Talladega Superspeedway is a huge, 2.66-mile track that's
noted for its alleged jinxes and curses. Some believe it might even
be haunted.Take the tale of Bobby Isaac, who won 37 NASCAR Winston Cup races and the 1970 points championship. He was leading a race at Talladega in 1973 when he pulled into the pits because he said he heard voices.
The story even made its way to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
"When I was racing late models in the mid-1990s, I heard that story that Bobby Isaac heard voices and came in while he was leading the field and parked it with 10 to go or whatever," Junior said. "If Bobby Isaac comes in with the lead with 10 to go and tells you he heard voices, you had better believe it."
Earnhardt shared another story.
"I've heard that the airport previous to the track was built on an ancient Indian burial ground, which I don't know if that is true or not, but that would be quite a twist," Earnhardt said of Talladega, which was built in 1969 next to a couple of abandoned airport runways. "I don't know why (Talladega officials) haven't used that in their advertisements."
The late Dale Earnhardt recorded the most victories at Talladega (10), but his son leads all active drivers with five wins at the track.
"Maybe the spirits like me, I don't know," joked Junior.