Another Talladega surprise in store this weekend? - MotorSportsTalk

Anything can happen at Talladega Superspeedway, where last year’s Sprint Cup races brought about two surprise winners.

And with this year’s overhaul of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, a dark horse springing an upset doesn’t just mean pulling one over on the big boys.

It could very well mean being able to fight for a championship.

Last spring at ‘Dega, David Ragan and David Gilliland pulled off a 1-2 finish for the small Front Row Motorsports team, while Jamie McMurray earned his first Sprint Cup win in three years when he took the checkers there last fall.

But that’s not the only time Talladega’s free-for-all nature has yielded a shock result.

Take the 2009 spring race, where a young Brad Keselowski led only one lap – the final lap – in earning his inaugural Cup win for the Phoenix Racing team.

Keselowski was a ways off from the leaders before he hooked up with Carl Edwards in the draft. At the white flag, the two had taken the lead but as they headed for the checkered flag in the tri-oval, Keselowski went inside and turned Edwards, who was hit by another competitor and sent skyward into the catch fence.

An equally memorable ‘Dega finish came in the fall of 2006 as Brian Vickers was chasing then-Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final lap.

But down the backstretch, Vickers moved with Johnson to the inside and tapped him, which sent Johnson spinning into Earnhardt.

When the ensuing caution froze the field, Vickers was found to be leading the way and was awarded his own first win in the Cup Series – much to the annoyance of the heavy Earnhardt fan base in the grandstands.

Will we see another unexpected result this weekend? It’d only be fitting at Talladega, which has taught us time and again to expect the unexpected.

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

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