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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: New Fences Not New At Talladega
There's more fence at Talladega for the running of the Amp Energy 500...
Jonathan Ingram  | http://www.RacinToday.com  |  Posted October 31, 2009   Talladega, AL
The remains of the fence after Carl Edwards tore it down at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

When eight additional feet of fencing greeted fans at the Talladega Superspeedway on Halloween weekend, it was a reminder of one of the truly scariest moments in the track’s long history of danger.

The fence in front of the main grandstand was extended to 22 feet high after an accident sent the Ford of Carl Edwards into the fence in April’s Sprint Cup race and a fan suffered a broken jaw from debris.

The cause of the biggest change in the fencing system previously? Two multi-car accidents during the race in 1993, including one where Neil Bonnett’s Chevy tore down the fence not far from the location of Edwards’ crash. In the same race, Jimmy Horton’s Chevy vaulted out of the track at Turn 1, an extraordinary incident even by Talladega standards.

The accidents led to heavier cable reinforcements installed behind the fences and then an extension of the fence around the entire track, not just in front of the spectator areas.

Nothing was more sad or weird than the month of July at Talladega in 1993, starting with the fatal helicopter accident that killed Alabama Gang member Davey Allison.

Thirteen days prior to the race, Bonnett had been one of the first to reach the wreckage of Davey Allison’s helicopter in the Talladega infield. Flying in for a test session, Allison’s helicopter had hovered within scant feet of touching down when something went horribly wrong and the subsequent crash took his life after emergency brain surgery failed. Also injured in that accident was passenger Red Farmer, a founding member of the Alabama Gang along with Allison’s father Bobby and uncle Donnie Allison.

When race day arrived a short time later, the weather was hot and humid even by Alabama standards. At that time, the track’s promoters would rather fight the heat than college football weekends. Despite the sweltering conditions, the crowd was the largest ever for a summertime event, because the race turned into a public wake for the Alabama Gang’s fallen hero.

Those suffering from grief heard a courageous speech by Davey’s wife, Liz, and saw Donnie Allison take a slow, ceremonial last lap aboard Davey’s No. 28 Texaco Havoline Ford.

“I thought it wasn’t going to be that hard,” recalled Donnie prior to this year’s Amp Energy 500. “But the moment I got into Turn One I started to have these feelings come up. When I got to the backstraight and exited Turn Three and saw all those people standing up in the grandstand it was more than I could handle.


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Jonathan Ingram

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