TALLADEGA, Ala. (WIAT) — The biggest names in NASCAR are set to race at the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend.

Big racing also means big bucks for the state and local economy. Empty stands will soon be packed with NASCAR fans who have traveled to Talladega Superspeedway from all across the county to see the biggest names in the sport.

Talladega Superspeedway President Brian Crichton said the economic impact could be in the neighborhood of $150 million to $200 million for the state of Alabama.

The Greater Talladega and Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce expects the impact in the city of Talladega alone to be about $2 million this week.

When you look at that on a single-business level, that can mean a busy week. The Ark seafood restaurant in Riverside said it expects to sell about 400 to 600 pounds of catfish race week.

Fan Allen Johnson drove in from Missouri to camp out, but he’s still spending money.

“Since the Piggy Wiggly has opened up, we go there and buy our ice and buy our food,” Johnson said. “That we don’t have to pack a lot of stuff down here.”

Hotel rooms are also booked for race weekend, according to Donnie Miller, the executive director of the Greater Talladega and Lincoln Area Chamber of Commerce. He said things are picking back up in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I talked with the ticket office today, and they said tickets are up a little bit more than they were last year, so that’s good to see,” Miller said. “We’re excited. That means new people are coming in.”

That means nearly an entire city of people coming to town for the event.

“Our average travel distance is 300 miles. … So they’re coming in, they’re buying the fuel, they’re going to restaurants, they’re going to hotels, they’re driving their RVs in,” Crichton said.

“Coming out of COVID, things kind of went down a little bit, but we are on a great trajectory right now where we’re growing every single race that we have,” Crichton noted.