Atlanta Motor Speedway (in the past Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.5-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has hosted NASCAR Cup Series stock vehicle races since its initiation in 1960.
The initial scenes of the 1980 film Smokey and the Bandit II were shot at the track, as were scenes of the 1983 film Stroker Ace; a 40th commemoration stunt show to recognize the 1977 shooting of the first Smokey and the Bandit in close by Jonesboro, Georgia, was held at AMS in 2017 and went to by Burt Reynolds.
The track was highlighted in the 1982 Kenny Rogers film Six Pack. Previous U.S. President Jimmy Carter once filled in as a ticket taker at the track and went to a few races there as Georgia's lead representative and as U.S. president.
The setting was purchased by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 townhouses were worked over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to normalize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two middle ovals, the whole track was totally remade.
The frontstretch and backstretch were traded, and the design of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with another authority length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the quickest on the NASCAR circuit. It has a seating limit of 71,000 - 125.000 relying upon design.
The track facilitated a NASCAR Cup Series race end of the week yearly on Labor Day weekend from 2009 to 2014. The 2009 move from an October race date to Labor Day weekend was likewise joined by an adjustment in start time, denoting the main NASCAR Cup Series under the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the arrival of Labor Day weekend NASCAR dashing toward the Southern United States.
Different features of the facility are a quarter-mile track between the pit street and the fundamental track for Legends racing and a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) FIA-endorsed street course. In 1996, the speedway facilitated the Countryfest show, pulling in more than 200,000 fans.
For the vast majority of the 1990s and 2000s, the track flaunted the most elevated velocities on the NASCAR circuit, with a common passing lap speed of around 193 mph (311 km/h), first posted by driver Breton Roussel on June 22, 1990, and a record lap speed of more than 197 mph (317 km/h).
In 2004 and 2005, the likewise planned Texas Motor Speedway saw marginally quicker qualifying times, and as the tracks' individual racing surfaces have worn, qualifying speeds at Texas have gotten reliably quicker than at Atlanta.
Ryan Blaney won the race, driving a Ford. Kyle Larson led for 269 laps, but Blaney overtook him eight laps from the end because Larson's tires were wearing out.
With Blaney’s win, NASCAR had its sixth different champion in its first six races of 2021.
Location | Henry County, Georgia, at 1500 Tara Place Hampton, GA, 30228 |
Operator | Speedway Motorsports, Inc. |
Major Events | NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Quaker State 400 NASCAR Xfinity Series EchoPark 250 TBA NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Fr8Auctions 200 Atlanta Track Club Atlanta Marathon |
Length | 1.54 mi (2.48 km) |
Most Wins | Dale Earnhardt (9) |
Most Starts | Richard Petty (65) |
Poles | Buddy Baker, Ryan Newman (7) |