What’s Happening at Talladega Superspeedway and in the motorsports Industry with Gwen DeRu!
HONDA INDY GRAND PRIX OF ALABAMA….this weekend…
This weekend is the INDYCAR Series in Birmingham at the Barber’s Motorsports Park. Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, the Verizon IndyCar Series driver who has won the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park the past two years will be back.
This is the sixth running of the event scheduled this weekend:
Saturday, April 25 9-10 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice 12:40-1:25 p.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series practice 3:55 p.m. – Three rounds of Verizon IndyCar Series knockout qualifications (live-streamed on racecontrol.indycar.com; taped coverage, 2 a.m. (ET) Sunday, April 26, NBCSN) Sunday, April 26 10-10:30 a.m. – Verizon IndyCar Series warm-up 2 p.m. – NBCSN on air 2:37 p.m. – Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama green flag (NBCSN, Live).
Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay are the only drivers to have won at Barber Motorsports Park. Castroneves won the inaugural race in 2010, Power won the race in 2011 and 2012 and Hunter-Reay won in 2013 and 2014.
Castroneves, Hunter-Reay and Power are the only drivers to have won the pole position at Barber Motorsports Park.
At least six drivers will compete in their first Verizon IndyCar Series race at Barber Motorsports Park: Gabby Chaves, Stefano Coletti, Francesco Dracone, Luca Filippi, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Sage Karam.
Team Penske has three wins at Barber Motorsports Park. Andretti Autosport is the only other team to win at the track, winning in 2013 and 2014 with Ryan Hunter-Reay. See you are the races!!
RACING AT ITS FINEST IS BACK …AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
NEXT WEEKEND…..The anticipation for Talladega Superspeedway’s “Big One on the Blvd” – the one-of-a-kind party at NASCAR’s Party Capital – is at an all-time high! And, it’s not only for the fans, but also NASCAR drivers alike.
Six drivers are already scheduled to participate in “The Big One on the Blvd,” which showcases a Mardi Gras-style parade on Talladega Boulevard – Party Central – in the track’s infamous infield. The drivers planning to be back for Friday, May 1, “The Big One on the Blvd,” which debuted a year ago, includes Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ty Dillon, Brendon Gaughan and Ryan Blaney. Other NASCAR stars are expected to be a part of the event as well and will be named in the near future.
“One of the good things about Talladega is Talladega Boulevard,” said Bowyer, who will race the No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3. “It’s always a good time but last year we went to the track and talked to them about bringing back some of that fun that comes with going down the Blvd. That’s how this Mardi Gras parade got started. It just adds a little bit more to the experience for the fans. The track has done a good job of making this bigger and better since we started it so I know it’ll be even better this time around. It’s not very often you get to see some of the drivers outside the garage or the race track, so this is a cool opportunity for us to kind of kick back and interact with some of the fans. There’s no way you won’t have a great time. Make sure to check it out. It’s Talladega baby!”
This time around fans can expect even bigger and better from the wild side of Talladega with a new flurry of fan activities that the drivers will oversee during the “Big One on the Blvd.” New competitions include “Angry Wieners” and “Body Pong” which are sure to get the fans wound up. The huge crowd, as well as the drivers, will play a key role in determining the fan that walks away with a lifetime of bragging rights. The main event will be the return of the ever so popular BBQ Sauce Wrestling.
The “Big One on the Blvd.” is part of a huge weekend featuring the Winn-Dixie 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race on Saturday, May 2, as well as the GEICO 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on Sunday, May 3. The parade gets rolling at 7:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday evening at the north end of Talladega Blvd. Drivers can be found atop the lead float throwing out swag and welcoming fans to the party that trumps all others. The parade will pass through the most colorfully decorated campsites in all of NASCAR and wind up at the south end of the Blvd. at the main staging area for the fan competitions.
“Talladega definitely knows how to throw a party for their fans,” Stenhouse, Jr., a regular visitor to Talladega Blvd. during the weekend, says. “It is just awesome.”
In addition to the “Big One,” Friday will consist of a full slate of on-track activity which includes practice sessions for the Winn-Dixie 300 and GEICO 500 plus practice, qualifying and the drop of the green flag for the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards race – the International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200. Start time for the traditional Talladega Superspeedway race is set for 5 p.m. (CST).
Saturday will see both NASCAR XFINITY and Sprint Cup Series qualifying, followed by the Winn-Dixie 300 at 2 p.m. (CST). Later in the evening, the track’s popular Saturday Night Infield Concert featuring Chase Rice, will take place at 7 p.m. (Free admission with purchase of a Sunday GEICO 500 ticket). Sunday’s GEICO 500 gets underway at 12 p.m. (CST).
The track has many ticket options for fans of all ages, as well as hundreds of acres of FREE Camping. To find out more, call the Talladega ticket office at 1-877-Go-2-DEGA or visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
THIS IS MORE THAN A RACE!! THIS IS TALLADEGA!!
