Talladega track bans 14 fans for life

UPDATE If Talladega Superspeedway president Grant Lynch has his way, the 14 fans he banned from ever again having the opportunity to purchase a race ticket at his speedway won't ever have the opportunity to buy a NASCAR race ticket again. To any race. At any track.

"I'm going to be notifying all my fellow track presidents across NASCAR of the people we've banned to see if they'll also [participate in the ban]," Lynch said. "They'll make their own decisions, but I expect great participation from the [International Speedway Corp.] tracks."

Lynch said he will make personal calls to Richmond International Raceway president Doug Fritz, as well as Lowe's Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler, since races at their tracks are coming up on the schedule. Lynch also said he is looking into additional steps to ban those 14 individuals from Talladega track property completely.

"Certainly you can refuse to sell tickets to basically anyone you want to," Lynch said. "The law I'm checking into [is] can we notify them they're no longer allowed on track property, and what legal means can we take if they choose to be."

Lynch said a team of attorneys is exploring that option now. "If we catch these people, the ramifications need to be as serious as we can make them," he said. ESPN.com

05/02/07 Fourteen auto racing fans who were identified as throwing objects onto the Talladega Superspeedway track after Sunday's Aaron's 499 will never again be allowed to purchase a ticket at the track, speedway officials said Monday. The fans were arrested Sunday and charged with disorderly conduct, according to Talladega County Sheriff Jerry Studdard. All posted bond at jail facilities located at the speedway and were released, Studdard said. Disorderly conduct is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500. Numerous fans peppered the track with beer cans following Jeff Gordon's win Sunday. That win allowed Gordon to surpass the late Dale Earnhardt in career wins on what would have been Earnhardt's 56th birthday. Talladega Speedway officials had warned all week that fans caught throwing objects over the fence that separates the grandstands from the track would be arrested. Track President Grant Lynch also made that announcement over the public address system before the race, and warnings were posted on track guides issued to fans before the race. Additional security was placed in the stands. Lynch said he knows that more fans than 14 threw objects, but pinpointing the culprits was more difficult than he imagined. He was in the stands at the race's conclusion but was unable to identify a single person throwing an object onto the track. AlabamaLive.com