LOG29 visits the Talladega Superspeedway & the International Motorsports Hall of Fame

[MickOpalak]

LOG 29 visits the Talladega Superspeedway and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame

The LOG 29 committee encourages attendees to plan ahead and be in Birmingham on Friday, May 29th for a visit to the Talladega Superspeedway and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum. The facility is only forty minutes from Birmingham and promises to be an exciting excursion.

The Talladega track was the vision of NASCAR founder William H.G. “Bill” France. The 2.66-mile tri-oval was built during the late 1960’s and hosted its first 500-mile race in 1969. The circuit attracted significant attention due to the 33º banking and 200+ miles per hour speeds that were seen at the initial event. The Talladega Superspeedway was the site of the history making speed run by Mark Donahue in the summer of 1975 in his Porsche 917/30. The track has hosted Winston Cup, Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series IMSA and ARCA races through the years. The speedway currently is the site of the Aaron’s 499 and AMP Energy Drink 500 Sprint Cup Series races and Craftsman Truck Series Races.

The International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum is also located at the Talladega facility. The Hall of Fame includes drivers, pilots, designers, engineers and builders that have established new limits and shaped the world of motorsports. The lives and achievements of these individuals are celebrated in the hall with career summaries and beautiful imagery. The Team Lotus historians will enjoy seeing driving greats like Clark, Andretti, Fittipaldi, Senna and Hill enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The great designer, engineer and Lotus founder Colin Chapman is also a member of this elite group of inductees. In addition to the honored competitors of motorsports the museum contains an interesting and diverse collection of cars and artifacts that have made history in racing. Race winning cars of the Allison’s, Richard Petty, Bobby Issac and Dale Earnhardt are on display. The museum is also the home of the McCaig-Wellborn Research Library, which contains thousands of volumes of material that also preserve the history of motor racing.

The track event at Talladega will be an exciting component of LOG 29 weekend. When registering for LOG, consider signing up and experiencing the high banks of the Superspeedway. Sign-in for the track activity will begin at 10:30 at Talladega. Some individuals may want to drive to the track, from the Wynfrey Hotel, via I-20. This route will take about 40 minutes. A scenic drive on highway 25 will also be available for participants. These individuals should plan to depart the hotel at around 8:00a.m. This group will stage at 7:45a.m. The registrants will go out in groups of 10 to 15 cars and be paced at about 75mph to allow the driver to experience the banking and get a feel for what the historic tri-oval is all about.

Following the track sessions the Lotus cars and owners will gather for a group photograph on the circuit. This will provide a “fun” memento of the experience. Lunch will follow with the group dining at the facility. Following the food, individuals may take the short drive across to the museum for self-directed touring. The event should wrap-up around 3:30p.m. to allow participants to get back to the Wynfrey for a tech session and the reception.