“NASCAR heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for the fourth race of the 2009 NASCAR season. It’s a historical milestone at Atlanta this weekend. It’s the track’s 100th NASCAR Cup Series race.
Here is a quick run down of trivial facts and statistics for this weekend’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, GA.
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.
- Jeff Gordon won the first NASCAR Nationwide race at Atlanta held March 14, 1992.
- The first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta was held March 13, 2004, won by Bobby Hamilton.
- 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.
Track Numbers
- There have been 99 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta Speedway, two races per year except 1961, which had three.
- Fireball Roberts won the pole and race for the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta in 1960.
- 43 drivers have won a pole, led by Buddy Baker and Ryan Newman, each with seven.
- Six of Newman’s seven poles came in back-to-back races between March 2003 and October 2005.
- 42 drivers have won a race at Atlanta; 20 have won more than once.
- Dale Earnhardt scored nine victories, more than any other driver. Cale Yarborough is second with seven.
- Bobby Labonte heads the list of active drivers with victories with six. Labonte is tied with Richard Petty for third on the all-time Atlanta win list.
- The Wood Brothers are the most productive car owners at Atlanta with 12 victories. They last won there in 1993 with Morgan Shepherd.
- Fourteen races at Atlanta have been won from the pole.
- Fifty-six races at Atlanta have been won from the first five starting positions.
- Bobby Labonte won the 2001 fall race from the 39th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Atlanta.
- There have been seven season sweeps, most recently by Jimmie Johnson in 2007.
- There has been one green-white-checkered finish: 2007 Pep Boys Auto Parts 500 (329 laps).
Hot Fact
- Atlanta has produced two of the seven closest finishes since electronic timing was introduced in May 1993. Both races occurred on the new configuration.
- Dale Earnhardt finished 0.010 seconds ahead of Bobby Labonte, which is tied for sixth-closest race (with Rockingham – 2004) on March 12, 2000.
- Kevin Harvick beat Jeff Gordon by 0.006 seconds on March 11, 2001 in the fourth-closest finish.
Atlanta Motor Speedway Data
- Race # 4 of 36 (3-8-09)
- Track Size: 1.54 miles
- Race Length: 325 laps/500.5 miles
- Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
- Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees
- Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees
- Frontstretch: 2,332 feet
- Backstretch: 1,800 feet
Qualifying/Race Data
- 2008 pole winner: Jeff Gordon (185.251 mph, 29.927 secs.)
- 2008 race winner: Kyle Busch (140.975 mph, 3-9-08)
- Track qualifying record: Geoffrey Bodine (197.478 mph, 28.074 secs., 11-15-97)
- Track race record: Bobby Labonte (159.904 mph, 11-16-97)
- Estimated Pit Window: Every 48-52 laps, based on fuel mileage
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