Any race fan will tell you – Talladega is known for its white-knuckle, bumper grinding, bump-drafting, giant pileup, last-lap-pass racing.
This week’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega was no exception.
Nascar drivers generally don’t like restrictor plate racing because the plate limits the amount of horsepower these cars have, thus making it near impossible to pull away. The cars drive around in a huge pack, wide open, using the “draft” to find the speed needed to get around the other cars. This means that any mistake by a driver who is drafting in the big pack of cars, creates a chain-reaction – collecting all the cars around them. Wrecks like this can gather up half the field and are referred to as the “big one”.
The fans love restrictor plate races for precisely the same reason drivers don’t. We love watching the cars race around at over 200mph, like three inches apart. They bump each other, race four wide at times, and put on an “edge of your seat” show for us sitting at home.