Get it right here! The track facts, race records and the lowdown on all the top drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway. When old schoolers think of this place, it conjures the names of legends: Earnhardt, Yarborough, the Wood Brothers and Awesome Bill.
Reach up and pull those belts one more time! It gets pretty racy around here.
What? The Kobalt Tools 500. A 500 1/2 mile, 325 lap race. The 4th of the NASCAR Sprint Cup’s 36 2009 events.
Where? Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia- near the city known as the “Big A”.
When? Sunday, March 8, 2009. TV Time- 1:30 PM Eastern, 10:30 Pacific. Green flag- 2:00 PM Eastern, 11:00 AM Pacific.
TV Broadcast: FOX Television Network. Chris Myers, Jeff Hammond and Darrell Waltrip host from the Hollywood Hotel, with Mike Joy, Larry Mc Reynolds and Ol’ D.W. calling the race trackside.
TRACK DIMENSIONS
Track Length: 1.54 miles. It started out at an mile and half, later remeasured to 1.52 miles in 1970, reconfigured to it’s present length in 1997- with backstretch the start-finish line.
Banking in the corners: 24 degrees. 
Banking on the straights: 5 degrees.
Front Stretch: 2,332 feet
Back Stretch: 1,800 feet
Grandstand Seating: 124,000
TRACK RECORDS
Kyle Busch is the defending champion of the Kobalt Tools 500, providing Toyota with their first Cup win as a manufacturer last March. This race was also the site where Tony Stewart blew a tire and went on his original Goodyear rant.
First Race: The 1960 Dixie 300.
First Race Winner: Glenn “Fireball” Roberts from the pole, racing for John Hines
Career Wins Leader at AMS: Dale Earnhardt- with 9
Active Wins Leaders: Bobby Labonte- 6, Bill Elliott- 5, Jeff Gordon- 4
The Most Poles? Ryan Newman is tied with Buddy Baker- each grabbed 7 in Atlanta. In fact, Newman won 6 poles in a row, sweeping 2003- 2005.
The Fastest AMS Qualifier: Geoff Bodine in 28.074 seconds at a speed of 197.478 miles per hour- November 15, 1997.
The Fastest Race: Bobby Labonte ran it in a Joe Gibbs Pontiac on November 16, 1997 in 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 48 seconds. The speed? 159.904 miles per hour.
Most Lead Changes: 44 on November 7, 1982. Bobby Allison was the winner.Fewest Lead Changes: 6- that happened 3 times. The most recent in Fred Lorenzen’s June 30, 1963 victory.
Fewest Cautions: 1- Twice. The most recent on August 2, 1970. Most cautions: 14 on October 28, 2007.
32 drivers finished on the lead lap on November 8, 1998 in the NAPA 500 won by Jeff Gordon. On 11 occasions, only 1 driver finished on the lead lap- the most recent being the November 2, 1986 running of the Atlanta Journal 500 won by Dale Earnhardt.
…and they says the racing’s worse now?????
BURNING QUESTIONS
- It’s “Underdog Week”, thanks to David Reutimann and Bobby Labonte thanks to their top 5s at Vegas. Speculation abounds as to whether the two can keep it up.
- The engines. What happened to the engines in Vegas? Is it the attempt by teams to push the envelope without the benefit of testing? Was it bad parts? Who really knows? It doesn’t keep the chatter class from speculating though.
- How will the tires do in Atlanta this time? That’s the question I’m wondering about considering what happened in Atlanta last year at this time.
- Is it too soon to worry about the boys from Team Hendrick? Mark Martin has been victimized by bum engines two weeks in a row. Junior seems to have taken some small steps back in the right direction. Jimmie Johnson was very un-Jimmie like Sunday.
- How will the weather be Sunday after a recent snow storm? I am the bearer of good news. The forecast calls for mild, mostly sunny weather at this writing. Much later, and they’d be in trouble.
NASCAR TERMINOLOGY
Time for another primer on racing terms….
“Main Switch Panel”- You ever wonder what that group of toggle switches were for to the left of the steering wheel? Those contain the switches for the starter, ignition, and cooling fans.
“Engine Gauge Cluster”- While cluster may be a description of what happened at the Brickyard last year, what we’re really talking about here is a group of gauges engine oil pressure, water temperature, oil temperature, voltage and fuel pressure.
“Master Switch”- This shuts down the electrical system in an emergency situation.
PHOTO CREDITS- AMS Aerial shot by just.julie, AMS grandstand by Adams Shoe Box, Labotne Victory by kahnegirl1183. Click the hyperlinks to see more from these fine photographers, or visit flickr.com.
{ 2 comments }
Good post. I hope that you’ve helped me with my fantasy picks. Didn’t Jack Rousch blame the engine failures on the tires at Vegas? :) Maybe there is a connection and I just don’t understand it.
I have a question that you will hopefully answer sometime in the future.
I know that the teams tether the wheel to the car so it doesn’t fly off and injure anyone. I have never seen a tether being actually attached to the wheel during pit stops. What am I missing?
Does it require a great deal of physical strength Inot stamina) to drive a Sprint Car?
Thanks!
Susan
The tether is mounted around the front jacking bolt to the spindle. By doing this more than just the wheel is secured. The spindle, wheel, hub, brake rotor, and caliper, are held to the car. This allows for what you see on a pitstop. A tire can be changed without unhooking any tethers. The wheel is bolted to the hub which is bolted to the spindle.
And if either the upper or lower control arm bolts break at the frame during a crash, they are also held to the spindle assembly.
I don’t think it requires a lot of physical strength to drive a Sprint Cup car. Drivers of all shapes, sizes, and physical conditioning can be successful at it. Power steering really assists in the effort. However it is easier if a driver is in better shape and his car handles well. But if there is a power steering failure, even Carl Edwards and Mark Martin will get a workout.
Thanks
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