"The biggest track in NASCAR: 2.66 miles of Alabama tri-oval carved out of 2,000 acres beside an old airfield, born from a handshake between Bill France and an Anniston insurance man. Race 31 of the O'Reilly Chase runs here, and at Talladega, nobody's Chase is safe."
Key Takeaways
- 2.66-mile asphalt tri-oval in Talladega County, Alabama, the longest oval on the NASCAR calendar, with banking that climbs from 16.5 degrees to a towering 33 degrees.
- Built by Bill France Sr. on a 2,000-acre site near a former World War II airfield. Construction began May 23, 1968; the first race, the 'Bama 400, ran September 13, 1969, and Richard Brickhouse won the first Grand National (now Cup Series) race, the Talladega 500, the following day.
- Chosen by the numbers: the site won out for its land, interstate access, and a population of at least 20 million within 300 miles, after insurance executive Bill Ward connected France with Talladega officials in the mid-1960s.
- Pack racing at its most extreme: the widest, fastest style in the sport, where the draft rules, runs form and vanish in seconds, and the Chase's wildest results happen.
- The 2026 O'Reilly Chase visits October 24: Race 31, The Progress Group 250, with the Cup Series YellaWood 500 on Sunday, October 25 and the Truck Series Love's RV Stop 225 on Friday, October 23.
Location: Talladega County, Alabama Track Type: Asphalt tri-oval Length: 2.66 miles (longest oval in NASCAR) Banking: 16.5 to 33 degrees Opened: 1969 (construction began May 23, 1968) Owner: NASCAR (built by Bill France Sr.; International Speedway Corporation merged into NASCAR October 18, 2019) Site: 2,000 acres beside a former WWII airfield
The Chase at Talladega: Race 31
Race 31 of the 33-race season, the seventh of the nine Chase races, runs at NASCAR's biggest track on October 24. The Chase is the O'Reilly Series championship: the top 12 drivers in points after Race 24 at Daytona settle the title over the season's final nine races.
| Date | Race | Series | Start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Oct 23 | Love's RV Stop 225 | NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series | |
| Saturday, Oct 24 | The Progress Group 250 | NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | Race 31 of the Chase |
| Sunday, Oct 25 | YellaWood 500 | NASCAR Cup Series |
By Race 31, seven of the Chase's nine races are done and only Martinsville and the Homestead-Miami finale remain, and Talladega is the last place anyone can protect a points position: the draft does not care about the standings. The track's own marketing for the weekend calls it the "Chaos of the Chase."
Tickets: Sunday, Saturday, Friday, and two-day packages are sold through the track's fall weekend page. Parking is free, with preferred and VIP upgrades available. The Talladega Garage Experience puts fans inside the garage area with up-close access to cars and drivers, and Sunday ticket holders and infield campers get the Saturday night infield concert, headlined in 2026 by Brantley Gilbert. Talladega's camping culture, from the infield outward, is one of the sport's institutions; fall camping and glamping options are on the track site.
Overview
Talladega Superspeedway is NASCAR at maximum scale. The 2.66-mile tri-oval is the longest closed course the sport runs, its 33-degree banking is steeper than Daytona's, and the racing it produces is the purest expression of the draft: three and four lanes wide, the whole field locked together at superspeedway speed, leaders shuffled from tenth to first and back inside a lap.
That is exactly why its late-October date matters so much to the O'Reilly Chase. A contender can run a perfect day and finish twentieth through no fault of his own; a longshot can steal a win. Every championship run through Talladega has to survive it first.
History
A Handshake in Daytona (mid-1960s)
Talladega emerged as the top choice among several Southeast sites for Bill France Sr.'s second giant speedway, with the selection criteria written like a business plan: available land, interstate access, and a population base of at least 20 million within 300 miles. Bill Ward, an Anniston insurance executive, racer, and fan, connected France with the site after a casual conversation in Daytona, and found the land in north Talladega County near an airport the U.S. government had sold to the city after World War II. In a restaurant in Anniston in 1966, France persuaded Mayor James Hardwick and city officials to consider the idea; a trip to the Firecracker 400 at Daytona to see the economic impact firsthand closed the deal.
Building the Giant (1968 to 1969)
With financing among the obstacles overcome, construction began on the 2,000-acre site on May 23, 1968. The first race, the 'Bama 400 Grand Touring event, ran September 13, 1969, won by Ken Rush in a Camaro. The next day, Richard Brickhouse won the first Grand National race, the Talladega 500, edging Jim Vandiver and Ramo Stott, and the race that became the traditional fall date was born.
The Modern Era
Talladega has remained the sport's superlative ever since: biggest, fastest, wildest. Long owned by International Speedway Corporation, the France family track company, it came under direct NASCAR ownership with the October 18, 2019 completion of NASCAR's $2 billion merger with ISC.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1966 | Bill France Sr. pitches Talladega officials in an Anniston restaurant |
| 1968 | Construction begins on the 2,000-acre site (May 23) |
| 1969 | First race, the 'Bama 400 (September 13); Richard Brickhouse wins the first Talladega 500 (September 14) |
| 2019 | NASCAR completes its merger with International Speedway Corporation (October 18) |
| 2026 | The O'Reilly Chase visits with The Progress Group 250 (October 24) |
The Racing
Talladega is the draft distilled. The banking and length let the entire field run flat out, so speed comes from the air: two cars linked are faster than one, a lane with momentum is faster than a lane without, and the run you get is only as good as the pusher behind you. Blocking is survival, timing is everything, and the last lap routinely rewrites the day.
For Chase drivers the math is brutal and simple: Talladega is the race you cannot control. Stage points banked early, track position late, and a little luck decide whether a title contender leaves Alabama alive in the standings. Track records by series are maintained by the track's media office and updated event by event.
Ownership and Management
Talladega Superspeedway was built by Bill France Sr., the founder of NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation, and has spent its whole life in the France family orbit: first under ISC, and since the October 18, 2019 merger, under NASCAR itself. It operates in NASCAR's track portfolio alongside Daytona, Darlington, Phoenix, and Homestead-Miami, and its website runs on the NASCAR Digital Media Network.
Visiting Talladega
The track is in Talladega County, Alabama, with the interstate access that helped win it the site in the 1960s. Parking is free; preferred and VIP options are sold through the track. Camping is the heart of the Talladega experience, with fall camping and glamping packages on the official site, and the infield hosts the Saturday night concert for Sunday ticket holders and campers. The Talladega Garage Experience is the premium add-on for garage access, and scanner rentals put the teams' radio traffic in fans' ears.
See Also
- Daytona International Speedway Track Guide covers the other giant, where the same drafting craft applies at 2.5 miles.
- O'Reilly Series standings for the live Chase picture.
- The Grand National Show, our weekly show, follows the stories behind the race through the Chase.
2026 O'Reilly Chase tracks
- Darlington Raceway · Race 25
- World Wide Technology Raceway · Race 26
- Bristol Motor Speedway · Race 27
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway · Race 28
- Charlotte Motor Speedway · Race 29
- Phoenix Raceway · Race 30
- Talladega Superspeedway · Race 31
- Martinsville Speedway · Race 32
- Homestead-Miami Speedway · Race 33
O'Reilly Series reference
Track facts compiled from primary sources: talladegasuperspeedway.com (Track Facts and history, captured in our source records August 24, 2026; fall weekend event page read August 26, 2026) and SEC filings on the 2019 NASCAR-International Speedway Corporation merger. Records by series are maintained by the track's media office. Page version 2, August 26, 2026.