NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
The Race: AdvoCare 500
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Race: #25 of 36
Practices: Fri, Aug. 31, 2:30 – 4:30 pm on SPEED; Sat., Sept. 1, 2:30 – 3:25 pm on SPEED
Happy Hour ‘Final’ practice: Sat, Sept. 1, 5:30 – 6:20pm on SPEED
Qualifying: Fri., Aug. 31, 6:10 p.m. on SPEED
NASCAR Pre-race: ESPN – 6:30 pm
TV Race Coverage: Sun. Eve, 7:30 pm on ESPN
Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 7:46 pm
Track Data
Track/Race Length: 1.54 mile quad oval, 325 laps, 500.5 miles
Degree of Banking: Turns: 24 degrees; Straightaways: 5 degrees
Straights: Frontstretch – 2332 feet; Backstretch – 1800 feet
Pit Road Speed: 45mph
Pace Car Speed: 55mph
Grandstand Seating: 99,000
Opened: 1960
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 pole winner: Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet (186.196 mph, 29.775 sec., 09-04-11)
2011 race winner: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet (124.623 mph, 4:00:58, 09-06-11)
Track qualifying record: Geoffrey Bodine, Ford (197.478 mph, 28.074 sec., 11-15-97)
Track race record: Bobby Labonte, Pontiac (159.904 mph, 3:07:48, 11/16/97)
Below is a look at some of the top statistical performers at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia going into the AdvoCare 500 on Sept. 2.
Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M/Manheim Auctions Ford)
· Three top fives, nine top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.1
Kurt Busch (No. 51 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet)
· Three wins, four top fives, nine top 10s
· Average finish of 17.4
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Wrigley Toyota)
· One win, three top fives, three top 10s
· Average finish of 17.7
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet)
· One win, eight top fives, 10 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 12.8
Carl Edwards (No. 99 Subway Ford)
· Three wins, eight top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 13.6
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
· Five wins, 15 top fives, 24 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 12.2
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota)
· One top five, four top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 17.5
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet)
· Three wins, 11 top fives, 13 top 10s
· Average finish of 10.0
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet)
· Two wins, six top fives, eight top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 18.3
Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Roush Fenway 25 Winning Years Ford)
· Eight top fives, 13 top 10s
· Average finish of 12.9
Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target Chevrolet)
· Three top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 16.9
Tony Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)
· Three wins, 10 top fives, 15 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.2
Martin Truex Jr. (No. 56 NAPA Shocks and Struts Toyota)
· Two top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 22.8
| Driver | Points | Wins | Poles | Week | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Greg Biffle | 849 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 103.9 |
| 2. Jimmie Johnson | 838 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 108.8 |
| 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 834 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 99.9 |
| 4. Matt Kenseth | 823 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 102.8 |
| 5. Martin Truex Jr. | 797 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 97.6 |
| 6. Clint Bowyer | 794 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 91.8 |
| 7. Brad Keselowski | 790 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 95.3 |
| 8. Denny Hamlin | 774 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 99.2 |
| 9. Kevin Harvick | 767 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 90.4 |
| 10. Tony Stewart | 746 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 87.8 |
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2012 Top 12 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
| Driver | Races | Poles | Wins | Top Fives | Top 10s | DNFs | Average Finish | Driver Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Biffle | 17 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 16.1 | 92.9 |
| 2 | Jimmie Johnson | 20 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 10.0 | 109.5 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 24 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 12.8 | 94.3 |
| 4 | Matt Kenseth | 23 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 12.9 | 96.2 |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 22.8 | 88.9 |
| 6 | Clint Bowyer | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 17.4 | 83.3 |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22.3 | 76.1 |
| 8 | Denny Hamlin | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 17.5 | 96.2 |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 21 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 19.9 | 83.5 |
| 10 | Tony Stewart | 25 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 11.2 | 102.3 |
| 11 | Kasey Kahne | 15 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 18.3 | 91.0 |
| 12 | Carl Edwards | 14 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 13.6 | 101.8 |
| Pos. | Driver | Wins | Pts. Pos. | Points | Pts. From 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kasey Kahne | 2 | 11 | 730 | -16 |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 1 | 13 | 707 | -39 |
| 3 | Jeff Gordon | 1 | 14 | 691 | -55 |
| 4 | Ryan Newman | 1 | 15 | 688 | -58 |
| 5 | Marcos Ambrose | 1 | 16 | 679 | -67 |
| 6 | Joey Logano | 1 | 18 | 638 | -108 |
| 7 | Carl Edwards | 0 | 12 | 712 | -34 |
| 8 | Paul Menard | 0 | 17 | 674 | -72 |
| 9 | Jamie McMurray | 0 | 19 | 598 | -148 |
| 10 | Jeff Burton | 0 | 20 | 577 | -169 |
History
· Originally called Atlanta International Raceway, the track was then a 1.5-mile paved speedway.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta was on July 31, 1960, won by Fireball Roberts from the pole.
· The track was re-measured to 1.522 miles in the spring of 1970.
· It was renamed Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990.
· The track layout was reversed and the track was re-configured to 1.54 miles between the two races in 1997.
Notebook
· There have been 104 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Atlanta Speedway, until 2010 there has been two races per year except 1961, which had three. This year marks the second season with only one event.
· Fireball Roberts won the pole and race for the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race in 1960.
· 45 drivers have won a pole, led by Buddy Baker and Ryan Newman, each with seven.
· Six of Newman’s seven poles came in consecutive races between March 2003 and October 2005.
· 42 drivers have won a race; 22 have won more than once.
· Dale Earnhardt scored nine victories, more than any other driver. Cale Yarborough is second, with seven.
· Bobby Labonte heads the list of active drivers with six victories. Labonte is tied with NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Richard Petty for third on the all-time win list at Atlanta.
· The Wood Brothers have 12 victories, more than any organization. They last won there in 1993, with Morgan Shepherd. Hendrick Motorsports has 11 wins at Atlanta and could tie the Wood Brothers this weekend.
· 14 races have been won from the pole. The last to do so was Kasey Kahne in 2006. The last two races have been won from the fifth position.
· 60 races at Atlanta have been won from the first five starting positions.
· Bobby Labonte won the 2001 fall race from the 39th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Atlanta.
· Two drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Atlanta: Carl Edwards (3/20/2005) and Kevin Harvick (3/11/2001).
· Youngest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway winner: Kyle Busch (03/09/2008 – 22 years, 10 months, 7 days).
· Oldest NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Atlanta Motor Speedway winner: Morgan Shepherd (03/20/1993 – 51 years, 5 months, 8 days).
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Race: NRA American Warrior 300
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race #: 24 of 33
Practice: 9 a.m. ET Sat. (TV: 11:30 ET) on SPEED
Qualifying: 3:30 p.m ET Sat. on SPEED
TV Race Coverage: Sat, ESPN2, 6:30 pm
Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 7:16 pm
So far in 2012, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has three wins, 13 top-five, and 17 top-ten finishes. Stenhouse is currently second in the NASCAR Nationwide point standings; 19 points behind leader Elliott Sadler.
Mike Wallace will be wheeling the No. 01 entry for JD Motorsports w/Gary Keller, as he has all season. Joining him as a teammate will be Danny Efland, back in the No. 4 Tradebank Chevrolet, which will be his first ever start at AMS.
With six of their last finishes in the top-20, and one in the top-10, through the last seven races; the No. 01 team has utilized those finishes to move into 12th in points.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Race: Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race #: 14 of 22
TV Coverage: SPEED
Final Practice: Actual – 11:30 am – aired at 1:00 pm [tape-delayed] on SPEED
Qualifying: 4:30 pm on SPEED
Pre-race: 7:30 pm on SPEED
Race: 8:00 pm on SPEED