Talladega Super Speedway 35th Anniversary
Sunday, September 12, 2004, Robert Hinds and his son Robert,
Jr. took the 1959 Plymouth Sport Fury to Talladega Super speedway, located
in Talladega, Alabama, for a car display to help the speedway celebrate its
35th anniversary.
Bob says, "As an incentive to the antique car owners,
and after signing a release, we got to drive around the high-banked super
speedway in our antique cars. Upon arrival we were placed in small batches
of about 10 vehicles per pace vehicle. In our batch, we were the first vehicle
behind the pace truck. Travelling through a tunnel brought us into the infield
and soon we were on pit road. The pace truck picked up speed and then we entered
the track onto the high bank. (In order for a vehicle to stay on the bank
one must go a minimum of 80 miles per hour.) The pace truck quickly got up
to 80 and the Sport Fury easily matched his speed. The bank is so steep that
although the car had no trouble negotiating the bank, one’s body is
pulled to the left by gravity. It was a strange sensation as your senses say
you are going to slide down the bank! One of the NASCAR drivers displaying
his car said that the car needs to go at least 110 miles per hour to overcome
the effect of gravity in order to feel comfortable. Some of the old cars near
the rear of their pack were able to get up more speed. A gentleman in his
1957 Plymouth Fury easily took some turns at over 110 miles per hour and has
a photo of the speedometer to prove it. Since we were immediately behind the
pace vehicle, we could only match its speed.
Remember that this is the super speedway where a Dodge Daytona set a record
of over 215 miles per hour in 1969. Today they use restrictor plates to prevent
such high speeds. It was an experience even at 80 as you can see from the
photograph."
