Talladega Superspeedway will host its first Craftsman Truck Series race next fall. Credit: Autostock

Talladega to host Truck race in 2006

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will hold its first race at Talladega Superspeedway in 2006, creating a three-event weekend and taking on college football.

The race will be held Saturday, Oct. 7, on the eve of the Nextel Cup UAW-Ford 500 at the 2.66-mile superspeedway, track and NASCAR officials said Tuesday. The ARCA series race, normally run Saturday, will be held a day earlier.

Talladega Superspeedway •   Track Page •   Cup race/pole winners •   Race tickets

Like the ARCA race, the truck race will go head-to-head with college football games in a state that relishes both sports.

"We've been racing since 1997 in the fall, and we feel like the truck series will be a good event on that day," said Rick Humphrey, vice president and general manager of the superspeedway. "We just have to do what we can. We hope that fans here on this property and fans around the state will see a value in the truck series and come out and join us."

The truck races have been running at Daytona Superspeedway as well as other tracks.

"This is just another step for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series," said Wayne Auton, director of the series. "The venues keep getting bigger and better. I think this is the biggest venue out there."

The truck series began competition in 1995, with annual attendance figures rising from 400,000 to 1.1 million since then. It started running at Daytona in 2000 and has been a training ground for such drivers as Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.

Series driver Ricky Craven said bringing the race to Talladega "is a natural."

"It's going to be supported and it's going to be a big event," Craven said. "I expect we'll see the same finishes that we've seen here in the past."