NASCAR’s Talladega Was Almost Unrecognizable 50 Years Ago
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Talladega Superspeedway is justifiably famous for blistering speeds, tight racing, close finishes, and calamity of various sorts.
Since timed scoring began, five of the 10 closest finishes in NASCAR Cup history have been recorded at Talladega. The closest (the second after a Kansas Speedway finish) is Jimmie Johnson’s .002 of a second win over Clint Bowyer in 2011. The fastest average race speed—188.354 mph—was recorded at Talladega in 1997.
More last-lap drama is expected Sunday as Talladega hosts the eighth race in the Chase with seven drivers in tight formation in pursuit of the Cup championship.
Although Talladega races usually present the anticipation of crazy competition and edge-of-the-seat finishes, it hasn’t always been so.
A prime example occurred 50 years ago, in the August Talladega 500. The victory went to veteran driver Dave Marcis, who won by a whopping 29 seconds over second-place Buddy Baker. In another oddity that would be virtually unthinkable in modern-day racing at Talladega, Marcis and Baker were the only drivers on the lead lap.
It was a weird day all around. The top 10 at day’s end featured names not normally seen in such territory: Tighe Scott, J.D. McDuffie, Skip Manning, Jimmie Lee Capps. Many of that season’s top guns didn’t finish the race for a variety of reasons, many engine-related. Only 21 of the 40 starters were around to take the checkered flag. Among those making early turns into the garage were Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, and David Pearson. Engines were more fragile in those days.
Marcis, who won five times across a long Cup career, led the race’s final 15 laps. Baker had been at or near the front all day but was forced into the pits for fuel with three laps to go. Marcis had pitted four laps later than Baker during the previous pit-stop round, giving him enough fuel to outlast Baker and breeze to the win.
Baker, a NASCAR Hall of Famer who was a wizard on the tour’s fastest tracks, had won the three previous Talladega races. Sometimes the target of criticism because of on-track miscues, Baker lost this race because of pit decisions. He was upset with his Bud Moore Engineering crew and didn’t mince words after the race.
“My crew miscalculated,” Baker said. “I take the rap when I’m at fault. When it’s the crew’s fault, I’ll give it back to them.”
Marcis credited the win to crew chief Harry Hyde, whose fuel and pit strategy had put Marcis in position to stay on track longer near the finish.
Marcis and Hyde would win three times that season in the No. 71 Nord Krauskopf Dodges.
Mike Hembree has covered auto racing for numerous media outlets, including USA Today, NASCAR Scene, NBC Sports, The Greenville News and the SPEED Channel. He has been roaming garage areas and pit roads for decades (although the persistent rumor that he covered the first Indianapolis 500 is not true). Winner of numerous motorsports and other media awards, he also has covered virtually every other major sport. He lives near Gaffney, South Carolina and can be convinced to attend Bruce Springsteen concerts if you have tickets.
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