Atlanta Motor Speedway:

Atlanta Motor Speedway:

History

·        Originally called Atlanta International Raceway, the track was then a 1.5-mile paved speedway.

·        The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta was on July 31, 1960, won by Fireball Roberts from the pole.

·        The track was re-measured to 1.522 miles in the spring of 1970.

·        It was renamed Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990.

·        The track layout was reversed and the track was re-configured to 1.54 miles between the two races in 1997.

Notebook

·       There have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the first race there in 1960. Until 2010 there have been two races per year except 1961, which had three. This year marks the third season with only one event.

·        540 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway; 363 in more than one.

·       Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Atlanta with 65. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 55 starts, followed by Mark Martin with 52.

·        Fireball Roberts won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Atlanta in 1960 with a speed of 133.870 mph.

·        46 drivers have Coors Light poles at Atlanta, led by Buddy Baker and Ryan Newman with seven each.

·        Winning consecutive Coors Light poles has happened eight times at Atlanta, among six drivers.

·        Ryan Newman holds the record for most consecutive poles at Atlanta with six; spring of 2003 through 2005.

·        Youngest Atlanta pole winner: Terry Labonte (3/15/1981 – 24 years, 3 months, 27 days).

·        Oldest Atlanta pole winner: Harry Gant (11/14/1993 – 53 years, 10 months, 4 days).

·      43 different NSCS drivers have won at Atlanta Motor Speedway, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt with nine wins. Bobby Labonte leads all active drivers with six; followed by Jeff Gordon with five.

·     11 drivers have posted consecutive wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway: Marvin Panch (1965 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), David Pearson (1973 sweep), Richard Petty (1974 fall, 1975 spring), Cale Yarborough (1980 fall, 1981 spring), Bill Elliott (1985 sweep; 1992 sweep), Dale Earnhardt (1989 fall, 1990 spring; 1995 fall, 1996 spring), Bobby Labonte (1997 fall, 1998 spring), Jeff Gordon (1998 fall, 1999 spring), Carl Edwards (2005 sweep), Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep).

·        Youngest Atlanta winner: Kyle Busch (03/09/2008 – 22 years, 10 months, 7 days).

·        Oldest Atlanta winner: Morgan Shepherd (03/20/1993 – 51 years, 5 months, 8 days).

·        Wood Brothers has the most wins at Atlanta in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 12: Cale Yarborough (three), David Pearson (three), Marvin Panch (two), Neil Bonnett (two) A.J. Foyt (one) and Morgan Shepherd (one).

·        Nine different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Atlanta; led by Chevrolet with 37 victories; followed by Ford with 29. Toyota has two wins at Atlanta.

·        14 of the 105 (13.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Kasey Kahne in 2006.

·       The fifth starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (15) than any other starting position at Atlanta Motor Speedway; the most recent was Jeff Gordon in 2011.

·        26 of the 105 (24.7%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta have been won from the front row: 14 from the pole and 12 from second-place.

·        60 of the 105 (57.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta have been won from a top-five starting position.

·        83 of the 105 (79%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta have been won from a top-10 starting position.

·        Seven of the 105 (6.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Atlanta have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·        The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Atlanta is 39th, by Bobby Labonte in the fall of 2001.

·        No driver has swept the weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway across the three NASCAR national series.

·        Dale Earnhardt and David Pearson lead the series in runner-up finishes at Atlanta with seven each; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with five.

·        Dale Earnhardt leads the series in top-five finishes at Atlanta with 26; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 16.

·        Richard Petty leads the series in top-10 finishes at Atlanta with 33; Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 25.

·        Ryan Newman leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Atlanta with a 7.100.

·        Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at 11.095.

·      All 12 of the 13 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Atlanta Motor Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Kevin Harvick won at Atlanta in his first appearance (2001). Carl Edwards won in his second appearance (2005).      

·       Ken Schrader competed at Atlanta Motor Speedway 13 times before winning in the spring of 1991; the longest span of any the 13 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.

·      Among the 13 active NSCS Atlanta winners Ken Schrader (13), Denny Hamlin (12) and Mark Martin (11) all made 10 or more attempts before their first win.

·      Terry Labonte leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta without visiting Victory Lane at 55.

·        Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the March 11, 2001 race won by Kevin Harvick over Jeff Gordon with a MOV of 0.006 second. It is the fifth closest finish scored by electronic scoring in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

·       There have been three NASCAR Sprint Cup races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): fall of 2007 (325/329); spring of 2010 (325/341) and fall of 2012 (325/327).

·      Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway five times; most recently the fall of 2010.

·      One active driver has posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway: Terry Labonte (3/15/1981).

·      Two active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted their first career start at Atlanta Motor Speedway: Jeff Gordon (11/15/1992) and Martin Truex Jr. (10/31/2004).

·       Two active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have posted their first career win at Atlanta Motor Speedway: Kevin Harvick (3/11/2001) and Carl Edwards (3/20/2005).

·        Cale Yarborough leads all drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Atlanta with 3,283 laps led in 47 starts. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in laps led at Atlanta with 1,280.

Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 Field to include Sprint Cup Drivers

Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 Field to include Sprint Cup Drivers

HAMPTON, Ga. (August 29, 2013) – The field for the Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 NASCAR Nationwide series race on Saturday, August 31includes some notable drivers who will also run the Advocare 500 on Sunday September 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Below are drivers scheduled to run in both the Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 on Saturday and the AdvoCare 500 on Sunday.

Kasey Kahne – NNS: 5/Great Clips Chevrolet; NCSC: 5/Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
Kyle Busch – NSS: 54/Monster Energy Toyota; NCSC: 18/M&M’s Toyota
Mike Bliss – NSS: 19/TriStar Motorsports Toyota; NCSC: 51/Phoenix Construction Chevrolet
Joey Logano – NSS: 22/Discount Tire Ford; NCSC: 22/Shell Pennzoil Ford
Kevin Harvick – NSS: 33/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet; NCSC: 29/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet
Austin Dillon – NSS: 3/AdvoCare Chevrolet; NCSC: 33/AdvoCare Chevrolet
Brian Vickers – NSS: 20/Dollar General Toyota; NCSC: 55/Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
Joe Nemechek – NSS: 87/pelletgrillusa.com Toyota; NCSC: 87/TBA Toyota

Drivers from Across the USA entered in the Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Sprint Car Shootout

            There are drivers from all across the USA that have registered to compete in the Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Sprint Car Shootout on Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. 

            The pre-entry list includes 24 competitors from 10 states including a drivers from as far away as Michigan and California.  Six competitors hail from the State of Florida and both Mississippi and Tennessee are each represented by four drivers. 

            Veteran USCS Sprint Car Driver Joe Larkin of Suwanee is the lone Georgia entry in the Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Sprint Car Shootout.

            Tickets for the Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Sprint Car Shootout are only $20 while kids ages 12 and under are free.  Tickets also include NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying at 6:40 p.m. and a Q&A featuring Brad Keselowski at 8 p.m. 

See WWII History at the Fan Zone

The Fan Zone is again the place to be pre-race at Atlanta Motor Speedway throughout the Labor Day race weekend before the on-track activities get underway.

As SMI Chairman Bruton Smith says, "You've got a state fair here and a race broke out." Labor Day Weekend is indeed more than just a race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

A Douglass SBD Dauntless is will be at the Georgia Air Show display in the Fan Zone all weekend long.  The SBD Dauntless is only one of two of these World War II Navy dive bomber planes in the world still flying. (Picture included with this release).

The SBD Dauntless joins the 65-foot Ferris Wheel as part of the Georgia State Fair display in the Fan Zone.  The Georgia State Fair relocated to Atlanta Motor Speedway last year and the ten day state celebration returns to the speedway October 25 through November 3. Now, you can experience the Fan Zone from a unique perspective while getting a jump on the 2013 state fair excitement.

Other activities in the Fan Zone include food and beverage vendors, interactive driver displays, the Coca-Cola Fan Stage, souvenir trailers and much more.

Past Winners in the Field for the AdvoCare 500

The field for the AdvoCare 500 features several past winners of Sprint Cup races at AMS. Many of these same drivers are those battling for positioning in the top-10 in the points standings, as well as berths into the Chase as a two wild-card.

Below are drivers entered in Sunday’s race that have previously won at Atlanta in Sprint Cup competition:

Denny Hamlin: the defending AdvoCare 500 Champion
Kurt Busch: the 2003 Sprint Cup champion is a three-time AMS winner
Kyle Busch: 2008 Atlanta winner, also Toyota’s first Sprint Cup victory
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: looking for his second AMS win after winning in 2004
Carl Edwards: won at Atlanta three times; currently in 3^rd in the point standings
Jeff Gordon: five-time AMS winner; still looking for his first win of the year.
Kevin Harvick: won his first-career victory in a photo finish in 2001
Jimmie Johnson: also a three-time AMS victor, was runner-up in 2011
Kasey Kahne: a two-time winner, won the first Labor Day race in 2009
Mark Martin: the part-time driver has visited victory lane two times

For more information, visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com or call the AMS Ticket Office at (877) 9-AMS-TIX or (770) 946-4211.

Goodyear’s racing division

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 

Based on several tests over the past year, Goodyear’s racing division will utilize "zone tread" technology for its race recommendation for Atlanta. For its new Atlanta right-side tire, Goodyear has combined one compound (run recently at Michigan International Speedway) to help control heat on the inner half of the tread with a different tread (run previously at Atlanta Motor Speedway) to give the cars more grip.  It will be paired with the more traditional left-side tire run at Atlanta last season. "Historically, Atlanta is one of the more difficult race tracks on tires and equipment and this tire gives us the ability to improve performance," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. "Combining the high speeds we always see at Atlanta with the high loads in the corners and the abrasive surface that brings tire wear into play, this is the ideal track to debut this technology." … Austin Dillon returns to the seat of the No. 33 Chevrolet this weekend, making his ninth start of the season. He has driven three different cars in 2013 (No. 33 Circle Sport Racing Chevrolet; No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet; No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet), with a best finish of 11th at Michigan in the No. 33. … Toyota’s next win will be No. 250 in NASCAR national series competition.

Intensity of the Race to get in the Chase

Intensity of the Race to get in the Chase
Heats up this Weekend at the AdvoCare 500

HAMPTON, Ga. (August 26, 2013) – The AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend will play a pivotal role in determining who qualifies for the Chase for the Sprint Cup with numerous drivers in striking distance as they search for wins and points.

"Some drivers’ season will be determined this weekend," said Atlanta Motor Speedway President and General Manager Ed Clark. "A win can provide the necessary momentum needed to propel a driver into the chase while a bad showing could have dire consequences."

Joey Logano, former Atlanta Motor Speedway Thursday Thunder champion, moved into 10th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series point standings with a fifth place finish at Bristol on Saturday night.  Logano entered the race in 13th place in the point standings, 17 points out of the top 10.

After being involved in a crash, a 30th place finish at Bristol on Saturday night dropped Brad Keselowski three positions and he is now four points out of the Chase in 11th.  Other drivers on the outside include Kurt Busch, who fell from 8^th to 12^th following Bristol along with Jeff Gordon, who is currently in 13^th. Busch and Gordon are both past winners in Atlanta and join Keselowski in a must-win situation to keep their Chase hopes alive.

With one win apiece, Martin Truex Jr. in 14th place and Ryan Newman in 15th, are currently in the two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wild card positions.  A win by any of the three winless drivers ranked ahead in the standing could results in their elimination as a candidate to make the chase.

Major Change in Tire Construction to Debut at AdvoCare 500

Goodyear introduced a new tire that will be utilized during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Announced just days after a 13-team tire test at AMS on August 6th, Goodyear will utilize "zone tread" technology to create a more durable tire that will also have grip for Saturday's Great Clips / Grit Chips 300 and Sunday's AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Atlanta is a track with multiple grooves, you can run the high groove, the low groove or even the middle - based off your tire wear," said Kurt Busch at the August 6th test.  "The tire wear element [at Atlanta] is so different than at any other track, I'm excited to see how the tires are going to be with the race, the re-starts and the long green flag runs."

The left side tires scheduled to be used at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend will remain unchanged from the tire that ran the AdvoCare 500 last year.  The right side tires will utilize the "zone tread" technology to create the tire tread.  Two-thirds of the tire will be based on the previous tires used in Atlanta and will provide grip while the other third of the tire will utilize the tread similar to that used at Michigan that is designed to counteract heat produced from the high speeds.

For more information on the AdvoCare 500 Labor Day Race Weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, visit  www.atlantamotorspeedway.com or call the AMS Ticket Office at (877) 9-AMS-TIX or (770) 946-4211.

Tim Smith’s Moonshine Sprint Car Make Debut at Atlanta

Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Sprint Car Shootout to
Make Debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Labor Day Weekend

Hampton, GA (August 21, 2013) – The first winged sprint car race in Atlanta Motor Speedway history will take place Friday night, August 30^th and be sponsored by Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine.

Winged sprint cars and the United Sprint Car Series will take to the quarter mile "Thunder Ring" on the front stretch of the Speedway at 9 p.m. on Friday night with a 50-lap shootout that will follow NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying.

The United Sprint Car Series utilizes both paved and dirt tracks throughout the series to determine a season champion.  At 1,300 pounds and over 700 horsepower, winged sprint cars are among the fastest and most powerful short-track cars with speeds expected to exceed 100 mph at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“I am excited to have my Climax Moonshine be the title sponsor of the Sprint Car Shootout at Atlanta Motor Speedway,” said Tim Smith. “Being a world famous moonshiner I have a deep connection with NASCAR since the sport was born from the same roots I grew up as a Bootlegger and Moonshiner.”

Tim Smith and his Climax Moonshine is doing what previous generations of moonshiners couldn’t by bring his authentic backwoods recipe to the public for legal consumptions. A notorious moonshiner from Climax, Va., and star of a popular reality series, Smith knows what good, pure and strong moonshine should taste like. Georgia and South Carolina are the first states to get a taste of Smith’s illegal-gone-legal Climax Moonshine.

Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Sprint Car Shootout at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a USCS Sprint Car series stop on the Outlaw Thunder Tour and is a Mid-South and Southern Thunder Region event. Derek Hagar has posted wins in seven events while Tim Crawley has notched wins in five races this season in the battle for the USCS Sprint Car Championship. 

Tickets for Tim Smith’s Climax Moonshine Sprint Car Shootout on Friday are $20 and kids ages 12 and under are free. For more information, visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com or call the AMS Ticket Office at (877) 9-AMS-TIX or (770) 946-4211.

Bristol Motor Speedway:

Bristol Motor Speedway:

History

·       Groundbreaking for Bristol International Speedway, as Bristol Motor Speedway was originally known, took place in 1960. The track was an exact half-mile.

·       First NASCAR Sprint Cup race was July 30, 1961; Jack Smith won the event (with relief from Johnny Allen).

·       In the fall of 1969, the track was reshaped and re-measured to .533-miles.

·       The name changed to Bristol International Raceway in 1978.

·       The first night race was held in the fall of 1978.

·       The surface was changed from asphalt to concrete in 1992.

·       The name changed to Bristol Motor Speedway in May 1996.

·       The track was resurfaced between races in 2007, and the turns were ground down last season to eliminate part of the progressive banking.

Notebook

·       There have been 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway since the first race in 1961, two races each season.

·       All races have been scheduled for 500 laps, except for both races in 1976 and the second in 1977, which were 400 laps.

·       422 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol; 294 in more than one.

·       NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty leads the series in starts at Bristol with 60. Terry Labonte leads all active drivers with 58 starts.

·       Fred Lorenzen won the inaugural Coors Light pole with a speed of 79.225 mph.

·       46 different drivers have poles at Bristol, led by Mark Martin and Cale Yarborough with nine each.  Martin swept both poles at Bristol in 2009.

·       The race winner has started from the pole 22 times, the most productive starting position. The last driver to win from the pole was Carl Edwards, in the night race of 2008.

·       Four drivers have won from the pole position more than once: Bobby Allison (1972 twice), Cale Yarborough (1973, 1977 twice, 1980), Darrell Waltrip (1981 twice, 1982) and Rusty Wallace (1991, 1993, 1999, 2000).

·     10 different drivers have posted consecutive poles at Bristol Motor Speedway; Mark Martin is the only of the 10 to win four consecutive poles at Bristol: Fireball Roberts (swept 1962), Fred Lorenzen (swept 1963), Richard Petty (1967-’68), Bobby Allison (swept 1972), Cale Yarborough (swept 1973; swept 1977; swept 1980), Darrell Waltrip (swept 1981), Geoff Bodine (swept 1986), Mark Martin (swept 1995-1996– all four races; and swept 2009); Rusty Wallace (swept 1998) and Jeff Gordon (swept 2002).

·       Jeff Gordon leads (active drivers) the series in average starting position at Bristol with a 6.876. 

·       Youngest Bristol pole winner: Joey Logano (3/21/2010 – 19 years, 9 months, 25 days) – his first series career pole.

·       Oldest Bristol pole winner: Harry Gant (8/27/1994 – 54 years, 7 months, 17 days).

·       41 different drivers have won at Bristol, led by Darrell Waltrip (12). Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch each have five wins, the most among active drivers.

·       Junior Johnson leads the series in car owner wins at Bristol with 16; Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske and Jack Roush are tied among active car owners for the most wins at Bristol with 10 each.

·       12 drivers have won consecutive races at Bristol led by Darrell Waltrip with seven consecutive victories from 1981-1984. The other 11 are Fred Lorenzen (1963-1964 sweep), David Pearson (1968 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), Cale Yarborough did it twice (1974 sweep and four straight from 1976-1977), Richard Petty (1975 sweep), Dale Earnhardt also did twice (1985 sweep and 1987 sweep), Alan Kulwicki (1992 sweep), Rusty Wallace (2000 sweep), Kurt Busch (2003 sweep and 2004 spring race), Kyle Busch (2009 sweep), and Brad Keselowski (2011 fall-2012 spring).

·       Youngest Bristol winner: Kyle Busch (3/25/2007 – 21 years, 10 months, 23 days).

·       Oldest Bristol winner: Dale Earnhardt (8/28/1999 – 48 years, 3 months, 30 days).

·       Eight different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Bristol; led by Chevrolet with 43 victories; followed by Ford with 33. Toyota is ranked fifth among Manufacturers with five wins at Bristol.

·       84 of the 105 (80%) races have been won from a top-10 starting position; including 53 from the first four spots.

·       35 of the 105 (33.3%) races at Bristol have been won from the front row: Pole position (22 wins); second-place (13 wins).

·       Five of the 105 (4.7%) races have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

·       The deepest in the field that a race winner has started was 38th, by Elliott Sadler; in 2001.

·     Mark Martin leads the series (among active drivers) in runner-up finishes at Bristol with six; followed by Kevin Harvick and erry Labonte with four.

·     Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty lead the series in top-five finishes at Bristol with 26 each. Terry Labonte leads the series among active drivers with 19 followed by Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin (16).

·    Richard Petty has 37 top-10 finishes, more than any other driver. Terry Labonte leads the series among active drivers in top-10 finishes with 33; followed by Mark Martin with 23 and Jeff Gordon with 22.

·       Kyle Busch leads the series (active drivers) in average finish at Bristol with a 9.824.

·       Six of the last eight races have ended with a Margin of Victory of less than a second.   

·   There has been three green-white-checkered finishes at Bristol – all three were the spring race: 2007 (500/504); 2008 (500/506); 2009 (500/503).

·     Two of the 105 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Bristol Motor Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the event on 3/31/1996. 

·      Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol Motor Speedway three times; most recently this event last season.    

·       Kurt Busch posted his first series career win at Bristol (2002), and Joey Logano won his first pole at Bristol (2010).

·       All 15 active NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers who have won at Bristol Motor Speedway participated in at least two or more races before visiting Victory Lane – among the active winners Kurt Busch won in the fewest starts (third) at Bristol.

·       Jeff Burton competed at Bristol Motor Speedway 28 times before winning (2008 spring race); the longest span of any the 15 active winners. Burton is the only active driver to have made 20 or more attempts before his first win at BMS. Kasey Kahne, who won earlier this season made 18 previous starts before his win at BMS.

·     Bobby Labonte leads the series (active drivers) with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Bristol without visiting Victory Lane with 41.

·    Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Bristol was the 3/25/2007 race won by Kyle Busch with a MOV of 0.064 second.

·       Two female drivers have made NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol: Janet Guthrie and Danica Patrick.