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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: 50 Years Later At AMS
As part of the track’s 50th anniversary celebration, 18 fans who were in attendance for AMS’ first Cup race will be honored Sunday...
Mike Hembree  |  Posted September 03, 2010   Hampton, GA
Drivers compete in the 1960 inaugural NASCAR race at the track now known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo courtesy of Atlanta Motor Speedway)
It was plopped down in the middle of a pine forest, the remains of which could be seen from the grandstands for many years later.

CUP: Atlanta Motor Speedway 1960

It was the fifth of NASCAR’s “big” tracks, the continuation of a push away from the short dirt bullrings and half-mile paved speedways that had been the sport’s foundation.

Unlike many other so-called “ovals,” it was virtually a true oval. From the main grandstand atop a high hill, its appearance was almost that of a circle.

Atlanta International Raceway opened on the outskirts of Hampton, Ga., about 25 miles south of metro Atlanta, on July 31, 1960 with the Dixie 300 NASCAR race.

It was fast – even then. Fireball Roberts won the pole at 133.129 mph.

And it was scary – even then. Perhaps more so than today, largely because it was enclosed mostly by flimsy-looking guard rails.
Fans gather for the inaugural NASCAR race at the track now known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. (Photo courtesy of Atlanta Motor Speedway)

It was not a track drivers took lightly. “You put on your big-boy pants when you went down there,” said the late Jack Smith, who finished third behind winner Roberts in the first race at what is now Atlanta Motor Speedway.

As part of the track’s 50th anniversary celebration, 18 fans who were in attendance for AMS’ first Cup race are scheduled to be honored Sunday night in Emory Healthcare 500 pre-race ceremonies.

The track they visited then – most as children – and the track that exists today are dramatically different. Speedway Motorsports Inc. mogul Bruton Smith bought the track in 1990 and, in 1997, “flipped” it, moving the start/finish line to what formerly was the backstretch. Doglegs were added to the new frontstretch, the track distance was remeasured at 1.54 miles, and speeds accelerated to a stunning 197-mph pole run by Geoffrey Bodine.

Massive grandstand and suite construction were included in the reconfiguration, and the track where pine trees once rose above the guard rails off the turns is no longer recognizable as the original.


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