Talladega Superspeedway: Ahead of weekend races, new tunnel for fans is open and ready for business

TALLADEGA — Talladega Superspeedway is like family for Jeffrey Earnhardt, so it’s only natural that an Earnhardt was on hand to tout the track’s progress Wednesday.

Earnhardt and fellow NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe joined retiring track chairman Grant Lynch and Oxford-based Taylor Corporation president K. Lance Taylor in a ribbon cutting for the track’s new Turn 3 tunnel.

The tunnel is part of a $50 million infield transformation project expected to reach completion ahead of the fall race. Earnhardt, grandson to the late Dale Earnhardt and nephew to Dale Jr., gladly took part in the moment for the track once known as “Daleadega.”

“If you look at the history that the Earnhardt family has here, I feel like my grandpa was probably the best at racing here,” Jeffrey said. “He was incredible when it came to Talladega.

“To see the family history that the Earnhardt name has here and to get the opportunity to come and have such a great relationship with Grant … means a lot to me.”

Dale Sr. and Dale Jr. won a combined 16 NASCAR Cup Series races at Talladega, including a track-record 10 for the elder Earnhardt, who died in a 2001 crash at Daytona. Dale Jr. retired from racing in 2017.

Both were fan favorites at Talladega, which made a natural for the family to be represented at a ceremony marking progress. The ceremony featured Lynch cutting the ribbon, followed by his waving a checkered flag to start a parade of rigs, RVs and other vehicles passing through it.

“I guess it’s ironic that the biggest infield in motorsports is the last one to get a full-sized tunnel,” Lynch said. “We’ve got it, and it’s here now. You saw the fans, how much they were enjoying coming through it, and it’s going to be there forever.”

The two-lane tunnel will allow teams and fans to enter and exit the infield area without having to go over the track.

“For the race teams and, more importantly, our infield guests, they’re no longer kind of just captured in here and can’t out,” Lynch said. “You couldn’t come in here with a big RV unless you came across the top of the race track, and those days are over now, with that massive tunnel we built.”

Earnhardt called the new convenience “incredible.”

“In the situation where I might be running in with the Xfinity race, it’s like, you have to wake up at the crack of dawn to get out before they close the gate on Sunday for the Cup race,” he said. “For the fans, it’s going to be incredible. You might have had trouble getting here, and you’re getting here late, and you can just drive right in.”

The tunnel is 208 feet long, including headwalls and 28 feet wide, enough for two haulers to pass through at once. He has a clearance of 16 feet, 8 inches.

It took 35 tractor trailer loads to deliver the precast concrete arch sections, with 100 tons of rebar used in the tunnel slab and foundation walls. The tunnel and retaining walls required enough sheet waterproofing to cover a football field from end zone to end zone.

“Hat’s off to Taylor and everything they did,” Lynch said. “They knew what they were getting into when they started cutting the track open, because they had some borings of how much water was down below, and they put in a heck of a pump system.

“During the process of building the tunnel and completing the tunnel, the moved more than 34 million gallons of water out of that hole. Basically, that whole system will be pretty much pumping forever.”

Talladega’s redevelopment will include a new garage experience, with up-close access and interactive attractions.

“It’s crazy,” Briscoe said. “To me, Talladega is already the best fan experience. When you come here, you can hang out, and it’s just a good time. Now, for all of the improvements we’re seeing, it’s just going to make it even better.

“I’m looking forward to coming back in the fall and seeing the complete renovation.”

John David Mercer