Tanks for the Memories: Talladega Days
- Lindsay Britts
- Dec 14, 2017
- 3 min read
Getting inspired to do a little cruisin’ of your own? Ready to hit the road for a weekend ride to a place you’ve never been before? We can show you the best trips in your neck of the woods and you won’t even have to stop to fuel up. Each week, we pick a starting city and plan a getaway to some of the most charming, energetic, and just plain fun places that you’ll only need one tank of gas to reach. When it’s all over, you’ll be able to say… TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
Starting City: Atlanta, GA
Destination: Talladega, AL
Distance: about 110 miles
Alabama has been in the news recently for races, but not the kind we want to focus on. The heart-pounding, ever-changing drives to the finish we follow in the Heart of Dixie are at the Talladega Superspeedway. This week we’re going to show you a few more places you can go while you’re in between races, and if you’re coming in from Atlanta, it’ll only take a tank of gas for you to get from the ATL to the RPMs in Talladega, Alabama.
Talladega was incorporated in 1835. Formerly Muskogee territory, battles were fought with the local Native Americans for their land until Andrew Jackson’s troops were declared the winners. They took the name from the locals, too: it was originally a Creek word meaning “town border”. It was devastated by the Civil War but was brought back to life by textile mills, iron foundries, and the building of plants for wartime goods during World War Two. Talladega Superspeedway was built in the late 1960s and has also brought commerce to the area.
To explore another section of area history, you only need to cast your eyes downward, even lower than the racetrack from the grandstands. DeSoto Caverns was discovered by the Native population over 2000 years ago, where they would come to the caves for their noted healing qualities. The cave was actually the first cave on record in the United States in the 1770s, and has been owned by the same family for 1000 years. Today the park contains tours of these places, as well as over twenty side attractions. In the winter there are two weekends of “Christmas at the Cave”, with carols, Santa, holiday movies and much more.
Of course if you’re in town for NASCAR, you’ll want to stop by the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Opened in 1983, it is just north of the Superspeedway so you can visit both venues in one day. The Hall of Fame houses a large collection of racing memorabilia as well as Hall of Fame member profiles since it started inducting members in 1990. You can learn the history of racing giants from Junior Johnson and Lee Petty all the way to more recent additions like Rusty Wallace and Dale Inman. You can even take a guided tour of the track when it’s not in use.
Once you race to Talladega, you’ll want to make pit stops at many of its other fine places!
STRETCH YOUR LEGS: If you want to relax your ears before or after hearing the roars of hundreds of engines, stop by Mill Town Music Hall in Bremen, Georgia. The venue opened six years ago and it's been busy ever since. You can get discounts from local hotels and restaurants if you show a ticket to a musical event at the hall. The music skews towards older musicians but you’ll find everyone from Chubby Checker to the Oak Ridge Boys to Tanya Tucker playing next year.
LEARN MORE:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talladega,_Alabama
http://www.talladega.com
http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1845
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