
Bedford, MA (April 12, 2010) – With apologies to the poet T.S. Eliot, if you are a stock-car racing fan, “April is the coolest month” – both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series visit Talladega Superspeedway, the fastest closed-circuit race track in the world. And this month, iRacing.com’s 2010 World Tour presents the iRacing community with its only double-header, races on April 23 & 24 honoring both of NASCAR’s top divisions. So every member of the iRacing community will have the chance to see for themselves the differences between the Sprint Cup and Nationwide cars with these full-length back-to-back races on the legendary Alabama high-banked oval.
“Based on the response we had to our Daytona 500 event in February, we expect a huge turnout of iRacers for Talladega,” said Kevin Bobbitt, iRacing.com’s director of marketing. “Many of NASCAR’s top drivers will be doing 811 miles of racing on the last weekend of April, and this is the chance for our members see what that’s like and to make back-to-back comparisons on how these two very different racecars perform on NASCAR’s fastest and often most exciting track.”
Bobbitt noted that the event is open to all iRacing.com members, regardless of license level, from the newest rookie to the most grizzled veteran. (iRacing.com is currently running a special promotion. New members can purchase a 3-month membership, which includes Talladega Superspeedway, for $25.00, which is 50% off the regular price. See www.iracing.com for complete details.)
Because the number of entries will be so large – as many as 2,000 of the service’s 20,000+ members are expected to compete – the field is broken down according to skill and experience level into an appropriate number of iterations of 34 cars each, with each iteration of the online race running on its own server.
“Someone can join iRacing.com the day before and still compete,” Bobbitt said. “They’ll be racing with other rookies, while our more experienced members will be racing with others of their skill level. Everyone has a chance to win his or her race, and to experience the thrill of 185 mile-per-hour pack racing on the fastest track in the world.”
The ‘Dega Double runs on Friday, April 23 (iRacing.com Talladega 312 for the iRacing Class B Impala SS in NASCAR Nationwide Series) and Saturday, April 24 (iRacing.com Talladega 499 for iRacing’s Class A Chevrolet Impala SS in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series configuration.)
Open practice sessions will for both races begin April 17th at (00:00 GMT). Qualifying for the iRacing.com Talladega 312 begins at 00:00 GMT, April 17th and runs at 45 minutes past the hour, every hour until race start on April 23rd. The race will begin at 7pm ET on Friday, April 23rd, (23:00 pm GMT). Qualifying for the iRacing.com Talladega 499 commences at 00:00 GMT, April 17th, beginning at 45 minutes past the hour, every hour until race starts at 11 am ET (15:00 GMT) on Saturday, April 24th.
At 2.66 miles in length and with 33-degree banking, Talladega Superspeedway is not just the fastest track in NASCAR – the all-time official Sprint Cup qualifying record stands at 212.809 mph, by Bill Elliott in 1987, before NASCAR technical regulations reduced horsepower and speed at Talladega and Daytona International Speedway but undoubtedly the fastest closed-circuit race track on the face of the globe.
Talladega holds the record for most leaders in a 500-mile race (26) and most lead changes as well (75 at the start/finish line), but on the last lap don’t ever bet against a driver named Earnhardt. Dale Sr. racked up an amazing ten Sprint Cup race wins, and Dale Jr. already has five on his resume, including a remarkable four-in-a-row streak in 2002-3.










