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- December 2005
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12/19/05Christmas is right around the corner and Atlanta Motor Speedway can provide race fans with tons of ideas for getting a great Christmas present for their special someone.
- Pre-Race Pit Passes
- Real Racing. Real Fast.
- Exciting Finishes
- Souvenirs
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12/12/05
The second race of Atlanta Motor Speedway's Winter Flurry season brought a different challenge to the Bandolero, Legends and Roadster competitors. For many races throughout the season, drivers make left-hand turns around the 1?4-mile Thunder Ring on the frontstetch. For today's race, they had to take on the 1.3-mile road course testing their ability to turn right and left.
The Bandolero Bandits was the first feature of the day. Judson Kittle (Watkinsville) started on the pole, but by the first turn, Sean Rayhall (Winston) took over the top spot. On the back portion of the course, Rayhall experienced mechanical problems, turning over the lead to Kyle Plott (Marietta). On lap five, Austin Hill (Winston) passed Plott for the lead. Hill took the checkered flag on lap eight. Hill and Plott advanced to the next feature, competing with Bandolero Young Guns and Bandolero Outlaws in the combined feature.
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12/06/05Kanyon West, a 14-year veteran of the sports ticketing industry, has joined Atlanta Motor Speedway's staff as the director of ticket operations, starting January 2. A Clemson, S.C. native and graduate of Clemson University, West most recently served as the assistant director of ticket sales for the Atlanta Braves. Prior to working with the Braves organization, he had worked with collegiate athletic teams for five years and arena sports venues for two years.
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12/06/05
The Atlanta chapter of the Speedway Children's Charities Foundation is spreading the holiday spirit this year in a big way. More than $180,000 will be presented to 23 area charities at the annual holiday celebration on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Despite losing valuable fundraising time because of a mid-summer tornado, this year's total is an increase of more than $7,000 from last year. Representatives from each charity, including children who benefit directly from the Speedway Children's Charities' year-round diligence, will attend Tuesday's events, which begin at 6:00 p.m.
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12/05/05
Atlanta Motor Speedway president and general manager, Ed Clark announced today the promotion of three standout staff members.
Brandon Hutchison was promoted to vice president of events, Greg Walter was promoted to vice president of sales and Greg Harvey was promoted to senior sponsorship manager.
- November 2005
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11/30/05
Atlanta Motor Speedway officials announced their 2006 event schedule which includes two NASCAR race weekends on March 17-19 and October 27-29.
The March race weekend starts off the 2006 season with three days packed full of events. Friday night opens the weekend with Georgia Power qualifying night for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series followed by a 200-mile NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Saturday features the Nicorette 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. On Sunday, the Golden Corral 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event culminates race weekend.
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11/15/05NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow tested again today at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The one day test featured a car from the Petty Enterprises stable driven by Kyle Petty and NASCAR's representative car, driven by Brett Bodine.
NASCAR first tested the Car of Tomorrow immediately following the October 30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and decided to return today to gather more data.
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11/14/05
It has been three months to the day since Thursday Thunder racing ended, and competitors have been anxiously awaiting the green flag to signal the start of the Winter Flurry racing season.
The first feature of the night was the Bandolero Bandits class. Austin Hill (Winston) started second and on lap two, he took over the lead. None of the other competitors could even touch Hill's bumper as he led every lap of the rest of the race, scoring his first Winter Flurry win.
- October 2005
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10/31/05
Cars were on track at Atlanta Motor Speedway today, just one day after the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. With five race teams' participation, NASCAR tested the Car of Tomorrow in a day-long test session.
Yesterday's race winner Carl Edwards was among the drivers testing. Joining him were Jeff Burton, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Petty and Brian Vickers, all testing cars from their own teams and Brett Bodine driving NASCAR's representative car.
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10/30/05
Hampton, Ga. (October 30, 2005) Dominating one-third of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 today at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards delivered his signature back flip again for Atlanta race fans.
It would be safe to say that Edwards considers AMS his favorite track now. Including today's event, Edwards is three for three at AMS in 2005. Edwards swept both NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races, as well as the Aarons 312 NASCAR Busch Series event this spring.
Edwards, who started second, led 107 of 325 laps to hold off Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth, who made up the rest of the top-five. Throughout the 18 lead changes, there were nine cautions for a total of 37 caution laps, and only eight of 43 drivers did not finish the race.
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10/30/05Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 Results
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10/29/05
Mark Martin wins record-high five Crown Royal IROC championships while Martin Truex, Jr. wins season finale race
Hampton, Ga. (October 29, 2005) Atlanta Motor Speedway provided fans a double header on Saturday and the fans were not disappointed.
The season finale race of the Crown Royal IROC Series started the day off and points leader, Mark Martin started from the back and it didn’t take long for him to move up to the front. Martin Truex, Jr. passed Martin a few laps later and dominated the event, leading 43 of the 65-lap event. Truex scored his first ever IROC win in his first season in the series.
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10/29/05
Last lap finishes have provided Atlanta Motor Speedway fans something to cheer about and today's EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 continued the trend.
Kyle Busch had a dominant truck throughout the event and using late race pit strategy, where he pitted for tires during the last caution of the race, lined him up eighth for the final restart.
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10/29/05EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 Results
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10/29/05
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES DODGE QUOTES:
TED MUSGRAVE, No. 1 Mopar Dodge (started second, finished 14): "We blew out a right front tire in the middle of the corner. It started going down, we started losing some positions and knew something was up. It was starting to chatter and we said, OK, let’s hold on for a lap or two and see what goes on. Sure enough, it blew out. We might have run something over, because the tire pressure was going down, it was getting tighter.
"I don’t know about the right rear, I think I might have run it down to the cords and blew it through the canvas. That’s enough bad luck for one day. When all that happened, it ripped all the brake lines out and I had absolutely no brakes, either. I’m running around out there with a right front blown out, the right rear blew off, the front clip bent, the toe’s off and no brakes. So, look out."
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10/29/05
CHILDRESS ANOUNCES CO-PRIMARY SPONSORS FOR NO. 29 CAR: For the 2006 season, Richard Childress Racing has added Hershey’s Reese’s brand candy as a co-primary sponsor with GM Goodwrench for the No. 29 Chevrolet, driven by Kevin Harvick.
The multi-year deal was announced Saturday morning at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No. 29 car will carrythe GM color scheme for 24 races next year, including the Daytona 500, while the Reese’s colors will run 12 races, including the Brickyard 400.
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10/29/05
SORENSON TO RUN FIRST CUP RACE AT HOME TRACK: Peachtree City, Ga., native Reed Sorenson qualified for his first Nextel Cup race Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he won many races in a Legends car.
The 19-year-old driver of the No. 39 Discount Tire Dodge was among 16 drivers trying to race their way into Sunday’s Bass Pro Shops/MBNA 500. Only half would make the cut.
Sorenson’s qualifying lap of 190.476 mph was nearly 3 mph faster than his best practice lap of 187.690. And it was a huge contrast to his qualifying effort in the spring Busch race at AMS, where he experienced transmission trouble.
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10/28/05Ted Musgrave (about racing for the championship): "You're in NASCAR; you're racing against the best in the world. If you win here in whatever division you're doing, and win the championship, it really means a lot - to Dennis and I both. Each of us really want that trophy, we're both running as hard as we can, the teams are working as hard as they can and whatever happens, whatever the racing gods are going to give us is going to happen."
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10/28/05
The first annual Papa John's Invitational was started with three-time Atlanta Motor Speedway Legends track champion, Reed Sorenson, atop the flagstand waving the field to the green flag.
The opener for the evening was a 25-lap Thunder Roadster race, where Thomas Van Wingerden (Concord, N.C.) led every lap, winning the event.
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10/28/05GORDON ADDS SPARKLE TO SPONSORS: Georgia-Pacific on Friday - just hours before Nextel Cup qualifying that bears its name - announced a multi-year agreement to put its Sparkle brand of paper towels on the No. 24 Chevrolet of four-time champion Jeff Gordon, beginning in 2006.
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10/28/05“That was a really great lap, and the car was really balanced. Any time you get around the track like this you’ve got to have good horsepower, so I’ve got to thank the guys back in the engine room. They did a great job. You never know what to expect, but I’m really happy and satisfied to get six (poles) in a row at this racetrack. It says a lot about our team and its versatility the way everything has changed with the tires and the cars and setups and everything else. It’s really a feather in our cap. “At times we’ve performed well on Sunday after qualifying this well. We’ve had some power train problems, we’ve had some handling problems, we’ve had some tire problems here last fall with the fastest race car. The tire was just plain out of balance. We’ve had some crazy things happen in the race that put us back to not be able to show our speed in reference to qualifying. We really struggled this spring in the race, and we need to make sure we’re better, and I feel we will be better in the race in race trim. I really look forward to the race.
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10/28/05
GREG BIFFLE - No. 16 National Guard/Charter Taurus (Qualified 16th) - "It was a pretty good lap. You know you feel like you try and get the most out of qualifying. There's a lot on the line and you don't want to make a mistake and I probably left a little bit out there through one and two. We never made a qualifying run here. We had a bad set of tires that shook real bad, so we didn't get to make a qualifying run. I had to put my other set on and do more race practice, but I'm gonna be pretty happy with that. I think it's gonna be in the top 20 probably. I think a lot of guys are gonna beat us because we went out early, but it was the best lap I had in me today."
RICKY RUDD - No. 21 Motorcraft Taurus (Qualified 29th) - "We weren't good when we came off the truck. We didn't have a chance to test here, so I didn't expect this. We ran this car here earlier in the year and it didn't qualify good then, but we were moving up to pass Carl for third three-quarters of the way through the race and had a hub go out on the left-front, so we figured we would be in real good shape bringing this car back. It's our Charlotte car, but we were lost when we first got here. We kept making adjustments and nothing really worked and finally in the last 10 minutes of practice they found out what controlled the car. They did another dose of it during the down time and we were so bad off we never made a qualifying run, so that was the first time we blocked it up and tried it."
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10/28/05ON RACING THE TOP 3 DRIVERS IN THE CHASE: "Tony (Stewart) has been the easier guy to race around in the Chase than the other two. Ryan Newman is very difficult to pass. It’s tough to get position on him. Jimmie is hard to get position on as well. Tony’s just easier to race around that those two, just in my opinion, that’s what I’ve experienced inside the car."
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10/28/05Georgia-Pacific on Friday - just hours before Nextel Cup qualifying that bears its name - announced a multi-year agreement to put its Sparkle brand of paper towels on the No. 24 Chevrolet of four-time champion Jeff Gordon, beginning in 2006.
Sheila Weidman, vice president of corporate communications and marketing for Georgia-Pacific, said the associate sponsorship deal will not take away from its other NASCAR sponsorships, including qualifying night at Atlanta Motor Speedway’s fall race, as well as primary sponsorship of Kyle Petty’s No. 45 Brawny Dodge. G-P also is a sponsor of the Victory Junction Gang Camp.
"I’m really excited about this opportunity to be a part of the Georgia-Pacific team," Gordon said. "I’m also looking forward to representing all of life’s simple necessities that Georgia-Pacific is so well-known for. When this opportunity came about at Hendrick Motorsports, it really meant a lot to me because they do such a great job of bringing fun promotions out to the fans and the communities they live in. And I’m looking forward to being a part of that.
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10/28/05Tony (Stewart) has been the easier guy to race around in the Chase than the other two. Ryan Newman is very difficult to pass. It's tough to get position on him. Jimmie is hard to get position on as well. Tony’s just easier to race around that those two, just in my opinion, that’s what I’ve experienced inside the car.
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10/28/05
RYAN NEWMAN (No. 12 Alltel Dodge Charger)
COMMENT ON POSSIBLE ENGINE PROBLEMS AT AMS “We haven’t really seen engine problems in The Chase yet, and I think there’s potential for that – especially here.”
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10/27/05
The reconstruction teams that worked feverishly to put Atlanta Motor Speedway back together after an F2 tornado struck the facility on July 6 will be honored during pre-race activities for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500.
"Since day one, we have pledged to build Atlanta Motor Speedway back in time for the October 28-30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500," said Ed Clark, president and general manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway. "There is no way that we could have gotten this place where it is today without the group of people we had working."
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10/27/05
Ryan Newman has won five straight poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. He also has won five pole award at AMS's sister track, Lowe's Motor Speedway. If Newman wins the pole at AMS this weekend, Atlanta will become the track where he has won the most poles.
"The Alltel/Mobil 1 team always takes a great qualifying car to Atlanta," said Newman. "I think our five consecutive poles have proven how good our cars are. Qualifying for us, is a total team effort and all of the guys put in just as much heart and effort as I do in getting the pole. This Friday night, we're shooting for our sixth straight, which would just be incredible."
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10/26/05
Atlanta Motor Speedway will host the first annual invitation-only all-star Legends event, called the Papa John's Invitational. Former Legends star and hometown driver, Reed Sorenson will climb into the AMS flagstand on Friday night and wave green flag to start the event. Sorenson was the 1998, 1999 and 2001 AMS track champion. In only five seasons racing Legends, Sorenson logged 84 wins, with many at AMS.
Double Duty: Many drivers will attempt to race both the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 and the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Among the distinguished list of drivers are: Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch, Mike Bliss, Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner and Jimmy Spencer.
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10/26/05
Aaron Rents, Inc., the nation's leader in the rental, sales and lease ownership, specialty retailing and rental of residential and office furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, today announced it has partnered with the Atlanta Motor Speedway to bring a deserving group of young children to the October 29th Crown Royal IROC and Easy Care 200 Race Series.
The children are all 5th graders from William M. Boyd Elementary school located in Northwest Atlanta. The thirty kids attending the race were chosen by school administrators for demonstrating good citizenship and achieving superior academic results. The children will enjoy all the action and excitement of the race from a luxury suite donated by the Atlanta Motor Speedway and will be treated as VIP guests of both Aaron's and the entire Atlanta Motor Speedway staff.
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10/26/05Jeff Gordon held off a charging Tony Stewart late in the race to win Monday's Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Gordon, a four-time winner at the track, managed to hold off the faster car of Stewart until the yellow flag came out with three laps to go when Ryan Newman spun.
"We knew it would be hard to hold off Tony, I'm surprised we did," Gordon said. "I'd been loose all day. As he got to me, I started moving my line around, and when he got up to me, he seemed to slow down. He kept making surges and was on another one when the yellow came out."
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10/25/05The NASCAR Busch Series Aaron's 312 is over from Atlanta Motor Speedway, with Greg Biffle getting the win. Ryan Newman will start from the Pole for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 Sunday. Gates for the race open at 8:00 a.m. with pre-race starting at 12:00 p.m. with the race begining at 12:30. Remember tonight is the end of daylight savings, set your clocks back one hour!
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10/25/05
With any formidable challenge a gauntlet of events build to a final outcome. For the one competitor who can negotiate each test along the way the ultimate prize awaits. Each contest plays a part in the final result, and as the 2005 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup sprints its way to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 this weekend, title contenders face a high speed obstacle in their 10-race quest to claim the elusive year-end prize.
Tony Stewart, who is the current front runner in the Chase, has maneuvered his way through the many tests along the road to the 2005 championship the best so far. However, he has not been able to separate himself from many of his title foes, because one test along the way blemished his stellar performance. His misstep was at Atlanta's sister track, Lowe's Motor Speedway, when a tire problem sent his No. 20 Chevrolet spinning into the wall and 25th-place finish. The result, coupled with a Jimmie Johnson victory, brought the two competitors to the top spot of the points standing.
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10/25/05
Excitement guaranteed.
That's Atlanta Motor Speedway and Saturday's EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 that marks the return of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to the scene of March's closest superspeedway finish in series history.
Ron Hornaday Jr. pushed the nose of his No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet just far enough ahead of the bumper of Bobby Labonte's No. 47 Econo Lodge/Rodeway Inn Chevrolet to win by .008-second.
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10/25/05
EDWARDS LOOK TO GAIN GROUND, SWEEP ATLANTA
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) can use Jeff Gordon's (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet) season sweep at Martinsville as inspiration this weekend at Atlanta. Edwards, in his first fulltime NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series season, and his first Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, notched his first career series win in March at Atlanta. He also won the NASCAR Busch Series event there, another career first.
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10/25/05What: Due to Friday's Georgia-Pacific Power Qualifying Night (7:10 p.m. start) the south side of Atlanta will experience heavier than normal traffic flow during the evening rush hour. A record crowd in excess of 50,000 is expected for this Friday night event, so we implore your help in getting the word out about alternates/traffic patterns.
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10/21/05
It's just seven days until the cars and stars of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series invade the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race weekend and a limited number of seats are still available.
On Friday, October 28, the NEXTEL Cup Series will hit the pavement for the fastest qualifying session of the year during Georgia-Pacific Qualifying night. Immediately following qualifying, the best Legends car drivers from across the southeast will take on the quarter-mile Thunder Ring, one of the most challenging quarter-mile tracks in the United States. The all-star Legends drivers will battle for a $15,000 purse in the 50-lap Papa John's Invitational Legends race.
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10/21/05
NASCAR drivers competing in the Oct. 30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 and the Oct. 29 EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be battling for nearly $6.4 million in posted prize money.
The awards for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Craftsman Truck Series events are part of a $7,610,966 purse announced for the three days of racing that comprise the October 28-30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race week schedule of events.
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10/19/05
Carl Edwards will revisit the site of his coming out party when he returns October 28 - 30 to Atlanta Motor Speedway where he made history by scoring his first Busch and NEXTEL Cup Series wins during the same weekend.
Edwards accomplished the feat in just his seventeenth NEXTEL Cup start and his seventh career Busch series start.
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10/18/05
With two NASCAR Craftsman Truck races in the history books, Atlanta Motor Speedway boasts two spectacular finishes at the 1.54-mile quad oval.
In their March debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the tough trucks of NASCAR put on a fabulous display for the fans. With just a handful of laps remaining in the inaugural race, Mike Skinner and Bobby Hamilton set the stage for an unforgettable finish, racing side-by-side and banging fenders.
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10/18/05
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series testing continued today at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Fourteen cars were on the track testing in preparation for the upcoming Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 on October 30.
For the second day in a row, in his No. 80 Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet, J.J. Yeley was at the top of the speed charts posting a lap of 188.636 mph, (29.39 seconds). The No. 6 car of Mark Martin was second fastest, followed by the No. 20 Chevrolet, driven by Tony Stewart. Dale Earnhardt Jr. recorded a lap of 184.003 mph, (30.13 seconds).
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10/14/05
It's not every day a man can show up to work, flip a switch and collect $1 million. But that's exactly what Mark Martin will do Saturday, October 29 in the Crown Royal International Race of Champions season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Because of his successful Crown Royal IROC season to date, which includes two wins and a runner-up finish in three starts, Martin simply has to start the race to clinch the 2005 Crown Royal IROC series championship.
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10/14/05As the final coats of paint are applied, Atlanta Motor Speedway once again looks like the world-class racing facility it was before an F2 tornado ravished it on July 6. In fact, it is a much improved facility.
"Since day one, we have pledged to build Atlanta Motor Speedway back in time for the October 28-30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500," said Ed Clark, president and general manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway. "Not only are we going to meet that goal, we were able to take this disaster and use it as an opportunity to make Atlanta Motor Speedway a more fan-friendly track."
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10/12/05NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers, John Mickel and Steve Park tested their trucks today at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Mickel and Park both gathered as much information as possible in preparation for the upcoming EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 on October 29, 2005.
The drivers took to the track around 10 a.m. this morning. Unofficially, Mickel's best lap was 31.22 seconds (177.578 mph) and Park's best lap timed in at 31.19 seconds (177.670 mph).
Testing continues tomorrow and Thursday, with several other NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers set to take to the track.
Great seats are still available for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend. Make sure to catch all of the weekend's festivities, including Georgia-Pacific Qualifying Night with the Atlanta Invitational Legends race on Friday, and the Crown Royal IROC race followed by the Easy Care 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday. Contact the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at 770-946-4211 or via www.ticketmaster.com
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10/10/05At 3 p.m. today, the Bruton Smith Parkway (the newly realigned GA Hwy. 20) officially opened. Named after Atlanta Motor Speedway Chairman Bruton Smith, the four-lane parkway spans approximately ten miles and runs from exit 218 off I-75 directly to the speedway.
Smith, Governor Sonny Perdue and DOT commissioner Harold Linnenkohl participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony to open the highway to vehicular traffic.
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10/07/05The addition of the new four-lane Georgia Highway 20 will provide fans attending the Oct. 28-30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend one of the most positive improvements in the history of Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Spanning approximately eight miles from I-75 directly to the speedway, the new Bruton Smith Parkway, named for Speedway Chairman Bruton Smith, will give fans a second major traffic corridor to the track and should have a significant impact on race day traffic flow.
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10/06/05With its wide, sweeping turns, aged pavement and several racing grooves, Atlanta Motor Speedway is a paradise for stock car racing.
In particular, the Crown Royal International Race of Champions (IROC) race cars run exceptionally well at the 1.54-mile quad-oval. Making their inaugural visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway last fall, the Crown Royal IROC cars put on a magnificent show for the fans in attendance.
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10/05/05Jeff Gordon tested his No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet today at Atlanta Motor Speedway, gathering information and taking notes for the upcoming Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race on October 30.
Gordon started testing early this morning around 9:45. The track was mostly shaded by clouds this morning, but as the day continued, sun heated the track. Gordon's fastest unofficial lap time was 29.87 seconds at 185.604 mph.
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10/04/05Papa John's was named the title sponsor of the inaugural Atlanta Invitational Legends race to be held on October 28, 2005. A $15,000 purse is up for grabs, making this one of the highest paying Legends events ever. The newly named, Papa John's Invitational will pit track champions from around the Southeast, in a 50-lap Legends shoot-out.
The Papa John's Invitational will take place immediately following Georgia-Pacific Qualifying Night where the field will be set for the Sunday running of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. A record crowd will be in the stands for the inaugural Papa John's invitational.
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10/03/05Can you believe it? There is only three weeks left until the start of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race weekend and Atlanta Motor Speedway is bustling with activity.
With the October 30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 playing a pivotal role in the outcome of the NEXTEL Cup Chase for the Championship, race teams have had the date circled on their calendars for months. The race will go a long way in determining the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion.
- September 2005
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09/28/05Atlanta Motor Speedway officials announced today the addition of 33 Premier Camping spaces. These spaces are for recreational vehicles and will line the main boulevard to the speedway.
In addition to the great, paved location these spaces offer, they come with 50-amp electrical, water and sewer hookups. One tow-vehicle pass will be provided with each camping space purchased.
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09/26/05With the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race weekend rapidly approaching, Atlanta Motor Speedway still has great deals for fans wishing to attend. Family camping, pre-race pit passes, lap sponsorships and individual suite tickets are all still available in limited quantities.
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09/22/05Below is a schedule of events at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the month of October. The schedule is subject to change. For any further information about the scheduled events, please call Dan Rexrode in the track rentals department at (770) 946-3923 or the contact listed.
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09/22/05It only happens once a year, and this year's day for race fans to drive their own cars around the high banks of Atlanta Motor Speedway is Saturday, September 24.
But there will be much more than just the opportunity to drive your car around the track on Sept. on Sept. 24. The Open House will run from 3-7 p.m. and will feature ticket and autographed merchandise giveaways, infield and garage access and plenty of show cars to see.
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09/15/05When the stars of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series come to Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 30, 2005 for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500, all will have their sights set on winning the coveted trophy. But to 10 drivers, the race is critical to their quest to win the year-end championship trophy.
Following last Saturday night's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race, 10 drivers were locked into the "Chase For The NEXTEL Cup." The ten drivers include four past champions: Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch; last year's "Chase" participants: Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield; and first-timers to the "Chase": Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. AMS hosts the sixth event in the 10-race playoff format.
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09/14/05Peachtree City native, Reed Sorenson, makes NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series debut at Atlanta Motor SpeedwayRecently, Atlanta sports fans have had a lot of young talent to cheer about as the Atlanta Braves called up three rookies from the metro Atlanta area, Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann and Kyle Davies, all of whom have been making headlines.
Now Atlanta race fans will have their turn to cheer for young local talent as 19-year-old Peachtree City native, Reed Sorenson, will make his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series debut in the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 on October 30 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
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09/06/05In the wake of the F-2 tornado that passed through Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 6, speedway officials have taken the opportunity to make numerous improvements as part of the extensive rebuilding process.
"We are accentuating all the positives as we rebuild," said Atlanta Motor Speedway president and general manager Ed Clark. "Our goal is to make our facility an industry leader in terms of fan-friendliness and accessibility. Through this misfortune, we will come through it with an even better speedway than before."
Sidewalks have been installed around the speedway's perimeter, to give fans a walking area out of the roadways, which will ease the traffic flow around the speedway.
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09/02/05Atlanta Motor Speedway opens its doors to thousands of automotive enthusiasts for the NOPI Nationals Motorsports Supershow on September 17 - 18, 2005. This will mark the first major spectator event the facility has hosted since an F-2 tornado passed through the property on July 6. "NOPI has been a great partner with Atlanta Motor Speedway and we are proud to be the host site for the NOPI Nationals for the past eight years," said Ed Clark, president and general of Atlanta Motor Speedway. "It is a testament to the hundreds of individuals on the rebuilding team to see all that has been accomplished in such a short time. That is our commitment to our fans, to ensure they have an incredible experience every time they visit our venue.
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09/02/05Atlanta Motor Speedway opens its doors to thousands of automotive enthusiasts for the NOPI Nationals Motorsports Supershow on September 17 - 18, 2005. This will mark the first major spectator event the facility has hosted since an F-2 tornado passed through the property on July 6. "NOPI has been a great partner with Atlanta Motor Speedway and we are proud to be the host site for the NOPI Nationals for the past eight years," said Ed Clark, president and general of Atlanta Motor Speedway. "It is a testament to the hundreds of individuals on the rebuilding team to see all that has been accomplished in such a short time. That is our commitment to our fans, to ensure they have an incredible experience every time they visit our venue.
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09/01/05Robert Pressley tested his No. 59 HT Motorsports truck today gathering as much information as possible for the upcoming EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on October 29, 2005.
Pressley tested two trucks today starting around 10:30 a.m. The first truck is painted red and is the same truck the team ran in March during the World Financial Group 200. The second truck, just in primer paint, is brand new and has never been raced. Pressley's best lap in the red truck was 31.85 seconds (174.006 mph) and the primer truck ran a 31.72-second lap (174.779 mph).
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09/01/05The cars and stars of NASCAR will come to Atlanta Motor Speedway to take on the fastest track on the circuit, the weekend of October 28-30, for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race weekend. Family ticket specials are in place, offering high-speed entertainment at an affordable price in a family atmosphere. For just $30, fans can purchase two Saturday tickets in the alcohol-free Petty Grandstand for the price of one. To further the family atmosphere, adults entering the family area of the grandstand must be accompanied by at least one child, 12-years-old or younger, who will be admitted free. "That's just $30 for two tickets," said Ed Clark, president and general manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway. "Racing is a family sport and we strive to make our tickets affordable for any families that want to come watch a race."
- August 2005
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08/26/05Atlanta Motor Speedway has added 49 acres of unreserved camping for the October 28-30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race weekend. The addition brings over 2,000 camping spaces to the speedway's inventory. The new spaces have been graded with tent and pop-up campers needs in mind and offer a tree-lined backdrop. Accompanying the upgraded scenery, a new tram service is in place to shuttle fans from the campgrounds to their seats, and back.
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08/26/05Attention race fans…you can now order your tickets at any time of the day! In preparation for the upcoming Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend on October 28-30, Atlanta Motor Speedway's ticket office has extended their hours. The ticket office is always open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but has added Saturday (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) and Sunday (1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.) hours to accommodate fans. Tickets can be purchased by calling 770-946-4211 or 877-9AMSTIX. Fans can also visit the AMS ticket office to place their orders and get a sneak peek at the reconstruction efforts.
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08/26/05
Want to hear the rumble of engines? Watch the crew work feverishly on a car as race day approaches? Maybe even catch a glimpse of your favorite driver? Then you¿ll want to take a look at one of the three different packages for the Oct. 24-26 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend that include pre-race pit passes. As always, fans must be at least 14 years old and have appropriate attire to entire the pit area. Tickets for the Oct. 26 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 are not included in the packages below.
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08/24/05Below is a schedule of events at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the month of September. The schedule is subject to change. For any further information about the scheduled events, please call Dan Rexrode in the track rentals department at (770) 946-3923 or the contact listed.
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08/22/05Five world-class racing events at $14 apiece sounds like steal doesn't it? Well, grab yours while you can! It's one of the best deals in all of racing…a three-day NEXTEL Cup weekend package that starts at just $69. Atlanta Motor Speedway's three-day Super Saver ticket gives fans access to the entire Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend, which will pack five events into three days on October 28-30.
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08/11/05Seven weeks ago, during week four of Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder, the features were chocked full of cautions, causing the evening to run slow. To speed things up, director of events, Brandon Hutchison, challenged the competitors to run a caution free feature. He told the drivers, "I've got a hundred grand for each one of you at the end of the season if you can run this race caution free." The only class to do so was the Outlaws. Hutchison made good on his promise tonight in the driver's meeting, during the final week of Thursday Thunder. He presented each of the four Outlaws competitors with a 100 Grand candy bar. The drivers were all good sports and laughed at the joke, only to eat away their fortune before running their feature.
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08/04/05Dominance was the theme for tonight's Thursday Thunder races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Ryan Gandee (McDonough) started the night off with a bang for the Mid-Georgia Tractor Young Guns feature. Starting from mid-pack, Gandee rocketed to the front of the field. A few laps into the race, Gandee and J.R. Allen (Duluth) made contact, spinning both cars out, turning the lead over to Tyler Ridley (Ball Ground). Gandee had to start at the rear of the field, but drove up to the front to collect his sixth checkered flag in six races, remaining undefeated for the 2005 Thursday Thunder season. For the Bandolero Bandits feature, Max Gresham brought the field to the green flag. On lap two, there was a multi-car wreck in turn four, bringing out the caution flag. Gresham continued to lead, but had Josh Williams (Fort Charlotte, Fla.) hot on his heels. Gresham drove a solid line and defended his position, capturing his second win of the Thursday Thunder season.
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08/03/05Workers repair a damaged I-beam high atop the frontstretch suites. Rebuilding continues on schedule for completion prior to the Bass Pro Shops MBNA weekend.
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08/03/05Atlanta Motor Speedway's Oct. 28-30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race weekend has been named a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event for October, 2005.
Each month, 20 events compete to be named a Southeast Tourism Society Top Event. Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia are all states eligible for the honor, which has been awarded since 1985.
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08/02/05NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series cars took to the track today for the first time since a tornado hit Atlanta Motor Speedway on July 6. In a closed test session, NASCAR officials took data from a Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Bobby Labonte in the morning, and in the afternoon session, Dale Jarrett was behind the wheel in the new Ford Fusion. Official speeds were not released from the test session.
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08/02/05Atlanta Motor Speedway Employees prepare for the October 28-30 Bass pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend. A Speedway employee maintains the grass in the infield, inside of turn three.
- July 2005
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07/28/05Due to the tornado damage Atlanta Motor Speedway sustained three weeks ago, Thursday Thunder activities were suspended. AMS worked feverishly to get the facility cleaned up in order to return to racing. Track officials decided to resume Thursday Thunder racing, however, could not open the grandstands to fans due to the reconstruction efforts on the Earnhardt and Champions grandstands and suites. Tonight was the first time competitors were able to return to racing. Mother Nature almost had her way again with a downpour of rain 20 minutes prior to the start of the first feature. After the rain shower passed, director of events, Brandon Hutchison, made the call to resume racing activities with the Legends classes, as Legends cars are equipped to run under wet racing conditions.
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07/27/05Mike Helton, president of NASCAR, visited Atlanta Motor Speedway today to survey the damage the track sustained when a tornado struck the facility three weeks ago. Atlanta Motor Speedway president and general manager Ed Clark took Helton for a tour around the 870-acre facility to view the areas the tornado affected. Following the tour of the property, Clark and Helton addressed the media from AMS's Infield Media Center. "We have a schedule set up and some areas of reconstruction are ahead of schedule," said Clark. "The cleanup is complete and the insurance company is estimating values. The suites are currently being built back and almost all of the suite demolition is complete.
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07/21/05Atlanta Motor Speedway track officials announced this afternoon they will run the final three races of the Thursday Thunder season on July 28, August 4 and August 11 for competitors only. "Last night, we hosted a INEX practice session for our Legends, Bandolero and Thunder Roadster cars where we determined we are capable of hosting this event," said director of events, Brandon Hutchison. "We have all the necessities needed to run the race from a competition standpoint: radio transmission, an operational garage area and our track surface is in perfect condition as it never received any damage from the storm. "In order to complete the races before dark, we will start the event at 5:30 p.m.," said Hutchison. "Under normal racing conditions, the competitors receive practice laps, an eight-lap heat race and a 20-lap feature, but due to the time constraints, we will run a 25-lap feature race per class only."
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07/21/05It has only been two weeks since the tornado hit Atlanta Motor Speedway and track officials are pleased with the progress of the reconstruction. "Power has been restored to almost 100 percent of the property," said president and general manager of AMS, Ed Clark. "Our telephone lines, email, Internet and ticket office are back in business which is essential to our day-to-day operations. "We have completed the cleanup of the grounds including the removal of all downed trees and broken limbs off trees," said Clark. "The suite level demolition is almost complete and we should have all the material removed by the end of the week. The decking is going on both suite levels this week.
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07/21/05Due to the ongoing reconstruction requirements, Atlanta Motor Speedway track officials have cancelled the remainder of the Thursday Thunder racing series events through August 11. The 10-week racing series, comprised of Legends, Bandolero and Thunder Roadster cars, completed four of the scheduled ten race weeks prior to the storm. "Due to the construction projects required to prepare for the upcoming Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race weekend held on October 28-30, we will be unable to complete the remainder of the 2005 Thursday Thunder events as scheduled," said events director, Brandon Hutchison. "It is our hope that we will be able to make up at least some of the remaining events at a later date and crown season champions at the end of the series. We will know more about this possibility as the rebuilding process moves along.
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07/20/05
Atlanta Motor Speedway officials announced today the addition of twelve 16-person suites to their frontstretch suite level.
Currently, AMS offers 30-person and 64-person suites, but with the recent tornado damage the track sustained, track officials chose to reconfigure the suite level area, adding a third option for their customers.
"We have had a lot of requests from companies in the Atlanta market for suites on a smaller scale," said Ed Clark, president and general manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway. "This option is perfect for an organization with fewer employees or wants to entertain their customers on a more intimate level.
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07/19/05Below is a schedule of events at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the month of August. The schedule is subject to change. For any further information about the scheduled events, please call Dan Rexrode in the track rentals department at (770) 946-3923 or the contact listed. August 2 NASCAR test 1.54-mile track Closed to media and public August 6-7 Xtreme Measures driving school Earnhardt & For more information, please contact 404-379-5667 or Champion www.xtrememeasures.org
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07/14/05Only one week after suffering damage from an F2 tornado, Atlanta Motor Speedway is officially back in business. Today, Performance Friction Brakes will be using the 1.54-mile oval to test their brake upgrade kit for BMW M3's by performing repeated stops. The test was scheduled prior to last week's storm and is one track rental among many that use the speedway facility approximately 265 days per year. In addition, Ed Clark, president and general manager of Atlanta Motor Speedway addressed the media with a construction progress update. The track property encompasses 870 acres and the following list of projects will be completed before the Bass Pro Shops MBNA race weekend held October 28-30:
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07/11/05Dear race fans and the NASCAR community,
On Wednesday evening, July 6, an F2 tornado, with winds of 150 m.p.h., hit the Atlanta Motor Speedway causing considerable damage to the speedway.
Our primary concern right now is executing a plan that will ensure a successful running of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 race weekend on October 28-30. We have an excellent team of professionals working around the clock to make this happen. Our promise is the fall race weekend will proceed with no discomfort to fans.
We will have a full slate of top-notch racing for the fall race weekend. Friday night, October 28, Georgia-Pacific Qualifying will be held under the lights and on Saturday, the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and Crown Royal IROC Series will return to the speedway for what promises to be another exciting day of action. On Sunday, October 30, the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 will play a crucial role in determining the 2005 NEXTEL Cup Champion.
There has been a tremendous out-pouring of care and concern for the speedway and its staff during this difficult time. We would like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. I can't tell you how this has energized our staff during these past few difficult days.
We look forward to hosting you for a great Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend.
Sincerely,
Ed Clark
President and General Manager
Atlanta Motor Speedway
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07/11/05IMPORTANT NOTICE:
- TICKETS: The ticket office is back online! To purchase tickets, please call 770-946-4211 or email the ticket office at amstix@atlantamotorspeedway.com.
- THURSDAY THUNDER: Thursday Thunder has been canceled for July 21.
- NOPI NATIONALS: The NOPI NATIONALS will run as scheduled at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 17-18. For more information, please visit www.nopinationals.com.
- TRACK RENTALS: Starting July 14, Atlanta Motor Speedway will resume their track rental schedule. To reserve any future activities, please contact our Track Rental Coordinator, Dan Rexrode, at 404-983-0663.
- CORPORATE SALES: All suites and hospitality will be ready in time for the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. Please make your reservation with the sales department.
- TICKETS: The ticket office is back online! To purchase tickets, please call 770-946-4211 or email the ticket office at amstix@atlantamotorspeedway.com.
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07/07/05Hampton, Ga. (July 7, 2005) -- An F2 tornado pounded the Atlanta Motor Speedway Wednesday evening, July 6 causing heavy structural damage to luxury suites, condominiums, corporate offices and the infield area. The tornado was estimated at one-half mile wide with winds of 150 m.p.h. As a result of the storm, speedway officials have cancelled Thursday Thunder racing tonight and next Thursday, July 14. An overall assessment of the track and grandstand areas will be conducted before a decision regarding the remainder of the 2005 Thursday Thunder racing season can be made. "There wasnít really damage to the racing surface," said AMS president, Ed Clark. "We could run a race in a couple days as far as the track is concerned, but the infield, general property and suite areas that are the main concern."
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07/07/05All phone and internet communication with the speedway has been disrupted. To contact the PR department please email amspr@smicorporate.com . Please check back often for updated contact information and more information regarding upcoming events and their ticket holders. Tickets are still availabel to the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 through Ticketmaster! Atlanta Motor Speedway Thursday Thunder has been cancelled for Thursday, July 7 and Thursday, July 14 due to the tornado damage received at the speedway on Wednesday evening. AMS officials will assess how the damage to the facility will affect the remainder of the 2005 Thursday Thunder schedule. Continue to read complete article to view images for the damage.
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07/01/05Week 5 of Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder marks the halfway point of the season. Gresham & Associates' Night is presented by WSB-TV where sports reporters, Chuck Dowdle and Bill Hartman will race in a celebrity grudge match at intermission. Fireworks, brought to you by Gresham & Associates, will end the evening's festivities. NEW RECORDS: Each week, AMS collects money for their 50/50 raffle that benefits Speedway Children's Charities. Thanks to all the fans goodwill, a record high collection, $1,148, was donated during last week's Thursday Thunder race. A record-high 114 cars jammed pit road during last week's Thursday Thunder event.
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07/01/05A record-high 114 cars participated in this week's Red, White, and Blue Extravaganza at Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder. Fireworks lit up the sky after all of the feature races, but the competitors made sure the fans had more than one great show to watch. Last week's winner, Chris Cable (Griffin), started from the point for the Pro feature. Cable had an excellent start and was able to put a few car-lengths between he and the second-place car of Beau Slocumb (Juliette). By lap 13, Slocumb was right on Cable's tail and worked him hard, lap after lap, however, Cable was the dominant car of the race and took his second win of the season. For the Roadsters feature, last week's winner, Dale Akridge (Lilburn), started on the pole. AMS president, Ed Clark (Peachtree City), pulled right up to Akridge's door and the two raced side-by side for may laps, but Akridge was stronger. On lap seven, Akridge got loose in turn four allowing Kyle Beattie (Concord, N.C.) to get by him. Beattie pulled away from the field and never looked back capturing his first win of the season.
- June 2005
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06/30/05On June 30th, Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder brings the largest fireworks show in the state! WDEN joins Atlanta Motor Speedway as a nightly partner to host the fireworks show. WIN A PRIZE: This Thursday's theme is Red, White and Blue, so dress in your best patriotic outfit to win a prize! HIGHWAY SAFETY AND LEGENDS DRIVER: Last week, AMS hosted the OPERANTION ZERO TOLERANCE press conference from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. OPERATION ZERO TOLERANCE is a statewide enforcement initiative to raise driver awareness to the deadly consequences of drunk driving.
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06/30/05HAMPTON, GA (June 29, 2005) With three wins, nine top-10 and six top-five finishes in just three races, it is not a stretch to say that the newest talent to hit the Legends Semi-Pro division at Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder has been dominant. For Casey Roderick, Kyle Fowler, Tina Johnson and Taylor Hull, moving up from the Bandolero Bandits and dominating the Semi-Pro Legends series has not come without proper preparation.
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06/26/05GlaxoSmithKline [GSK] Consumer Healthcare marks another NASCAR "first" today, announcing plans for Nicorette® to sponsor next year's NASCAR Busch Series race on March 18, 2006 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The event would be named the Nicorette 300. This announcement was made today at Infineon Raceway in California prior to the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series event.
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06/24/05Hampton, GA (June 23, 2005) It was a night of sheer dominance in almost every feature during week three of Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder. The Roadsters division was the first group to take to the track for the night. The only female in the race, Paige Monette (Alpharetta), started on the pole. Dale Ackridge (Lilburn) took the early lead in the race and jumped ahead of the field. Jim Gresham (Stockbridge) closed in on Ackridge at the end of the race and it came down to a photo finish with Ackridge taking the checkered flag for his second career win. Josh Williams (Port Charlotte, Fla.) started the Atlanta Dental Team Bandits feature on the pole. On the first lap in turn three, week one winner Darrell Wallace, Jr. (Concord, N.C.) took the lead. Austin Hill (Winston) worked his way through the field and moved up to the second position by lap 13, however Hill was unable to make the pass and Wallace scored his second win of the season.
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06/22/05HAMPTON, GA (June 21, 2005) - For week three of Thursday Thunder, WBS-AM joins Atlanta Motor Speedway as a nightly partner. WSB-AM traffic reporters, Captain Herb Emory and Mark Arum, will compete in a celebrity grudge match in Junker cars during intermission. With only two cars on the track, there shouldn't be any traffic for them to sort through, but let's see if they can keep from wrecking each other, otherwise they'll be the ones creating congestion for the first time! RHUBARB'S MARCH ACROSS GEORGIA RECAP: Last week, Rhubarb's March Across Georgia stopped by Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder. Through fan donations and donations from Atlanta Motor Speedway, $4,124.57 was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
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06/17/05HAMPTON, GA (June 17, 2005) -- At the impressionable age of 4, Austin Hill saw a video biography of Jeff Gordon and knew he had found a new hobby. "We showed Austin a video that told of Jeff Gordon's start in racing and Austin really liked what he saw," remembered Brian Hill, Austin's father. Gordon, who started his career racing quarter-midgets in California, has gone on to an illustrious career racing in NASCAR's elite division. Hill has the same plans for his racing future. "I want to race NASCAR someday. That is my racing goal and something that I would really like to do," Hill said.
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06/17/05Hampton, GA (June 9, 2005) Atlanta Motor Speedway delivered another night of action-packed racing for week two of their Thursday Thunder series. The first race of the evening was the Atlanta Dental Team Bandits division with Austin Hill (Winston) on the pole. For the first half of the race, Hill went unchallenged until last week's winner, Darrell Wallace, Jr. (Concord, N.C.) made an aggressive move, diving down to the inside of turn one to take over the lead. Hill stayed right on Wallace's bumper and with two laps go, the two cars made contact and spun each other out. The contact between Hill and Wallace allowed Max Gresham (Griffin) to grab the lead and bring home his first Thursday Thunder Atlanta Dental Team Bandits win.
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06/14/05HAMPTON, GA -- Last week's Thursday Thunder season opener brought a record opening night crowd and the largest car count of competitors to date to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Week two brings a bevy of activities for Papa John's Pizza Night presented by Rhubarb's March Across Georgia with Eagle 106.7 FM. RHUBARB'S MARCH ACROSS GEORGIA: This week, Thursday Thunder partners with Rhubarb Jones with Eagle 106.7 FM for Rhubarb's March Across Georgia. Each year, Rhubarb conducts a month long march to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma. The visit at AMS will be his 13th stop on his 24-visit trek he will make this month. Before feature racing begins, the Bandolero Bandits drivers will walk through the grandstands to collect money for charity. Any person who donates over $500 will receive 10 free pizza coupons courtesy of Papa John's Pizza.
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06/10/05Hampton, GA - The opening night of Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder put on an exciting show for the fans with several first time winners in their series, a protested win and lots of action on the track.
The night started off with the Atlanta Dental Team Bandits feature race. After several caution periods the race finally got underway. A winner was declared, however the winning driver's motor was protested, so results cannot be released until the protest is resolved.
Next up was the Semi-Pro race. On the first lap, Chris Buescher (Prospect, Texas) took the lead, however, a hard-charging Kyle Fowler (Smyrna) made his way through the field and with two laps to go, took over the lead to score his first win in the Semi-Pro division. Fowler finished second in the Bandits division last year but is looking to make his mark this season in the Semi-Pro series.
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06/08/05HAMPTON, GA (June 8, 2005) - Sparks will fly under the lights as a full slate of racing action gets underway at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Thursday evening, June 9.
Anticipation and expectations come with the start of any new season and the Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thursday Thunder racing series is no exception. Prior to the start of the 2005 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season, members of the national media tabbed Jimmie Johnson as the 2005 Cup series champion.
Atlanta Motor Speedway officials conducted an unofficial poll to determine a general consensus pick for each division. The 2005 championship picks are listed below:
- May 2005
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05/20/05Fans can get an early look at NEXTEL Cup teams this March when the NEXTEL Cup Series rolls into Atlanta Motor Speedway. Not only will you enjoy a weekend packed with thrilling racing at NASCAR's fastest track, but several exciting changes have been made to enhance your experience while here.
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05/10/05The Crown Royal International Race of Champions Series (IROC) tested at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Monday, May 9 and Tuesday, May 10 in preparation for their season finale race. While the 100-mile event features 12 drivers from different disciplines of auto racing, the hidden heroes of the IROC Series are their test drivers. Three were on hand during the two-day test to dial in the cars for Atlanta event: Dave Marcis, and the father and son duo of Jim and Jay Sauter.
"IROC is going to have a real good race at Atlanta this fall," said Jay Sauter. "The tires feel good in every groove. The cars are driving well and you can go anywhere you want on the racetrack. We are running wide open and have a lot of corner speed. You get the draft effect like Daytona and when you get 12 cars out there at one time, it makes for great racing."
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05/06/05Atlanta Motor Speedway officials have added a brand new Legends series event to their line up for the October Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend. The race, named ¿The Atlanta Invitational,¿ is an invitation only event for Legends racers throughout the southeast and will be held on Atlanta Motor Speedway¿s ¼-mile asphalt Thunder Ring. The 50-lap feature will be held Friday, October 28th following Georgia-Pacific Qualifying with a purse of $15,000.
Racers can qualify for an invitation by winning Pro, Masters and Semi-Pro features during the Atlanta Motor Speedway Thursday Thunder and the Lowe¿s Motor Speedway Summer Shootout. Also, all 2005 State Asphalt Champions from Ga., Fla., Ala., Tenn., N.C. and S.C. will receive an invitation, plus track champions from 13 southeast tracks (Lanier, Cordele, Senoia, Albany, Orlando, Anderson, Hardeeville, Concord, Hickory, Caraway, Coastal Plains, Wake County, Nashville, Highland Rim and Sunny South). The 2005 National Asphalt Champions will receive automatic starting positions in the Atlanta Invitational.
- March 2005
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03/31/05The stars of NASCAR will return to Atlanta for one of the final races in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup Championship, the Oct. 28-30 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend. The racing will be red-hot, as every point could mean the difference between the championship and second place. The Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend will start off with the fastest qualifying session in NASCAR at Georgia-Pacific Qualifying Night on Friday, Oct. 28. On Saturday, Oct. 29, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers will return for the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200, the second truck race of the season at Atlanta. In typical Atlanta fashion, the spring truck race was decided by a photo as Ron Hornaday edged NEXTEL Cup star Bobby Labonte for the win. This fall¿s race is sure to be just as spectacular. Immediately after the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 will be the exciting season finale of the International Race of Champions (IROC), a race made up of the best 12 racers in the country from all disciplines of racing. They will all come together to battle for the championship and the $1 million purse to the winner. The weekend will culminate on Sunday, Oct. 30, with the running of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500, when the NEXTEL Cup drivers will be scrapping for every position on track, and every point in the race for the championship. Could another photo finish be in the offing for this race too?
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03/20/05Carl Edwards made NASCAR history at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, winning the Golden Corral 500 ¿ his first NEXTEL Cup win ¿ just a day after capturing his first Busch Series win in Saturday¿s Aaron¿s 312. After celebrating with his now-famous backflip, Edwards continued to charm the world with his aw-shucks charm. ¿This is beyond my wildest dreams, and I¿m enjoying every minute of it,¿ Edwards said. ¿About two and a half years ago, I was working on my dirt car in my garage at home; this is pretty cool. It¿s unbelievable.¿ Edwards was a strong competitor throughout the day, starting fourth and staying in the top 10 throughout the 325-lap race. But it wasn¿t until the final feet of the final lap that Edwards earned his first career NEXTEL Cup win, banging door-to-door with Jimmie Johnson. At the checkered flag, it was a typical Atlanta photo finish, as .028 seconds separated the two cars. It was Atlanta¿s fourth photo finish in five years. In 2000, Dale Earnhardt beat Bobby Labonte to the line by .010 seconds. The next year, Kevin Harvick bested Jeff Gordon by .006 seconds. And then on Friday, Ron Hornaday outlasted Labonte by .008 seconds in the World Financial Group 200 Craftsman Truck race.
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03/19/05With his trademark backflip and childlike exuberance, Carl Edwards celebrated his win Saturday in the Aaron¿s 312 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his first in the NASCAR Busch Series. Edwards held off a closing Tony Stewart in the final laps to cement that first win in what was also his first Busch start at the fast track. ¿This is unbelievable,¿ Edwards said. ¿This is the biggest win of my career. To race with guys like Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson ¿ they¿re unbelievable.¿ Edwards is a full-time NEXTEL Cup driver this year, but that hasn¿t diminished his enthusiasm for racing with ¿ and regularly outracing ¿ the same drivers he still idolizes. He will compete again on Sunday in the No. 99 Scott¿s Ford for Roush Racing, starting fourth. ¿Tony just started closing in the last couple laps,¿ Edwards said. ¿Dang man, this is cool.¿
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03/18/05In a fantastic photo finish, Ron Hornaday Jr. beat Bobby Labonte to the checkered flag Friday night to win the World Financial Group 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In just his third start behind the wheel of the No. 6 GM Goodwrench Silverado, the former two-time series champion scored his 27th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory in an exciting green-white-checkered finish by just eight thousandths of a second over Labonte. Labonte, in his third appearance in the No. 47 Chevrolet All Star Silverado fielded by Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, overcame a lap 77 spin through the grass of the quad-oval to challenge Hornaday for the win. The pair had the crowd on their feet for the two-lap shootout. Labonte made his move on the outside as they exited turn two on the final lap. The two charged through turns three and four headed for the checkered flag side-by-side. Hornaday was able to gain just enough grip on the bottom side of the track to pull of the win by just a blink of an eye. Dennis Setzer brought the No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado to the finish line in fourth followed by David Starr in the No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Silverado. Defending NCTS champion Bobby Hamilton (Dodge) finished third.
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03/17/05Every year, one of the biggest questions fans have is, "Where is Trackside?" Here is the fan¿s complete guide to all Speed Channel productions this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Speed stage is located outside the track, behind the Earnhardt Grandstand, near Gate 14. FRIDAY NASCAR LIVE (Noon, 12:30pm, 1, 3, 4 and 6:00 p.m.) Hosts: Steve Byrnes, Bob Dillner and John Roberts Trackside - Friday @ 5:00PM (Taped; airs following World Financial Group 200 race) Hosts: Steve Byrnes, Jeff Hammond, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip Guests: Ryan Newman - #12 Mobil Fed Ex Dodge; Mike Bliss - #0 Netzero Chevy; Matt Kenseth - #17 Dewalt Ford
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03/17/05Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn, the 2004 Walter Payton Man of the Year, has been named the Grand Marshal for Saturday's Aaron¿s 312 Busch race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Warrick Dunn and two recipients from his Home for the Holidays program will give the command to the Aaron¿s 312 drivers to start their engines. The Home for The Holidays program was established in 1997 and has helped 51 low-income, single mother families become first-time homeowners. In 2004, Dunn handed the keys to three single mothers for their new homes. Through the Home for the Holidays program, Dunn makes the down payments on new houses, then works with Aaron¿s to fill each home with necessities such as furniture, electronics and computers, and other local businesses for linens, lawn and gardening equipment, lamps, kitchen appliances, and food. "I'm very excited to have another opportunity to start the race again, particularly here in Atlanta for Aaron¿s," Dunn said. "We have had two great years with Aaron¿s, as they have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make dreams come true for the moms, their families and myself. I look forward to many, many years of success with them."
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03/16/05Chevrolet has definitely made its mark on Atlanta Motor Speedway in recent years. And that mark is in the shape of a bowtie. Chevrolet drivers have dominated Victory Lane at Atlanta, winning 10 of the last 13 races at the lightning fast high-banked 1.54-mile track. Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have helped to make Atlanta Motor Speedway a home track for Chevy. Labonte has won six races in the last nine years and has the best record in Atlanta of active drivers. But Labonte, who switched to Chevrolet power in 2002, hasn¿t been able to count all six of his wins for Chevy. In fact, the only win his bowtie brigade can claim is his most recent, the spring 2003 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. Prior to that, Labonte was winning under General Motors¿ other banner, Pontiac. And that makes not just Chevrolet, but General Motors, the dominant force in Atlanta. In fact, the only non-General Motors car to win at Atlanta since 1997 was Kurt Busch in the fall 2002 NAPA 500.
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03/16/05Award-winning country music artist and songwriter Phil Vassar will be the Grand Marshal and sing the national anthem for Friday's World Financial Group 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Vassar¿s new album, Shaken Not Stirred, will also highlight the paint scheme of Bobby Labonte's No. 47 Morgan-Dollar Motorsports Silverado, along with the Nashville Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Vassar began his career performing his growing repertoire of original songs at his Nashville club-restaurant. Before embarking on his solo career, which has produced more than half a dozen Top 10 hits (including his break out No. 1 single "Just Another Day In Paradise"), Vassar penned hits for a number of top artists including Tim McGraw ("My Next Thirty Years"), Alan Jackson ("Right on the Money"), and Jo Dee Messina ("Bye Bye"). Englebert Humperdinck also recorded "Once in a While", a composition that Vassar penned in the beginning of his career with a fellow bartender. He has earned numerous songwriting awards, as well as new artist distinctions from Academy of County Music (ACM), Country Music Association (CMA), R&R Magazine and Gavin.
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03/15/05Multi-platinum country recording artist John Michael Montgomery will sing the national anthem for the March 20 Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, capping off a heart-swelling military demonstration scheduled for pre-race by the U.S. Special Operations Command. The U.S. Special Operations Command is back for the second straight year with participants from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Leading the special operations demonstration will be Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr., commanding general of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Race fans will be treated to a demonstration by special operations forces that will be capped off with the scheduled arrival of the race¿s official pace car inside an MH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). In addition to the Chinook helicopter, other aircraft scheduled to be included in the demonstration include the MH-60 Black Hawk and MH-6 Little Bird helicopters and an MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft. Following this dramatic pre-race demonstration, Montgomery will take the stage for the singing of our national anthem.
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03/14/05Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, Rep. Mike Barnes and Sen. John Douglas will host the 3rd Annual Atlanta Motor Speedway Day on Wednesday, March 16, at the Georgia State Capitol. Fans are invited and encouraged to attend and show their support for Atlanta¿s racing industry. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup legend Bill Elliott and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series drivers Bill Lester and Terry Cook will be on hand for the day¿s festivities, which will include a fan zone of showcars, simulators and displays on the south perimeter of the Capitol. The public is invited to attend this midway of activity at the Capitol. Due to time constraints, there will not be any autograph sessions with the drivers. Gov. Perdue will host a news conference at 10 a.m. on the north steps inside the State Capitol building downtown. In addition to the NASCAR drivers, Mark Lazarus (President of Turner Entertainment Group) and Blake Davidson (NASCAR Managing Director for Licensed Products) will also speak at the news conference about the possibility of bringing the NASCAR Hall of Fame to downtown Atlanta.
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03/10/05Ron Hornaday has raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway before, but even that didn¿t prepare him for Thursday¿s in his No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevy Silverado.
¿I had heard that you could run flat-out here, but I didn¿t believe it until today,¿ Hornaday said. ¿I¿m not surprised ¿ I¿m shocked. I can¿t believe you can run these trucks like that. I held my breath for the first lap and then I got comfortable.¿
Hornaday was at Atlanta preparing for next Friday¿s World Financial Group 200, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race that will kick off an action-packed weekend of racing. The March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend will be the first time all three of NASCAR¿s national touring series ¿ Craftsman Truck, Busch and NEXTEL Cup ¿ will compete in Atlanta on the same weekend.
With a handful of NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series races under his belt at Atlanta, plus one previous Craftsman Truck test many years ago, Hornaday said he thought he had the fast track figured out. Now, he¿s glad he spent the day testing.
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03/09/05Before last week, Shane Hmiel was just driving in the NASCAR Busch Series. But during Wednesday¿s test at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hmiel was preparing to run all three races during next weekend¿s Golden Corral 500 weekend. Hmiel will start the weekend in the World Financial Group 200 Craftsman Truck race on Friday (March 18), then compete in the Aaron¿s 312 Busch race on Saturday (March 19) and finish up with the Golden Corral 500 on Sunday (March 20). Hmiel was testing his NEXTEL Cup car on Wednesday and turning the fastest laps of 2005, as he circled the 1.54-mile fast track in 29.26 seconds (189.424 mph). "We¿ve got a really good car right now," Hmiel said. "If we come back next weekend and it drives like this, then we¿ll be looking for a top-10 qualifying spot. We¿ve got a good car, and that¿s all we can ask for." Hmiel sounds confident ¿ and he should. His times Wednesday were faster than those of four-time pole sitter Ryan Newman, who tested at Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday but was admittedly not looking for speed. "Being fastest today doesn¿t mean much," Hmiel said. "But it¿s nice to be fast."
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03/09/05Atlanta Motor Speedway has a new toll-free ticket number for fans to call to order tickets for upcoming events, including the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500. To make it easier for fans calling from outside the metro Atlanta area, AMS officials have acquired this new toll free line: (877) 9-AMS-TIX, or (877) 926-7849. The local ticket office number, (770) 946-4211, will still be in use for all local customers. Not only can fans purchase tickets on this new toll-free line, but they can also obtain information regarding upcoming events, camping spaces, pre-race pit access and much more. Great seats are still available for all three days of racing action during the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend. Call the new toll-free number (877) 9-AMS-TIX for more information, or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.
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03/08/05The garages at Atlanta Motor Speedway were crowded Tuesday as 14 NASCAR teams prepared for the new tires, new impound rules and new spoiler heights that will be in effect for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers Carl Edwards, Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Travis Kvapil, Bobby Labonte, Jason Leffler, Jeremy Mayfield, Ryan Newman, Scott Riggs and Scott Wimmer; Busch drivers Brandon Miller and Denny Hamlin; and Craftsman Truck driver Jack Sprague all tested Tuesday at NASCAR¿s fastest track. As expected, four-time Atlanta pole winner Ryan Newman was fastest again on Tuesday, topping the unofficial speed chart with a lap of 29.57 seconds (187.487 mph). "The car feels good, the same as yesterday," Newman said. "Atlanta is a good track to test many different things, so we¿re working on car balance, the new tires, and the aero package."
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03/08/05Jimmy Spencer will triple his chances of heading to Victory Lane during next weekend¿s Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, since he will be competing in all three of the NASCAR series races. Spencer will begin his weekend on Friday, March 18, with the World Financial Group 200. He has returned full-time this season to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he is concentrating on trying to win a championship with his No. 2 Team ASE Dodge. On Saturday, March 19, Spencer will take over Michael Waltrip¿s No. 98 Busch Series car to compete in the Aaron¿s 312. By Sunday, when Spencer plans to run the No. 50 Arnold Motorsports Dodge in the Golden Corral 500 NEXTEL Cup race, he¿ll have every bump in the fast track memorized. But with no points or provisionals to fall back on for the Aaron¿s 312 and the Golden Corral 500, Spencer knows he will have to qualify well in order to complete the triple.
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03/07/05¿Rocketman¿ Ryan Newman has four straight pole positions at the fastest track in the NASCAR, but Atlanta Motor Speedway¿s fastest man didn¿t have speed on his mind during Monday¿s test at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Newman was in Atlanta for the first day of a two-day test for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500. Also testing were Scott Wimmer, Travis Kvapil, Jason Leffler and Busch driver Brandon Miller. ¿It¿s a really good track for us as far as the pole goes,¿ Newman said. ¿We¿re good here for parts of the race, but not the whole race, so that¿s what we¿re working on. We¿re working on long runs, tires, set-ups, and reliability.¿ And although he wasn¿t looking for speed, Newman again topped the unofficial speed charts. He circled his No. 12 Alltel Dodge around Atlanta¿s 1.54-mile quad-oval at 29.48 seconds (186.060 mph). Second fastest was Jason Leffler in the No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet, turning a lap in 29.84 seconds (185.790 mph).
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03/07/05The term ¿weekend warrior¿ has become all but extinct in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series. Drivers in the three national touring series now make their living through racing, and it¿s easy to see why, with this spring¿s purse topping $6.2 million.
This year¿s Golden Corral 500 weekend awards will offer a spring event record of $6,268,978, a whopping 21 percent increase over last year¿s total prize money.
Drivers in the Golden Corral 500 will be battling for a $4.8 million purse, a record for the spring event at Atlanta Motor Speedway and quite an increase from the $39,500 awarded for the first race at Atlanta in 1960.
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03/02/05Kerry Earnhardt¿s name was still above the door, but it was Shane Hmiel testing the No. 15 Billy Ballew Chevrolet Wednesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Only two days ago, Hmiel had no plans to complete this year in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series. But he received a call on Tuesday to return to the vehicle he drove last year and just in time for the March 18 World Financial Group 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
He will be taking over for Earnhardt, who will not be racing at Atlanta because of lack of sponsorship. Albertson¿s parted ways with the team this week.
¿Kerry is a great guy,¿ Ballew said. ¿It takes lots of money to keep these operations running, and because of lack of sponsorship we were unable to run Kerry in the Atlanta race.¿
Shane Hmiel was more than happy to accept the offer to drive the No. 15 after his immediate success with the team last year made Billy Ballew Motorsports a familiar place to Hmiel.
¿This is like my home (Billy Ballew Motorsports),¿ Hmiel said. ¿Billy is like a father to me. He¿s always there to bring me back into racing, and last year he paid out of his own pocket. Racing with him feels like Saturday night racing, six guys and the truck, that¿s it. It¿s good to come here and be the fastest above these factory-backed teams.¿
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03/01/05Even though Bobby Labonte has more wins than any other full-time driver at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he¿ll be a rookie on Friday, March 18.
That¿s when Bobby Labonte will return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series in the No. 47 Chevy All-Stars Silverado for the World Financial Group 200. As usual, he¿ll also be looking for another win in his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet in the March 20 Golden Corral 500 NEXTEL Cup race as well.
But Labonte was focused entirely on his Chevy truck on Tuesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, when he was preparing for his Craftsman Truck Series debut at the fast track. His first few laps didn¿t set any speed records, but Labonte said he was just getting warmed up when he turned a lap around the 1.54-mile speedway in 31.19 seconds (177.749 mph.
¿I¿m real excited,¿ Labonte said. ¿At night it¿s exciting for the fans and drivers. Under the lights, the speeds just look faster.¿
At the other end of the garage, Hendrick development driver Blake Feese was back in a Busch car for the first time since last October¿s Aaron¿s 312, when he finished 25th. Now one of two drivers rotating in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Busch car, Feese was pleased with his performance right off the truck.
- February 2005
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02/28/05The two biggest qualifying sessions in the history of Atlanta have occurred during the last two fall race weekends ¿ when the qualifying sessions have been at night, under the lights. In fact, night qualifying has been such a huge hit with fans that Atlanta Motor Speedway has added a second night qualifying session to the yearly calendar. When the NASCAR drivers return to Atlanta next month, they¿ll kick off the Golden Corral 500 weekend with Georgia Power Qualifying Night on Friday, March 18. But that¿s not all ¿ the new spring night qualifying format will also include the World Financial Group 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck race. This will be a blockbuster night of two huge events, both held at night, under the lights.
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02/25/05A slew of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck drivers will descend on Atlanta Motor Speedway over the next two weeks as all of NASCAR prepares for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend. It will be the first time in history that all three of NASCAR¿s premier series will compete at Atlanta on the same weekend. That will make for a jam-packed race weekend, but also a jam-packed testing schedule for the two weeks prior to race time. NASCAR Craftsman Truck drivers Jack Sprague, Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski and Bobby Labonte (in the No. 47 Chevrolet All-Stars Silverado he will drive in the March 18 World Financial Group 200) will test next Tuesday and Wednesday alongside Busch Series rookie Blake Feese.
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02/23/05Contrary to an internet report posted Wednesday, Speedway Motorsports Inc. has no plans to move a NASCAR race date from Atlanta Motor Speedway to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ¿The report was completely unfounded and false,¿ Clark said. ¿It¿s very disappointing that internet sites spread this kind of mistruth. Rumors like this, published without any respect for the truth or any attempt at verification, create confusion, and they hurt our fans, our competitors and the sport.¿ Atlanta Motor Speedway hosts two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race weekends ¿ each March and October ¿ which are the two largest sporting events annually in Georgia. The city, ninth in the nation in terms of television markets, is also currently seeking to lure NASCAR to build its Hall of Fame downtown. A Sports Illustrated survey published in the Feb. 21 issue also listed Atlanta Motor Speedway as the favorite track of 36 NASCAR drivers polled anonymously. ¿There have been absolutely no discussions in our company about moving a NASCAR date from Atlanta,¿ Clark said. ¿We will continue to host two NASCAR races well into the future, giving fans the ¿Real Racing. Real Fast.¿ that they expect when visiting NASCAR¿s fastest track.¿
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02/23/05Many Atlanta race fans probably remember Reed Sorenson as the adorable chubby-cheeked 12-year-old he was when he first started winning Legends car races at Atlanta Motor Speedway seven years ago. They may be surprised to realize that the same fresh-faced kid is now 19 and getting top praise from some of the best drivers in NASCAR. ¿He¿s got a lot of good car control and he¿s got a lot of talent. He doesn¿t do anything stupid,¿ Dale Earnhardt Jr.¿s said of the Peachtree City native after Saturday¿s Busch race in Daytona. ¿He did a good job today.¿ Sorenson raced alongside Earnhardt Jr. during much of his 9th-place finish at last weekend¿s Busch race, earning the respect of many of the same drivers he once idolized from afar.
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02/22/05Atlanta Motor Speedway is the best track in NASCAR. Just ask the drivers. Sports Illustrated did just that, anonymously polling 36 NASCAR drivers. Results published in the Feb. 21 issue put Atlanta Motor Speedway at the top of the chart for favorite track, with 27 percent of the vote. Daytona (20 percent) and Bristol (17 percent) followed. ¿Drivers love Atlanta for one reason: speed,¿ Sports Illustrated writes. ¿The 1.54-mile oval is the fastest track on the circuit, and its long, wide straightaways create plenty of side-by-side racing. ¿ Add it all up, and Atlanta usually produces heart-pounding, outrageously fast races, which is why most drivers (and fans) relish a trip to the Capital of the South.¿ None of this is any surprise to Ed Clark, President and General Manager at AMS since 1995. He¿s seen the photo finishes, the four-wide racing, the ultra-fast speeds. In fact, the only thing that surprises Clark is that Atlanta this honor wasn¿t bestowed long ago.
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02/21/05Fans looking for a truly luxurious racing experience need to look no further than a suite at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Overlooking the 1.54-mile speedway high over turn four, our suites are the ultimate in pampering. If you¿re looking for a high-end package, $300 lets you live like a NASCAR superstar, watching from a luxury suite overlooking the entire track giving you a bird¿s-eye view of the March 20 Golden Corral 500. If the luxurious suites are too tempting to wait until Sunday, weekend packages are available as well. Suite packages come with a delicious buffet lunch, beverages, and a closed-circuit television broadcast of the race, ensuring fans never miss any of the action. In addition, the package includes pre-race pit access. Suite packages, tickets, and pre-race pit passes are still available for all three days of racing during the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend and can be purchased now by calling the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at (770) 946-4211.
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02/18/05Multi-platinum recording artist Travis Tritt has always embraced his roots. That¿s especially evident in his award-winning southern-rock, blues-infused country music. Maybe that¿s why Atlanta Motor Speedway is so special to the Atlanta-area native. This weekend, Tritt¿s newest collaboration with his home track will hit the airwaves, as he appears in a new advertising campaign for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500. Tritt will appear in a series of advertisements for Atlanta Motor Speedway pointing out the unique details of the 1.54-mile high-banked track. The first commercial, which will debut regionally this weekend, will illustrate how this fast track affects tires. The advertising campaign will also further the slogan adopted last year by the speedway, ¿Real Racing. Real Fast.¿
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02/17/05Atlanta Motor Speedway is known for its ¿Real Racing. Real Fast.¿. With just over a month left until the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the ticket office is experiencing a ¿Real Rush. Real Fast.¿ on tickets to the action-packed weekend. The ticket office has expanded its hours from now until race time to accommodate the rush, staying open seven days a week. From now through race weekend, the ticket office will be open Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday hours will be 9 a.m. to 5p.m., and Sunday hours will be 1-5 p.m. There are still plenty of ticket specials and other opportunities for fans to take advantage of, including: Lowest Priced ticket in Motorsports · Race fans can buy tickets starting at just $30, for the action-packed race on Sunday, making it one of the most affordable tickets in all of NEXTEL Cup racing.
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02/09/05With nearly 24 hours of on-track activity scheduled for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend, fans can see an entire weekend of thrilling racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway for a little over $2 an hour. It¿s one of the best deals in all of racing¿a three-day ticket package that starts at just $65, less than fans would pay for a Sunday-only ticket at most tracks. The three-day thriller ticket gives fans access to the entire weekend, which will pack four events into three days. The weekend will start off with Georgia Power Qualifying Night, the fastest qualifying session in NASCAR. Night qualifying has been such a popular event during the fall race weekends that Atlanta Motor Speedway added night qualifying to this newly ramped-up spring race weekend as well. Following the excitement of night qualifying will be the World Financial Group 200, the first of two appearances in Atlanta for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season. The weekend continues on Saturday with the Aaron¿s 312, which features the Busch Series drivers battling in a race that features the drama of 12 extra miles. But the fun won¿t end until after Sunday¿s crown jewel, the Golden Corral 500 NEXTEL Cup race.
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02/09/05
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, Feb. 9, 2005) - For the second consecutive year, warriors from the U.S. Special Operations Command will be honored during the pre-race excitement of NASCAR's Golden Corral 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway March 20.
Race fans will be treated to a demonstration by special operations forces that will be capped off with the scheduled arrival of the race's official pace car inside an MH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Demonstration participants will include special operators from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. -
02/08/05Busch Series driver David Stremme has a new crew, manufacturer, and chassis this season. Needless to say, he¿s happy to have all the extra track time he can muster, including Tuesday¿s one-day test at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Stremme and the No. 14 FitzBradshaw team spent Tuesday preparing for the March 19 Aaron¿s 312. It will be his third race at the fastest track in NASCAR, where he has finished in the top 15 in both previous outings. ¿I love racing here,¿ Stremme said. ¿There is no comparison when it comes to Atlanta. There¿s going to be really great racing here, as there always is.¿ Atlanta is becoming more and more popular among drivers as a breath of fresh air after the restrictor-plate and flat-track racing during the first three events of the season. ¿It¿s one of my favorite tracks because it is so fast here that you have to be careful with the body of the car, and as far as mechanics go, you have to be on top of your game,¿ Stremme said. ¿It¿s so fun here because you can move up and down, all over the racetrack. I really wish we had two races here.¿
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02/04/05On Friday Damon Evans, the athletic director at the University of Georgia, was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of racing a car at almost 150 mph in a driving program through the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Never before driving in a stock car or even attending an Atlanta event, Evans was more than anxious to suit-up, strap-in and try his driving skills at the fastest track on the NASCAR circuit.
¿I¿ve always wanted to drive in a stock car.¿ Evans said, ¿So I¿m really excited to be here and get the chance to do this.¿
Evans went through an array of preparation activities including an informational video, a van ride around the track for an up-close look, an in-car information lesson, and a drivers meeting.
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02/03/05Usually, Damon Evans and Stephanie Abrams have to abide by the same traffic rules as everyone else. But on Friday, both local celebrities will have their chance to act on lifelong dreams of racing a car at over 160 mph. Evans, the athletic director at the University of Georgia, and Abrams, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel, will participate Friday in driving programs through the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Richard Petty Driving Experience is a hands-on racing school that allows fans the chance to get behind the wheel of an actual race car. The school has several different driving programs, as well as a ride-along program, in a variety of price ranges.
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02/01/05The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will race under the lights for the first time in history this spring during the March 18 World Financial Group 200. Rick Crawford, Ricky Craven, Ted Musgrave, Todd Kluever and Terry Cook got a sneak preview of the excitement that event will generate as Tuesday¿s test session at Atlanta Motor Speedway carried into the early evening hours. For Crawford, who was fastest Tuesday with a lap of 30.93 seconds (174.58 mph) it was a chance to get accustomed to a new crew chief, new truck and virtually all-new crew. ¿I think we¿re finding out what we want,¿ Crawford said. ¿We¿re fast; now we need to work on being more consistent.¿ For Craven, it was a chance to learn his way around the lightning-fast track in an all-new vehicle. Craven has spent the last nine years in the NEXTEL Cup Series, moving this year to the No. 99 Superchips Ford with Roush Racing. Craven will be teaming this season with Todd Kluever, pilot of the No. 50 Roush Racing truck. Both were pleased with the progress they made during their one-day test at Atlanta.
- January 2005
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01/28/05NASCAR Craftsman Series drivers Rick Crawford, Terry Cook, Todd Kluever, Ricky Craven and Ted Musgrave are at Atlanta Motor Speedway to prepare for the March 18 World Financial Group 200. The World Financial Group 200 will be the first of two Craftsman Truck races at Atlanta in 2005. The Craftsman Truck series was a phenomenal hit with fans when it debuted at Atlanta last spring. Eventual Craftsman Truck series champion Bobby Hamilton tangled with Mike Skinner coming off the final corner of the final lap, sending Skinner skidding across the infield grass. The dramatic finish left the fans breathless and on their feet, cheering for both drivers during the post-race cool down. It also left Ford Racing scratching its head, as the top finish from a Ford truck was seventh (Carl Edwards). Looking further down the finishing order, the next Ford truck is all the way down in 18th position. The test will be closed to the public.
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01/25/05Representatives of the Atlanta chapter of the Speedway Children¿s Charities will be on hand Tuesday night at a pre-Grand Opening Celebration at the new Wal-Mart Supercenter in Lovejoy to receive a check for the local foundation. Wal-Mart will giving away a total of $31,000 to 29 local charities during Tuesday¿s private ceremony, which will also allow new associates and their families a sneak preview of the new store. Wal-Mart will be donating the money to local charities as part of its community involvement program, which supports local communities and nonprofit organizations with financial contributions and volunteer-organized fundraisers.
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01/25/05Baldwin-Tafel Racing will now test Thursday on Atlanta Motor Speedway¿s 2.5-mile infield road course, as the five-man team prepares for the 43rd Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, February 3-6. Baldwin-Tafel Racing was created last year by local sports car racing legend Jack Baldwin (Marietta) and successful entrepreneur Jim Tafel (Marietta). The effort competes in the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series GT class with a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car. At the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the team will race a five-man squad of champions including Baldwin, Tafel, 2004 Rolex 24 GT winner Robin Liddell (England), 2004 Grand-Am Cup champion Craig Stanton (Long Beach, Calif.) and young and talented Andrew Davis (Bogart, Ga.). Baldwin, Tafel and Davis will be at next week¿s Atlanta test, which will be closed to the public.
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01/20/05When Atlanta Motor Speedway President Ed Clark was planning the new Mid-State RV Family Campground last fall, he decided to make it bigger than necessary for the first race, assuming the crowd would grow into the size. Imagine his surprise, then, when all 500-plus RV and tent spaces were sold for the fall Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. "It was such a huge success during the first race that we already had a waiting list when we came back from race weekend," Clark said. "Our fans spoke to us loud and clear, and we¿re responding by accommodating them with additional camping areas." Which Clark and his staff are currently doing, adding 72 spaces to the Mid-State RV Family Campground. But they¿re not stopping there: AMS is also adding a brand new unreserved camping lot north of Speedway Boulevard, on previously unused land. "Camping is probably the No. 1 area of growth for us right now, and we¿re working fast to try to keep up with the demand," Clark said. "Both the new unreserved campground and the expanded family campground should help us meet the demand that¿s already out there, but I¿m sure that¿s not the last camping expansion you¿ll see here."
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01/19/05When the Crown Royal International Race of Champions (IROC) return to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Oct. 30 to crown their champion, the star-studded field will include seven drivers who won their respective series titles in 2004. Crown Royal IROC officials announced Wednesday the driver field for the 2005 season, which will again feature 12 champion drivers from different forms of auto racing, The 2005 driver field will consist of NASCAR notables Matt Kenseth (defending Crown Royal IROC champion and Atlanta IROC winner), Kurt Busch (2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion), Mark Martin (4-time Crown Royal IROC champion) and Martin Truex Jr. (2004 NASCAR Busch Series champion) to name a few. Other participants include: Sebastien Bourdais (¿04 CHAMP CAR champion), Bobby Hamilton (¿04 NCTS champion), Steve Kinser (¿04 World of Outlaws winner), Max Papis and Scott Pruett (¿04 Grand American Rolex Sports Car co-champions), Helio Castroneves (2-time IRL Indy 500 winner), Buddy Rice (¿04 Indy 500 champion) and Danny Lasoski (¿01 World of Outlaws champion).
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01/13/05When Bobby Hamilton and Mike Skinner banged fenders through turn 4 and toward the checkered flag during last year's inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck series debut at Atlanta Motor Speedway, it was obvious by the thunderous cheers of the crowd that Atlanta was falling in love with truck racing. At the same time, the newly added fall Georgia-Pacific Qualifying Night has packed in more fans than any qualifying session in AMS history over the last two years with its higher speeds and sleek-looking qualifying runs. So for 2005, AMS has revamped its spring race weekend to include both of the wildly successful new events for fans, packing another day of excitement into a weekend already chock full. The March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend will kick off with the double bill of Georgia Power Qualifying Night and the World Financial Group 200 truck race, then move to Saturday's Aaron's 312 Busch Series race, and cap off the weekend with the fourth race of the NEXTEL Cup season, the Golden Corral 500.
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01/12/05Goodyear Tire testing continued Wednesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway as Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson ran an array of tire compounds in preparation for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500. Mark Keto, lead engineer for Goodyear¿s stock car tire development group, said the second day of testing really helped to narrow the field of potential tire compounds for the upcoming Atlanta race weekend.
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01/12/05Having raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway for six years, along the way earning one track championship and three state championships, Chris Dilbeck has become somewhat of a household name ¿ to Legends series fans. But this week, the rest of the nation will learn Dilbeck¿s name when he is featured on the Jane Pauley Show this Friday at 3 p.m. on NBC. Dilbeck will discuss his life-changing experience with the Discovery Health Channel¿s National Body Challenge, a nationwide initiative challenging Americans to improve their health, shed extra pounds, and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Dilbeck, the defending Pro division champion at Atlanta¿s summer racing series, was chosen by the Discovery Health Channel in August to be featured in their Body Challenge series. Since then, the network has followed him through racing, school, working out and dieting. The result, a one-hour special, will air on Discovery Health Channel on Jan. 26 at 10 p.m. The show, one in a series of six the network has produced for its National Body Challenge, will also re-air on Jan. 29 at 4 p.m.
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01/11/05Atlanta Motor Speedway¿s 2005 racing season officially started Tuesday at 10:45 a.m., as Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne sprinted around the 1.54-mile quad-oval at near-qualifying speeds during a two-day Goodyear Tire test. Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne and Atlanta Motor Speedway¿s MBNA Bass Pro Shops 500 winner Jimmie Johnson will continue to test the new Goodyear compounds Wednesday as they prepare for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend. Mark Keto, lead engineer for Goodyear¿s stock car tire development group, said this week¿s test will help Goodyear establish which tire compound is best for the lightning-fast Atlanta track, the fastest in NASCAR, with the new spoiler rules.
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01/07/05It may be January, but the 2005 NASCAR season is already revving up, beginning with a Goodyear Tire test scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne and Hendrick Motorsports superstar Jimmie Johnson will test the brand new Goodyear compound at NASCAR¿s fastest track next week as they prepare for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend. The test session will be closed to both the media and the public. This week¿s test will be the first with the new Atlanta Goodyear tire, which is a different compound than any for any other speedway. Mark Keto, lead engineer for Goodyear¿s stock car tire development group, said the session will be used to gauge how well the new compound works with the 2005 NASCAR rule changes, such as the reduced spoiler height. NASCAR officials are expected to be on hand to analyze the results. Johnson won eight races last season, including the Oct. 31 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 at Atlanta, earned an amazing 20 top-5 finishes and dominated the series for most of the year. A string of poor finishes left him in second place in the final NEXTEL Cup standings, a mere eight points behind champion Kurt Busch.
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01/03/05Atlanta will once again feel the rumble of engines and hear over 150,000 fans cheer as NASCAR¿S top competitors return to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the March 18-20 Golden Corral 500 weekend. This three day, four event weekend promises to be full of breath-taking and heart-pounding excitement with truck racing and an all-new night qualifying session part of the schedule. The fastest track on the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup circuit has been dominated by Chevrolet drivers for the past three races, so the pressure will be on 2003 Golden Corral 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. to continue the manufacturer streak and defend his title during this intense weekend. Earnhardt Jr. will be putting his skills to the test as he races against 42 other drivers, all pushing their cars to speeds of almost 200 mph around the track¿s 24 degree banking. For the first time ever in spring, fans can witness a spine-tingling Georgia Power night qualifying session, as drivers strive to break the 7-year-old track record of 197.478 mph, set by Geoffrey Bodine. Then, fans can sit back and watch as the drivers of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck series battle bumper-to-bumper under track lights. Saturday will showcase NASCAR Busch series up and coming drivers along with seasoned veterans, as they compete in the Aaron¿s 312. Finally, the weekend will culminate on Sunday when the top NEXTEL cup drivers try to master Atlanta¿s 1.54 quad-oval track during Georgia¿s second largest sporting event of the year, the Golden Corral 500.