Edition 41, April 30th - 2009

The Talladega Curse

I made an assumption that I would be writing a race report from our first race outing at Rockford, and for two weeks now Mother Nature had other plans and though we needed the moisture, we were hoping for a clear weather for weekend racing. This past weekend I had two days of racing planned, the first being ASA at Dells Raceway Park on Saturday, and then our rescheduled Big 8 race at Rockford on Sunday. Of course both venues were washed out, and so I settled in my easy chair to watch the weekend racing at Talladega.

Talladega is one of my favorite tracks for all the reasons many do not like it. It is long, fast, and the cars are bunched up mostly due to the restrictor plate. Alabama is an area where racing is king, the chicken is extra greasy, boiled peanuts are abundant, and red clay is everywhere. When you sit in the stands you better be friends with your neighbor because he or she will let you know who their favorite driver is, and the long drawn out shout of support for Junior is heard every time Little E gets close to the front. If you ever go to the spring race there, be sure to attend the induction ceremony for retired race drivers held at the speedway. It is a wonderful event held prior to the race, and all profits from the event are presented to the school for the deaf.

Before I attended my first race experience at Talladega, I heard about the curse of said racetrack. It was reported that when the track was being built, an American Indian Chief cursed the grounds, as it was built on a burial site, and people who would tread on these grounds would suffer. Other stories reported that the chief who cursed the site was Chief Tecumseh, who took offense to the tribes in the south not supporting his quest to align all Indian nations, so he vowed to curse the Talladega area. From these stories sprung the Talladega Curse supported by certain occurrences that have happened there.

Driver Bobby Isaac reported hearing someone in his car telling him to park during a race there, and he complied. Richard Petty’s brother in law was killed a freak accident in the infield. A family member of a race team was killed in the infield when struck by a mirror on a passing vehicle traveling at very low speed. Other people have also met their demise at the track but most were just chalked up to very large crowds all being at one place on race weekend. The number of cars flipping upside down at this track is numerous, including the Bobby Allison 1987 flight into the catch fence.

Back to this spring 2009 race. I tuned into the ARCA race on Saturday to watch both rookies and seasoned veterans tangle with one another at the fastest speeds they run throughout the year. True to form several cars got together and others just lost it and spun by themselves, but in the end a very deserving young driver held off all comers. The second race on Saturday was the Nationwide event and as usual several Sprint teams also entered this event. It was exciting all day with the bump draft, and teams three and four lane charges to the front. The brothers Earnhardt actually found each other on the track and drafted together a few times. The scary “big one” was Matt Kenseth turning sideways, and then flying and rolling over several times, with fire erupting under the hood. Luckily the car landed on its wheels with driver unhurt. I did notice that the roof flaps did not deploy.

So with our Rockford race cancelled on Sunday due to weather, I went back to the recliner for the Sunday Sprint race telecast. The race was not even 10 laps old when the big one took out one third of the field. Racing resumed, and it seemed like the entire remainder of the field took turns leading this race. What was intriguing to me was that two cars drafting extremely tight together could come through the pack and overtake several other cars in a drafting line.

But of course as if scripted, the Edwards-Keselowski feud of racing for the same spot ended with Edwards first going backwards then launching into the catch fence after being collected by Newman.

Very scary to watch a car flying through the air towards spectators, and luckily no one was seriously hurt. Since last weekend race I have heard people suggest, removing the restrictor plates, moving fans back further from the fence, build better catch fence, allow cars to go below the yellow line again, reposition roof flaps for better deployment, put narrow tires on the cars, and remake the track with less banking. Bottom line is to find a way to slow the cars down. When you are in the stands you get as much out of seeing a car go by at 185 as one doing 210. And then look at the ideas coming out from others and implement those that make sense and will save fans and racers lives.

Or if all else fails, just get an Indian Chief to take the curse off Talladega Speedway.

RACING TO THE CHECKERS

Jim