a month, the boys of Nascar will come back to Alabama and Talladega Superspeedway.

Fans will come from all over the country. They nearly pack the place twice a year.

But, fans come year round to visit the International Motorsports Hall of Fame right in front of the speedway.

Though I’ve been around a while and have been to the Talladega races, I’d never visited the hall of fame.

I corrected that this week and am glad I did.

You can’t miss it; it’s right there in front of the Talladega Superspeedway. But, no one told me that the first thing I’d see would be a boat…. A big ol’ boat that set a water speed record of 140 mph.

But, this is what brings fans to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame…. to see cars… lots of cars…....cars driven by heroes of the past.  Cars that were driven on the beaches of Daytona.  Fans come here for a variety of reasons.

“The competition on the track is one thing, the mystic, the equity that is built up in the Talladega name and the experience that the fans get when they come here,“ said Rick Humphrey.

Rick Humphrey is the president of the Talladega Superspeedway and executive director of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.   

Whether it’s the number 28 car that Davey Allison drove to victory lane here on the car and number that is still loved by fans the number 3 Dale Earnhardt car, the hall of fame has cars that mean something or everything to race fans.

“You know we’ve got this slogan we came up with,” Humphrey said. “’This is more than a race….this is Talladega’ and we truly believe that is something to build on. And, when they come they’ve got the International Hall of Fame museum to go through, and to keep that fresh, annually change out exhibits…induct new members into the hall of fame each April and for fans to be able to come and witness what these great names in all of the forms of motorsports had done is something that keeps people coming back.“

People keep coming back for this; the sound, the on-the-edge racing as fast as stock cars can go.  And during challenging economic times….. Folks at Talladega still want to pack the house.

“As we suffer through some difficult times in our economy and people are looking for day trips or looking for a weekend vacation where you don’t venture too far from home… Talladega may be that option,“ Humphrey said.

55 people work at Talladega Superspeedway year round….but on race weekends, workers and volunteers swell that workforce to 3000 people. 

The next race at Talladega is the Aarons 499 on April 26th. As usual, many fans will spend the week at the track.

“Let’s start with Friday, we’ve got the Arca Remax series race, 250 mile race you can come out, your kids 12 and under get in free. Saturday, same thing children 12 and under get in free in the grandstands, that’s the nationwide series race, the Aarons 312.“

And while we’re at it, Rick Humphrey would like to place his weather forecast order for race week.