Atlanta Motor Speedway

Reconfigured in 1997, with the start-finish line moved to the old backstretch, Atlanta Motor Speedway is the fastest track on the Nextel Cup circuit.

Opened in 1960 during the South's first major speedway building boom, Atlanta Motor Speedway is a 1.54-mile oval that has become Nextel Cup racing's fastest track since the introduction of carburetor restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega in 1988.

Located south of Atlanta on Highways 19 and 41 in Hampton, Georgia, the track is roughly equidistant between I-85 to the west and I-75 to the east. Atlanta hosts two Nextel Cup races each year, the first in March and the second in late October to early November. Often in the past, the fall race has been crucial in determining the series championship.

The four turns at Atlanta Motor Speedway are banked at 24 degrees, with the straights banked at 5 degrees. Owned by O. Bruton Smith of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the sister track to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte underwent a reconfiguration in 1997, when the start/finish line was moved from the traditional frontstretch to what had been the backstretch. Smith acquired ownership of the facility in 1990, and since then, elaborate renovations have rendered Atlanta one of the most modern multipurpose speedways on the NASCAR circuit.

In qualifying for the NAPA 500 in November of 1997, Jeff Bodine laped Atlanta Motor Speedway in an amazing 28.074 seconds for a record speed of 197.478 mph. Atlanta was a particular favorite of the late Dale Earnhardt, who recorded the next-to-last of his 76 Winston Cup victories there in the fall of 2000. All told, Earnhardt won nine races at Atlanta, a total unequaled by any other driver.

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