Atlanta Motor Speedway

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Atlanta Motor Speedway
Location Hampton, Georgia
Image:AtlantaMotorSpeedway.jpg
Track length 1.54 miles (2.48 kilometres)
Track shape Quad-Oval
Banking Turns - 24°
Straights - 5°
Major events NASCAR Nextel Cup, NASCAR Busch Series, NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Capacity 125,000
Address 1500 Tara Place, Hampton, Georgia, 30228
Owner Speedway Motorsports

Atlanta Motor Speedway is a superspeedway in Hampton, Georgia, USA, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960, and added 46 condominiums over the northeastern side of the track in 1994. The track was almost completely rebuilt in a project that was completed in 1997, becoming one of NASCAR's fastest tracks in the process.

Other highlights of the facility are a quarter-mile track between the pit road and the main track for Legends racing, a 2.5-mile (4 km) FIA-approved road course, a 4000-foot (1219 m) dragstrip, paved and dirt short tracks, motocross circuits, go-kart, and stadium truck racing facilities, and a junior drag strip. In 1994, the speedway hosted the Countryfest concert, attracting over 200,000 fans.

Until recently, the track boasted the highest speeds on the NASCAR circuit, with a typical qualifying lap speed of about 193 mph (310 km/h); in very recent times (2004 and 2005), the similarly designed Texas Motor Speedway has seen slightly faster qualifying times. The circuit has two faster tracks, the far longer Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway; however, NASCAR mandates the use of restrictor plates on the carburetors of all cars that run on those tracks, and does not currently require the devices at Atlanta (or Texas).

In early September 2004, AMS found an unexpected use: as a shelter for evacuees from Florida fleeing Hurricane Frances. While there were no indoor facilities available, visitors waited out the extremely slow-moving storm parked in their recreational vehicles, after creeping along for hours in traffic on nearby Interstate 75.

In 2005, the speedway received heavy damage on the evening of July 6, caused by an F2 tornado spawned from the remains of Tropical Storm Cindy. Roofs and facades were torn off buildings and the track was covered in debris from the tornado, which the National Weather Service confirmed the next day to have had winds of 120 to 150 MPH, or 195 to 240 km/h. A 50-foot or 15-meter scoreboard tower was knocked down, and others were leaning over, as were many tall lamp posts. Several units at the speedway condominiums were damaged. (Five of the 48 units are regularly occupied.) Everyone managed to get out safely, and there were no injuries reported, in large part because it struck late (9:30PM) on a non-race night. Officials estimate the complex suffered 40 to 50 million dollars in damage, which may or may not include the Tara Field airport next to it. Despite this, it is expected to be open for the next major race in October. [1] [2]


See also: list of NASCAR race tracks

Current races

Records

External Links


Nextel Cup Series

Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Darlington - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Joliet, Illinois - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Martinsville - Miami - Pocono - Phoenix - Richmond - Sonoma, California - Talladega - Watkins Glen

Busch Series

Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Darlington - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Joliet, Illinois - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Memphis - Mexico City - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Pikes Peak - Richmond - Talladega - Sparta, Kentucky - Watkins Glen

Craftsman Truck Series

Atlanta - Bristol - Brooklyn, Michigan - Charlotte - Daytona - Dover - Fontana, California - Fort Worth - Indianapolis - Kansas City - Las Vegas - Loudon - Madison, Illinois - Mansfield - Martinsville - Memphis - Miami - Milwaukee - Nashville - Phoenix - Richmond - Sparta, Kentucky

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