It took construction crews 163 days, but the newly redesigned Atlanta Motor Speedway awaits the NASCAR Cup Series for this Sunday’s (March 20) Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 3 p.m. ET, the fifth race of the 2022 season.
Not long after Kurt Busch took the checkered flag last July at Atlanta Motor Speedway, crews began dismantling the track in preparation for its first repave since 1997. The reconfiguration produced 28-degrees of banking in every corner of the 1.54-mile speedway, making Atlanta the steepest intermediate track on the NASCAR schedule.
“Our goal all along for the reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway has been to create a first-of-its-kind experience on the NASCAR circuit and we’ve done just that,” said AMS Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Hutchison. “Never before has NASCAR raced on an intermediate track like ours with 28 degrees of banking, much less with superspeedway cars. Both will happen for the first time in Atlanta this year.”
In addition to the steeper turns, over the course of the five months of transformation the changes to the speedway include a new drainage technology and brand-new asphalt.
All the action begins at Atlanta for the NASCAR Cup Series this Friday, March 18 with 50 minutes of practice from 5:05-5:55 p.m. ET and the Busch Light Pole Qualifying will be held on Saturday, March 19 from 12:30-1:50 p.m. ET and both will be televised on FS1.
There are many unknowns on how this weekend’s racing will play out, but all indications are pointing to superspeedway-style racing that has been seen at Daytona and Talladega.
“In NASCAR we have our Daytona and Talladega style draft and those are on 2.5- and 2.66-mile tracks,” NASCAR driver and four-time Atlanta winner Kurt Busch said during testing at Atlanta back in January. “This is a mile-and-a-half. Things are going to be moving quicker. You’re going to be digesting things much faster and you’re going to have that Daytona and Talladega style feel here at a mile-and-a-half.”
Atlanta Motor Speedway and the NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series and Atlanta Motor Speedway go way back, 62 years to be exact.
Originally called Atlanta International Raceway, the track was then a 1.5-mile paved speedway, and it hosted its first NASCAR Cup Series race on July 31, 1960. The event was won by NASCAR Hall of Famer Fireball Roberts from the pole position in a 1960 Pontiac.
This last year was not the first time Atlanta has undergone a reconfiguration. The track was re-measured to 1.522 miles in the spring of 1970. It was renamed to Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990. The track layout was reversed, and the track was reconfigured 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). Last season marked the first time since 2010 that the series visited the facility more than once a season. Also, from 1987 to 2000 Atlanta Motor Speedway held the final championship race of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule.
In total, there have been 115 NASCAR Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the first race there in 1960. The 115 NASCAR Cup Series races have produced 53 different pole winners and 45 different race winners.
Nine of the 53 NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway pole winners are active this weekend.
| Active Pole Winners (9) | Poles | Season |
| Kevin Harvick | 2 | 2017, 2014 |
| Aric Almirola | 1 | 2019 |
| Kyle Busch | 1 | 2018 |
| Kurt Busch | 1 | 2016 |
| Joey Logano | 1 | 2015 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 1 | 2013 |
| Denny Hamlin | 1 | 2010 |
| Martin Truex Jr | 1 | 2009 |
| Greg Biffle | 1 | 2007 |
Buddy Baker (1968, 1971, 1976, 1979 sweep, 1980, 1984) and Ryan Newman (2003 sweep, 2004 sweep, 2005 sweep, 2007) are tied for the NASCAR Cup Series most poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway with seven each. Kevin Harvick leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Atlanta poles with two (2014, 2017).
Six of the 45 NASCAR Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway race winners are active this weekend.
| Active Race Winners | Wins | Seasons |
| Kurt Busch | 4 | 2021, 2010, 2009, 2002 |
| Kevin Harvick | 3 | 2020, 2018, 2001 |
| Brad Keselowski | 2 | 2019, 2017 |
| Kyle Busch | 2 | 2013, 2008 |
| Ryan Blaney | 1 | 2021 |
| Denny Hamlin | 1 | 2012 |
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway with nine victories (1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 2000). Kurt Busch (2002, 2009, 2010, 2021) leads all active NASCAR Cup Series winners at Atlanta Motor Speedway with four victories, including the most recent race last July.
Busch has the opportunity to become the 12th different driver to win consecutive races at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series joining Marvin Panch (1965 sweep), Bobby Allison (1972 sweep), David Pearson (1973 sweep), Richard Petty (1974-75), Cale Yarborough (1980-81), Bill Elliott (1985 sweep, 1992 sweep), Dale Earnhardt (1989-90; 1995-96), Bobby Labonte (1997-98), Jeff Gordon (1998-99), Carl Edwards (2005 sweep), Jimmie Johnson (2007 sweep; 2015-16).
Team Penske’s Joey Logano jumps to points standings lead heading to Atlanta
2018 NASCAR Cup Series champ and Team Penske driver Joey Logano has returned to the driver points standings lead for the first time since following Martinsville Speedway’s Playoff race in 2020.
This season, Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe started slow with a 21st-place finish at Daytona but have since put up a fifth at Auto Club Speedway, a 14th at Las Vegas and then an eighth-place finish last weekend at Phoenix.
Logano heads to Atlanta looking for his first win at 1.54-mile track. In 16 series career starts at Atlanta, Logano has posted two top fives and five top 10s.
Though Logano has yet to win at Atlanta, with the new configuration and anticipation of superspeedway-type racing he might be one to watch. Logano is considered one of the best active drivers at Daytona and Talladega; where he has combined to win four times (Daytona, one win; Talladega, three wins).
Chase Briscoe latest of long list of new winners in the Cup Series
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe became the 200th different winner in NASCAR Cup Series history with his victory last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Briscoe joins Sunoco rookie and Team Penske driver Austin Cindric (Daytona 500 winner) as the second Cup Series first-time winner of the 2022 season. Now the series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway with 10 different drivers entered this weekend looking for their first win.
If there is another new winner this weekend at Atlanta, it will be the 23rd time the NASCAR Cup Series has seen back-to-back first-time winners; most recently last season when Michael McDowell (Daytona) and Christopher Bell (Daytona Road Course) opened up the year with two first-time winners.
It’s a great time to be competing in the NASCAR Cup Series. In fact, the last decade of Cup racing (2013-2022) has produced 18 of the 200 first-time winners in the series:
| Cup First-Time Winners | Track | Date |
| Chase Briscoe | Phoenix | Sunday, March 13, 2022 |
| Austin Cindric | Daytona | Sunday, February 20, 2022 |
| Bubba Wallace | Talladega | Monday, October 4, 2021 |
| Christopher Bell | Daytona RC | Sunday, February 21, 2021 |
| Michael McDowell | Daytona | Sunday, February 14, 2021 |
| William Byron | Daytona | Sunday, August 29, 2021 |
| Cole Custer | Kentucky | Sunday, July 12, 2020 |
| Justin Haley | Daytona | Sunday, July 7, 2019 |
| Alex Bowman | Chicago | Sunday, June 30, 2019 |
| Chase Elliott | Watkins Glen | Sunday, August 5, 2018 |
| Erik Jones | Daytona | Saturday, July 7, 2018 |
| Ryan Blaney | Pocono | Sunday, June 11, 2017 |
| Austin Dillon | Charlotte | Sunday, May 28, 2017 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Talladega | Sunday, May 7, 2017 |
| Kyle Larson | Michigan | Sunday, August 28, 2016 |
| Chris Buescher | Pocono | Monday, August 1, 2016 |
| AJ Allmendinger | Watkins Glen | Sunday, August 10, 2014 |
| Aric Almirola | Daytona | Sunday, July 6, 2014 |
Since the inception of the NASCAR Cup Series in 1948, the 1950 season holds the record for the most first-winners in a single season with 12 followed by 1956 with 10. The 2011 season holds the record for the most first-time winners in a single season during the Modern Era (1972-Present) with five.
Parity Party: 2022 season off to a fast start
Consider this, in the first four races of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season the fans have seen four different pole winners, four different race winners and three different driver point standings leaders.
Joey Logano is the latest of the three driver point standings leaders taking the top spot following his eight-place finish last Sunday at Phoenix. Logano joins Austin Cindric and Kyle Larson as the three drivers to hold the point standings lead this season.
2021 series champ Kyle Larson (Daytona), Austin Cindric (Auto Club), Christopher Bell (Las Vegas) and Ryan Blaney (Phoenix) have all won a pole this season. Both Cindric and Bell were first-time pole winners in the NASCAR Cup Series becoming the 241st and 242nd different drivers to win a pole in the series, respectively.
Rookie Austin Cindric (Daytona), Kyle Larson (Auto Club), Alex Bowman (Las Vegas) and Chase Biscoe (Phoenix) have all won a race this season. Cindric and Briscoe were first-time winners in the series. Briscoe became the 200th different winner in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Through four races the 2022 season has also seen 16 different drivers post top-five finishes – the second-most through the first four races of season behind the 2020 (17) in the last 10 years (2013-2022).
In the NASCAR Cup Series, the first four races of 2022 have produced an average number of different leaders per race of 10.75 – the most since 2014 (12.0) – and an average of 26.0 lead changes per race – the most since 2011 (35.0). And to boot, all four of the NASCAR Cup Series races have concluded with a Margin of Victory of less than a second and the season’s average Margin of Victory through four races is 0.295-second – the closest since 2016 (0.232-second).
