During the 1960s, William "Bill" France, Sr. wanted to build a track faster and longer than Daytona International Speedway. After failed attempts to reason with local government in Orange County, North Carolina, with the Occoneechee Speedway, he attempted to find a new spot for a race track and make his idea a reality. After failing to secure a location near the research triangle around Raleigh, France then looked around between Atlanta and Birmingham along Interstate 20. He would end up breaking ground on an old airfield 47 miles east of Birmingham and 100 miles west of Atlanta on May 23, 1968. The track opened on September 13, 1969, at a cost of $4 million. The track was named the "Alabama International Motor Speedway". The name would remain for twenty years until 1989, when the facility's name was changed to "Talladega Superspeedway".