RACING VENUES (TALLADEGA, ALA.) - Talladega Keeps Its Crown As The King of Speed and Competition

If history tends to repeat itself, then race fans looking to experience the thrill of NASCAR’s fastest racing should book their tickets now for Talladega Superspeedway’s 2008 race season. The results from 2007 are in and Talladega tops the charts in all three of NASCAR’s racing series; Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck.

“We asked NASCAR to pull through their stats and find the fastest race speeds from all three series,” explained Talladega Superspeedway President Rick Humphrey. “While we expected Talladega to top the charts, we didn’t expect the margins to be this wide. With the exception of Daytona, the speeds weren’t even close. Talladega just produces incredible speed.”

Below is a list of the top-five race speeds recorded at the tracks and the driver that recorded that speed during competition. Only the fastest driver counts for each race during point races.

Fastest Driver of Race for 2007 Sprint Cup

1. 4/29 Talladega (Jeff Burton) 195.704 mph
2. 10/7 Talladega (Jamie McMurray) 192.904 mph
3. 2/18 Daytona (David Gilliland) 185.229 mph
4. 7/7 Daytona (Kurt Busch) 183.214 mph
5. 2/25 California (Martin Truex Jr) 178.277 mph

Fastest Driver of Race for 2007 Nationwide

1. 4/28 Talladega (Kyle Busch) 191.622 mph
2. 2/17 Daytona (David Ragan) 185.744 mph
3. 7/7 Daytona (Kyle Busch) 183.762 mph
4. 3/17 Atlanta (Casey Mears) 178.780 mph
5. 11/3 Texas (Mike Bliss) 178.621 mph

Fastest Driver of Race for 2007 Craftsman Truck

1. 10/6 Talladega (Marc Mitchell) 193.832 mph
2. 2/16 Daytona (Jason White) 186.446 mph
3. 3/16 Atlanta (Rick Crawford) 177.512 mph
4. 11/2 Texas (Chad McCumbee) 174.699 mph
5. 6/8 Texas (Erik Darnell) 174.632 mph

But does all that speed come at the expense of competition? Not at all. For 2007, Talladega topped the charts in green flag passes for all three series.

“There’s never a shortage of on-track action at Talladega,” Humphrey continued. “Understandably our number for green flag passes dropped some this past fall as drivers took a cautious approach to the new car, but even with that, we still topped anything you could find at another track.”

Below are the top-five races in number of green flag passes for 2007:

Top 5 Races in Green Flag Passes for 2007 Sprint Cup

4/29 Talladega 16,808
10/7 Talladega 7,979
2/18 Daytona 7,786
7/7 Daytona 5,220
9/2 California 3,753

Top 5 Races in Green Flag Passes for 2007 Nationwide

4/28 Talladega 6,056

7/7 Daytona 2,882

2/17 Daytona 2,731

3/4 Autodromo 2,091

5/26 Lowe’s 1,983

Top 5 Races in Green Flag Passes for 2007 Craftsman Truck

10/6 Talladega 4,289
2/16 Daytona 2,661
11/16Homestead 1,428
4/28 Kansas 1,240
6/16 Michigan 1,065

Race fans can enjoy the speeds and the thrills of Talladega Superspeedway when it hosts its first races of the 2008 NASCAR season during the Aaron’s Dream Weekend, featuring the Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series and Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, set for April 25-27. Friday, April 25 will feature NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice and The Birmingham News Qualifying for the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Saturday, April 26 will feature The Birmingham News Qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Then on Sunday, April 27, the greatest drivers in the world will compete in the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Kids age 11 and younger are admitted free of charge to the general admission grandstands when accompanied by a ticketed adult on Friday and Saturday.

Tickets are available by calling 1-877-Go2-DEGA, (1-877-462-3342). For our hearing impaired guests, please call TDD 1-866-ISC-TRAK (1-866-472-8725). Tickets also are available online at www.racetickets.com, or in person by visiting the Talladega Superspeedway Ticket Office from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. CDT, Monday- Friday.