TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2014 One of the biggest weekends in the NASCAR playoffs is underway at Talladega Superspeedway, where fans from across the country and around the world are gathering for high-speed racing, live entertainment and one of the most unique atmospheres in sports.<\/p>\n
The 2.66-mile tri-oval is the longest in NASCAR. With 33-degree banking, Talladega is also the steepest, allowing drivers to reach speeds nearing 200 mph. The track seats 80,000 and is the only NASCAR venue that offers free camping \u2014 a major draw for fans planning to stay the entire weekend.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s event features three days of activity, including tailgating, multiple playoff races and off-track events. Friday night there is a rodeo, and a concert featuring Whiskey Myers is scheduled for Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur iconic infield opened yesterday, and the line was miles long,\u201d said Brian Crichton, president of Talladega Superspeedway. \u201cWe\u2019re ready \u2014 three great playoff races this weekend \u2014 and the world is here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The infield has become one of the sport\u2019s most well-known experiences. Fans from all 50 states and at least 26 countries are expected to attend.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kind of call this the world\u2019s largest unofficial family reunion,\u201d Crichton said. \u201cWe might not be related by blood, but we\u2019re related by Talladega.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bo Fullen, a fan who has attended races at Talladega every year since 2011, said the atmosphere is unlike anything else in sports.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to experience it \u2014 from the quiet in the morning to the rowdy at night,\u201d Fullen said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had Canadians, we\u2019ve had people from Australia, we\u2019ve even had a German with us one year. You just meet a little bit of everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
For many, coming to Talladega is a tradition passed down through families or shared among friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been coming here for 20 years,\u201d said Allen Gros. \u201cIt\u2019s the atmosphere \u2014 it\u2019s the party. We\u2019re from all over and we just meet at the racetrack..”<\/p>\n
Fullen added, \u201cIt\u2019s hard to envision this many people coming together, but it\u2019s like one big happy family.”<\/p>\n
While the social aspect draws crowds in, it\u2019s the racing that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo hear the rumble and roar of 40 cars going 195 to 200 miles per hour through this tri-oval is insane,\u201d Crichton said.<\/p>\n
Three playoff races will run throughout the weekend, bringing championship stakes to one of NASCAR\u2019s most unpredictable tracks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much to do at Talladega Superspeedway,\u201d Crichton said. \u201cEverybody has got to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TALLADEGA, Ala. \u2014 One of the biggest weekends in the NASCAR playoffs is underway at Talladega Superspeedway, where…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[29407,7069,6818,3231,425,4052,2094,99,105413,100589],"class_list":["post-229746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-atmosphere","tag-concert","tag-fans","tag-major-story","tag-nascar","tag-playoffs","tag-racing","tag-sports","tag-superspeedway","tag-talladega"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}