Anniston Air Force Base Anniston Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force airfield located approximately 10 miles north - northeast of Talladega , Alabama . It was active from 1942 to 1945 and 1949 to 1952 . It is currently the site of the Talladega Superspeedway . History . Anniston was opened in 19 October 1942 as a flying school as part of Army Air Forces Training Command ( AAFTC ) . The field was built with three hard - surfaced concrete runways . The main runway was 5 , 300 feet long . The base also featured a parking ramp and one hangar , constructed of wood and metal . The ground station consisted of many uniform buildings constructed of wood , tar paper , and non - masonry siding . The use of concrete and steel was limited because of the critical need elsewhere . Most buildings were hot and dusty in the summer and very cold in the winter . Besides offices , barracks and training classrooms , there was a library , a social club for officers , and enlisted men , and a store to buy living necessities . The airfield was initially assigned as an auxiliary to Courtland Army Airfield , Alabama and was assigned to the Southeast Training Center of the Army Air Force Training Command . It was used as a Basic Flying school , and was equipped with Vultee BT - 13 Valiant s for the cadets assigned to the base . AAFTC also located a transition school at Anniston in early 1945 for pilot upgrade training from B - 17 / B - 24 heavy bombers to B - 29 Superfortress very heavy bombers . The airfield was also used by the Army Airways Communication System with a detachment of the 108th AACS Squadron being assigned to the airfield . The control tower closed and the field became inactive on 16 August 1945 and placed on standby status It was reassigned to Craig Field , Alabama in September 1945 , then to Maxwell Field , Alabama as Auxiliary Field # 3 . It was reopened by the United States Air Force Air Training Command on 1 July 1949 as Anniston Air Force Base and conducted contract flying training until 1 August 1950 when it was transferred to Air Materiel Command as a support airfield to support the Anniston Army Depot . On 30 June 1952 , Anniston AFB was closed for the final time , with the land being sold to the city of Talladega . The facility was vacant for little over a decade when Anniston insurance executive Bill Ward assisted NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation founder William H . G . ( Bill ) France acquire the land to develop what would become Alabama International Motor Speedway , which opened in 1969 . Today the hangar on the former AFB still exists and is in use by the speedway , along with the aircraft parking ramp . The foundations of some of the station buildings northeast of the hangar can still be seen . The area has numerous taxiways and parts of former runways in various states of deterioration that are being used as access roads , one of which connects to the adjacent Talladega Municipal Airport . Note : Talladega Municipal Airport next to the former AFB . It does not utilize any of the runways or taxiways of the former military airfield , and there is no shared history between the two facilities . References . Bibliography . Further Reading