Comparing Talladega Superspeedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway

I have now had the opportunity to attend NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Super Speedway. There is no doubt that the two tracks are markedly different. In the next few paragraphs I want to take a brief look at a few of the differences.

Lets begin with intimacy. Is that word really being used in NASCAR blog? When we pulled into the speedway at Talladega I was amazed at how far away we had to park. I bet we parked close to two miles away from the track. Now don't get me wrong, the officials at Talladega should be complimented for the organization of their taxi services (tractors that pull trailors with comfortable seating). We parked and we walked probably 250 feet and got onto one of the trailors (sorry I do not have a better word for it) and we were at the speedway in a matter of minutes. Each time at Atlanta we have parked within a quarter of a mile to a half a mile away. It should also be noted that we arrived at each speedway approximately three hours before the race.

Talladega definitely felt more like the historical race track. We sat in the Lincoln section in turn four and that set of bleachers must have been brought over with Columbus (note: Talladega will be doing renovation on this section of their speedway starting anytime now). Atlanta on the other hand felt a little more modern. We sit in the Elliot grandstand in Atlanta between turns three and four and the bleachers we sit in at least look to be made within the last 20 years. I also think the corporate offices (huge structure that looks like a hotel in turn four) make Atlanta seem a little more modern.

I probably should not judge traffic considering I have been to three Atlanta races and only one Talladega race but Talladega traffic is awesome. This will be the first article you ever read where you will hear Talladega race traffic described as awesome and the word intimacy used in the same set of paragraphs regarding NASCAR. After the race was over at Talladega we got right on the shuttle service (tractor and trailer) and we were in our car and on the way home within 15 minutes. I mean literally we were in traffic for maybe 5 minutes and we stayed till the end of the race and those of you who know me know that I do not walk fast.

Finally, the racing at Talladega was not what I expected. Granted, this year they did line up and do that whole single file thing because of the new rules (no bump drafting in turns) so I should probably attend one more Talladega race before giving this opinion but lets proceed none the less. The racing was intense at Talladega, there is no doubt about that, but I felt out of the loop for a large part of the race. I already mentioned we sat in turn 4 (row 19) and it felt like I only got to watch 25% of the race. You could not see the cars at all between turns 2 and turn 3 and the track is so large that despite the fact that you could see the cars in turn 1 and turn 3 it felt like they were miles away (because they were). Also, because most of the drivers lined up single file in the high line we could not see the cars at all when they were right below us because they were riding so close to the wall. When I am at Atlanta I can see the whole track from where we sit. I feel like I get to watch an entire race. With that being said, the cars do get really spread out at Atlanta and the racing becomes mediocre. The quality of racing is definitely not as good at Atlanta as it is Talladega. You will never see cars bumper to bumper at Atlanta in the same way as they are at Talladega. The only problem is at Talladega it almost seems like you only get to see that great racing for 1/4 of the time. I love both tracks and I would encourage everybody to attend a race at each. Just determine whether you like watching an entire race or watching 1/4 of a really good race.