Atlanta is the True SuperSpeedway

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Atlanta Motor Speedway may not be the biggest track on the Cup circuit but it consistantly is the fastest.

The speedway located twenty miles south of Atlanta is a 1.54-mile quad-oval track with a seating capacity of over 125,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5 mile standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums wwere built over the northeastern side of the track.  In 1997 the entire track was completely rebuilt with the frontstrech and backstretch being swapped.  The configuration of the track was changed from a symmetrical oval to quad-oval with five degrees of banking on the straights and 24 degrees in the turns; making the track the fastest on the NASCAR  circuit.

Geoffrey Bodine holds the qualifying record at 197.478 mph in 1997.  Dale Earnhardt holds the record for most wins (9) and most top 5 finishes (26).  Buddy Baker and Ryan Newman are tied for most poles won at seven.  Richard Petty logs in with the most starts at Atlanta with 65.

The early years at Atlanta were wrought with financial strife and less than adaquite ammenities.  The purchase by Bruton Smith’s Speedway Motorsports ended those problems as constant upgrades have improved the facility to a position of one of NASCAR’s premier venues.

Five of the last eight races have been won by Chase contenders Jimmy Johnson and Carl Edwards.  Look for them to be strong on Sunday.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media