Originally called Atlanta International Raceway, the track was then a 1.5-mile paved speedway, located in Hampton Georgia. The first NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta was on July 31, 1960 and won by Fireball Roberts from the pole position.
Over the years the track underwent several changes. It was re-measured to 1.522 miles in the spring of 1970. It was renamed Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990. And then the track layout was reversed, and the track was re-configured to 1.54 miles between the two races in 1997.
From 1960 – 2010, Atlanta Motor Speedway hosted multiple NASCAR Cup Series races during each season; starting in 2011 the series began only visiting Atlanta once a year (2011-2020). This season marks the first time since 2010, the series will visit the facility more than once a year as the series is scheduled compete this weekend (March 21, 2021) and later this season (July 11, 2021).
From 1987 to 2000 Atlanta Motor Speedway held the final championship race of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. In total, there have been 113 NASCAR Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the first race there in 1960.
This weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race, the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be 325 laps (500.5 miles) and broken up into three stages. The first two stages are 105 laps each with the final stage being 115 laps.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin will start from the pole and his teammate and last weekend’s winner Martin Truex Jr. will join him on the front row.
