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Atlanta is the True SuperSpeedway

October 19, 2008

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

Written by Steve Wronkowicz · Filed Under Atlanta Motor Speedway, Fantasy NASCAR, NASCAR, Nascar Chase 2008 | Leave a Comment 

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Hosts Start to The Chase

September 7, 2008

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is one of the most storied tracks on the Sprint Cup Series.

It has been described as “Martinsville on steroids”; because of its long straights and rather flat turns. Brakes are a big story at New Hampshire.  Those drivers that have brakes at the end of the race will have a decided advantage over drivers that have used them up early on.

Efforts to bring a major racing facility took off in 1989 when ground was broken for New Hampshire International Speedway on a site about 10 miles north of New Hampshire’s capital city, Concord.  The track opened for the first time in June 1990 and hosted its first NASCAR touring series event, the Budweiser 300 for the Busch Series. The Cup Series followed in July 1993, with Rusty Wallace getting the victory.

NHMS is just over one mile in length; officially measured at 1.058 miles with 1 degree of banking on the straights and new progressive banking in the corners that ranges from two to seven degrees.  The ninety-two foot wide turns were reconfigured in 2002 to incorporate the variable banking angle thus making the racetrack more driveable. Drivers like the sixty-five foot wide staights which lends itself to passing anywhere on the race track.

In 2000, the track was the site of a pair of fatal accidents which took the lives of two young drivers.  In May, while practicing for a Busch Series race, Adam Petty’s throttle stuck exiting turn two. The result was a full speed, head-on crash in turns three and four.  When the Winston Cup Series made their Spring appearance, a similar accident occurred to 1998 Rookie of the Year Kenny Irwin, Jr.

NASCAR with track owner, Bill Baird, decided to run restrictor plates on the cars during the Fall race, making it the first track outside of Daytona and Talladega to use them.  Jeff  Burton led flag to flag; resulting in the quick demise of restrictor plate racing at New Hampshire.

Track safety was put front and center starting in 2003, as the track was an early adopter of the SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) Barrier technology; outfitting its turns with the soft walls. In 2005 a new infield care center was built, followed in 2006 by a new heliport.

In 2004, the track hosted the first race in the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup. As it turned out, that race played a big role in how the battle for the championship played out. Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Jeremy Mayfield were involved in a wreck that stymied their championship hopes, while Kurt Busch, who had won the July race, completed a season’s sweep that started him toward the 2004 Nextel Cup championship.

NHMS not only hosts the first race in The Chase for the Sprint Cup; but it is also the first race in the ten races leading up to The Chase, known as the “Race to The Chase.”

Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner, Bruton Smith, announced on November 2, 2007 that his company had purchased the speedway from the Baird family for $340 million dollars cash and the track would be renamed New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Ryan Newman holds the current track qualifying record of 28.561 sec. (133.357 mph) set September 12, 2003, while Jeff Burton set the race record in July of 1997 with an average speed of 117.134 mph.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Written by Steve Wronkowicz · Filed Under Fantasy NASCAR, NASCAR, Nascar Chase 2008, On Pit Row | 2 Comments