Talladega Superspeedway’s “Big One on the Blvd” – the one-of-a-kind Mardi Gras-style party at NASCAR’s Party Capital – was back Friday night with some of NASCAR’s ultimate stars taking part in all the action.
At Talladega anything can happen, which proved true when Jeff Gordon, Danica Patrick, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, Greg Biffle, Denny Hamlin, Brendan Gaughan, Michael Waltrip and Kenny Wallace all came out to participate in NASCAR’s biggest party – “The Big One on the Blvd” – located in the track’s infamous infield.
Fans experienced a taste of Talladega’s wild side with a flurry of new fan activities, which the drivers oversaw and even participated in themselves. The massive crowd didn’t dare look away during the new original fan games that included, “Angry Wieners” – competitive eating plus athletic prowess featuring hot dogs, baked beans, and memories – and “Body Pong” – an individual game of skill, luck, and taste in fashion featuring balloons filled with liquids.
The rowdy audience, as well as the drivers, also played a key role in determining who went home with some unusual trophies and a lifetime of bragging rights. The main event of the ever so popular BBQ Sauce Wrestling returned this year, but we’ll leave the details to your imagination.
“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. 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. It’s Talladega baby!”
Drivers stood atop the lead float, throwing out swag items and welcoming fans to the party that trumps all others. The parade passed through the most colorfully decorated campsites in all of NASCAR and wound 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,” said Stenhouse, Jr., a regular visitor to Talladega Blvd. during the weekend, says. “It is just awesome.”
Saturday’s slate includes qualifying for the GEICO 500 and Winn-Dixie 300, followed by the start of the Winn-Dixie 300 at 2 p.m. (CST). The day concludes in the evening with the Talladega Superspeedway traditional Infield Concert featuring country music maverick Chase Rice, along with Buddy Brown and Dee Jay Silver. The concert is free with the purchase of a Sunday GEICO 500 (12 noon CST start) admission ticket. For ticket information, call 1-877-Go2-DEGA or visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com.
All seating along the frontstretch grandstands and towers are equipped with roomy and comfortable 21- and 22-inch wide chair back seats. Large High Definition Sprint Vision video boards that were implemented in 2014 will be back – three are permanent – and placed along the frontstretch to provide views of the whole track to every seat in the house. The video boards, three of which that are now permanent, are an initiative that is planned to be implemented at all International Speedway Corporation (ISC) tracks in the coming years.
TSS PR
