I don't guess they would. 'Dega is a ISC track. You are only allowed one small cooler, then you have to buy from them. Everybody knows when most people start drinking 6 is never enough. Just enough to loosen their mouth and wallet.
SCENEDAILY - 2:18PM ET WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2007 - BY KENNY BRUCE - ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Talladega Superspeedway President Grant Lynch said the track will not ban coolers or alcohol in the aftermath of last weekend's can-tossing incident following Jeff Gordon's 77th career victory.
As Gordon and the field rolled toward the caution and checkered flags at the end of the April 29 race, a number of fans littered the track with beverage containers, many tossed at Gordon's winning Chevrolet.
It was at least the second time at Talladega that fans had shown their displeasure after a Gordon victory - in 2004, much more debris rained down on the track when Gordon was awarded a victory over Dale Earnhardt Jr. after a late caution ended the race under the yellow flag.
Lynch said 14 people were arrested after Sunday's race, 12 for throwing objects on the track. Four of those arrested were from Alabama, four were from Georgia, one was from North Carolina and one listed a Florida address, according to Lynch.
The 14 have been banned from the speedway.
"We're going to be sending notification to all the race tracks of the individuals in question and asking that they also consider banning them from the ability to purchase tickets at their facilities as well," Lynch said. "I anticipate getting great cooperation from our sister [International Speedway Corp.] tracks, and I hope that the non-ISC tracks will consider that this is a serious, serious offense, and these people shouldn't be in our sport, period."
While Lynch does admit that crowds that attend races at Talladega may be "a little more rambunctious," than some other tracks, "that doesn't mean if the same situation occurred somewhere else, you wouldn't see something similar happen."
Race-day crowds at Talladega typically exceed 150,000, and many fans spend the days leading up to the NASCAR Nextel Cup race camping near the track. While the party atmosphere isn't limited to Talladega, it is more pronounced at the series' biggest track.
"I think that's part of what makes Talladega Talladega," Lynch said. "The fact that we have acres and acres of free overnight parks where folks can come and enjoy the race and still afford to go to a race.
"I'm proud of the fact that we're one of the places where a fan can go and camp for free, buy a good-priced ticket ... and still enjoy our sport. But we can't have this kind of activity happening forever because it's too big a blemish on our sport."
Lynch also said that about 75 percent of the tickets to Talladega Superspeedway races are sold to fans from outside the sate. "And it's been that way since about 1993," he said.
NASCAR officials backed the track's efforts to curtail the behavior, which included additional enforcement and announcements before the race that anyone caught throwing items would be arrested.
"It's very unfortunate a few unruly fans can ruin things for a lot of people," Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president for corporate communication, said in a release provided by the speedway. "The track put a lot of effort into preventing this type of behavior. Our fans are passionate, but this type of behavior doesn't represent a majority of our fans."
SCENEDAILY - 2:18PM ET WEDNESDAY MAY 2, 2007 - BY KENNY BRUCE - ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
Talladega Superspeedway President Grant Lynch said the track will not ban coolers or alcohol in the aftermath of last weekend's can-tossing incident following Jeff Gordon's 77th career victory.
As Gordon and the field rolled toward the caution and checkered flags at the end of the April 29 race, a number of fans littered the track with beverage containers, many tossed at Gordon's winning Chevrolet.
It was at least the second time at Talladega that fans had shown their displeasure after a Gordon victory - in 2004, much more debris rained down on the track when Gordon was awarded a victory over Dale Earnhardt Jr. after a late caution ended the race under the yellow flag.
Lynch said 14 people were arrested after Sunday's race, 12 for throwing objects on the track. Four of those arrested were from Alabama, four were from Georgia, one was from North Carolina and one listed a Florida address, according to Lynch.
The 14 have been banned from the speedway.
"We're going to be sending notification to all the race tracks of the individuals in question and asking that they also consider banning them from the ability to purchase tickets at their facilities as well," Lynch said. "I anticipate getting great cooperation from our sister [International Speedway Corp.] tracks, and I hope that the non-ISC tracks will consider that this is a serious, serious offense, and these people shouldn't be in our sport, period."
While Lynch does admit that crowds that attend races at Talladega may be "a little more rambunctious," than some other tracks, "that doesn't mean if the same situation occurred somewhere else, you wouldn't see something similar happen."
Race-day crowds at Talladega typically exceed 150,000, and many fans spend the days leading up to the NASCAR Nextel Cup race camping near the track. While the party atmosphere isn't limited to Talladega, it is more pronounced at the series' biggest track.
"I think that's part of what makes Talladega Talladega," Lynch said. "The fact that we have acres and acres of free overnight parks where folks can come and enjoy the race and still afford to go to a race.
"I'm proud of the fact that we're one of the places where a fan can go and camp for free, buy a good-priced ticket ... and still enjoy our sport. But we can't have this kind of activity happening forever because it's too big a blemish on our sport."
Lynch also said that about 75 percent of the tickets to Talladega Superspeedway races are sold to fans from outside the sate. "And it's been that way since about 1993," he said.
NASCAR officials backed the track's efforts to curtail the behavior, which included additional enforcement and announcements before the race that anyone caught throwing items would be arrested.
"It's very unfortunate a few unruly fans can ruin things for a lot of people," Jim Hunter, NASCAR vice president for corporate communication, said in a release provided by the speedway. "The track put a lot of effort into preventing this type of behavior. Our fans are passionate, but this type of behavior doesn't represent a majority of our fans."
