He-Man
Registered Trader
One of my favorite tracks. Fast speeds.
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Few who saw Atlanta Motor Speedway in its infancy would recognize the track today.
Situated on 870 acres in Hampton, Ga., just 25 miles south of Atlanta, todayýs Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of NASCARýs most sought-after destinations.
But itýs far from the Walker Jackson, Lloyd Smith, Garland Bagley, Ralph Sceiano and Ike Supporter envisioned when they planned the speedway in 1958. Before construction of the proposed superspeedway had been completed, insufficient funds forced four of the founders to abandon ship. Dr. Warren Gremmel, Bill Boyd, Jack Black and Art Lester joined Bagley in the venture and spent $1.8 million to get the facility ready.
Ready, in this case, was a relative term. Some of the seats were so low fans couldnýt see over the retaining wall. The only bathroom facility in the infield was a three-hole outhouse. There was mud all over.
When the 1.5-mile track, then called Atlanta International Raceway, finally made its debut on July 31, 1960, it became the seventh superspeedway -- a paved facility of one mile or more -- to play host to a Cup race.
The trackýs future was hazy in the 1960s and ý70s, when it suffered several financial setbacks. The track was recognized under Chapter Ten bankruptcy proceedings in the 1970s and went through several general managers before settling down with Walt Nix, who served as general manager for much of the next two decades except for a brief period when current NASCAR president Mike Helton was in charge.
Despite the great racing and national attention, Atlanta International Raceway was still a meager facility struggling to get by.
Bruton Smith changed all that when he purchased Atlanta International Raceway on Oct. 23, 1990, and renamed the facility Atlanta Motor Speedway. A year later, the addition of the East Turn Grandstand expanded the seating capacity by 25,000, and the 30 suites that rimmed the top gave the track a high-class look.
Under Smithýs stewardship, Atlanta Motor Speedway has undergone massive expansion.
In 1994, Tara Place, the nine-story building that houses 46 luxury condominiums, Tara Ballroom, the speedway office complex and more luxury suites opened, as did the adjacent Tara Clubhouse. A year later, the North Turn Grandstand opened, and in 1997, the Champions Grandstand was added, and the total of luxury suites was increased to 137.
When the Champions Grandstand was built, the start/finish line was moved from the west to the east side of the track, and two doglegs were added to the frontstretch to form a 1.54-mile quad-oval, which replaced the original oval. The only reminders of the track that used to be are the suite tower and the Weaver Grandstand, which are now situated on the backstretch.
In 2004, an F2 tornado had blazed through the track, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage less than four months before that yearýs fall race. Miraculously, the track was more than ready for that October race, and it went off without a hitch.
Nextel Cup Race Record
Bobby Labonte 159.904 11|16|97
Busch Race Record
Mark Martin 151.751 03|08|97
Nextel Cup Qualifying Record
Geoffrey Bodine 197.478 1997
Busch Qualifying Record
Greg Biffle 192.300 2003
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Few who saw Atlanta Motor Speedway in its infancy would recognize the track today.
Situated on 870 acres in Hampton, Ga., just 25 miles south of Atlanta, todayýs Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of NASCARýs most sought-after destinations.
But itýs far from the Walker Jackson, Lloyd Smith, Garland Bagley, Ralph Sceiano and Ike Supporter envisioned when they planned the speedway in 1958. Before construction of the proposed superspeedway had been completed, insufficient funds forced four of the founders to abandon ship. Dr. Warren Gremmel, Bill Boyd, Jack Black and Art Lester joined Bagley in the venture and spent $1.8 million to get the facility ready.
Ready, in this case, was a relative term. Some of the seats were so low fans couldnýt see over the retaining wall. The only bathroom facility in the infield was a three-hole outhouse. There was mud all over.
When the 1.5-mile track, then called Atlanta International Raceway, finally made its debut on July 31, 1960, it became the seventh superspeedway -- a paved facility of one mile or more -- to play host to a Cup race.
The trackýs future was hazy in the 1960s and ý70s, when it suffered several financial setbacks. The track was recognized under Chapter Ten bankruptcy proceedings in the 1970s and went through several general managers before settling down with Walt Nix, who served as general manager for much of the next two decades except for a brief period when current NASCAR president Mike Helton was in charge.
Despite the great racing and national attention, Atlanta International Raceway was still a meager facility struggling to get by.
Bruton Smith changed all that when he purchased Atlanta International Raceway on Oct. 23, 1990, and renamed the facility Atlanta Motor Speedway. A year later, the addition of the East Turn Grandstand expanded the seating capacity by 25,000, and the 30 suites that rimmed the top gave the track a high-class look.
Under Smithýs stewardship, Atlanta Motor Speedway has undergone massive expansion.
In 1994, Tara Place, the nine-story building that houses 46 luxury condominiums, Tara Ballroom, the speedway office complex and more luxury suites opened, as did the adjacent Tara Clubhouse. A year later, the North Turn Grandstand opened, and in 1997, the Champions Grandstand was added, and the total of luxury suites was increased to 137.
When the Champions Grandstand was built, the start/finish line was moved from the west to the east side of the track, and two doglegs were added to the frontstretch to form a 1.54-mile quad-oval, which replaced the original oval. The only reminders of the track that used to be are the suite tower and the Weaver Grandstand, which are now situated on the backstretch.
In 2004, an F2 tornado had blazed through the track, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage less than four months before that yearýs fall race. Miraculously, the track was more than ready for that October race, and it went off without a hitch.
Nextel Cup Race Record
Bobby Labonte 159.904 11|16|97
Busch Race Record
Mark Martin 151.751 03|08|97
Nextel Cup Qualifying Record
Geoffrey Bodine 197.478 1997
Busch Qualifying Record
Greg Biffle 192.300 2003
