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Sprint Cup
SPENCER: One Atlanta Isn’t Enough
Ask any driver in NASCAR and they’ll tell you Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of their favorite, if not their favorite, tracks...
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
It’s hard to believe Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway marks the end of an era in the capital of the South.
No, the track isn’t closing, but a piece of its history and legacy in stock car racing will with the loss of its spring race beginning in 2011.
In its 50 years of hosting Cup races, Atlanta Motor Speedway consistently has produced among the best races of the year, including the greatest of all time in 1992, but fans haven’t supported the venue in the way you’d expect. As a result, after this weekend, AMS is down to a single Labor Day weekend date per season. But you’d better believe they will make the most of it.
After all, Atlanta is one extremely resilient track. An F2 tornado leveled large parts of AMS in June 2005, a mere three months before the fall race. Among the devastation, the scoring pylon was destroyed, roofs ripped off the suites, parking lots flooded and the backstretch grandstands obliterated – an estimated $40 million in damage. Oddly enough, that was the second time a tornado had hit that track. But they rebuilt it both times and both times made it better than before.
Tornadoes aside, the Georgia track never has had the most favorable weather or date on NASCAR’s calendar. Rain or cold always seemed to plague the spring race, and oftentimes the fall one, but despite Mother Nature, the track always has supplied some of the best racing on the circuit. Of all the mile-and-a-half tracks, Atlanta plays host to the most exciting shows. It tops Kansas, Chicagoland and Charlotte every time. That’s why it’s such a shame the fans haven’t turned out there in droves the past few years.
The whole situation is a mystery to me and many others. The facility is superb. Owner Bruton Smith tirelessly upgrades the fan amenities at AMS. There are plenty of campground areas, pedestrian tunnels and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a fan-friendly race track. The traffic pattern in and out also has improved greatly over the years.
Additionally, ask any driver in NASCAR and they’ll tell you Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of their favorite, if not their favorite, tracks because it is a driver’s track. Drivers can pass each other, something that’s difficult to come by at other mile-and-a-half speedways, because there are two distinct racing grooves at AMS. I always enjoyed Atlanta as a competitor because the cars slip and slide so much there, contributing to multiple passing opportunities and great racing.
One of my favorite Atlanta memories was Carl Edwards passing Jimmie Johnson to win his first Cup race in 2005, one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history. Or how about Dale Earnhardt nipping Bobby Labonte, the Atlanta master, at the finish line in 2000? That’s Atlanta at its finest.
But hands down, the best race ever at Atlanta was also the best race in NASCAR history because the championship came down to the end of that one final race, the season finale. Davey Allison was leading the points going in with Alan Kulwicki second and Bill Elliott third.
I was driving for Bobby Allison and remember Ernie Irvan in the No. 4 car was driving wildly, so I radioed Bobby to warn Davey to be careful around him. Well, Davey got collected in Irvan’s eventual wreck and it cost him the championship. Next in line for the title were Kulwicki and Elliott, and I’ve never seen two guys drive that intensely in my life. In a dramatic race filled with all kinds of twists and turns, hometown favorite Elliott went to Victory Lane but Kulwicki won the championship by only 10 points because he led the most laps. That was simply awesome.
Another great race at Atlanta, not to mention one of the most emotional moments in the sport’s history, was Kevin Harvick's first Cup win for Richard Childress Racing in March 2001 driving the No. 29 in the third race since Dale Earnhardt’s death. What a special moment for the No. 3 team, Childress, the entire organization and millions of race fans worldwide. RCR’s return to Victory Lane with Earnhardt’s team began the healing process for lots of people.
Looking back on great finishes such as these, I’m still surprised Atlanta hasn’t appealed to the fans lately in the same way it did for so many years. However, if the track officials are as successful and creative with their lone Labor Day weekend date as I think they’ll be, it should become a tradition any race fan can get behind and support.
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on his “Getting Primed with Jimmy Presented by Kilz Primer” segment on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
No, the track isn’t closing, but a piece of its history and legacy in stock car racing will with the loss of its spring race beginning in 2011.
In its 50 years of hosting Cup races, Atlanta Motor Speedway consistently has produced among the best races of the year, including the greatest of all time in 1992, but fans haven’t supported the venue in the way you’d expect. As a result, after this weekend, AMS is down to a single Labor Day weekend date per season. But you’d better believe they will make the most of it.
After all, Atlanta is one extremely resilient track. An F2 tornado leveled large parts of AMS in June 2005, a mere three months before the fall race. Among the devastation, the scoring pylon was destroyed, roofs ripped off the suites, parking lots flooded and the backstretch grandstands obliterated – an estimated $40 million in damage. Oddly enough, that was the second time a tornado had hit that track. But they rebuilt it both times and both times made it better than before.
Tornadoes aside, the Georgia track never has had the most favorable weather or date on NASCAR’s calendar. Rain or cold always seemed to plague the spring race, and oftentimes the fall one, but despite Mother Nature, the track always has supplied some of the best racing on the circuit. Of all the mile-and-a-half tracks, Atlanta plays host to the most exciting shows. It tops Kansas, Chicagoland and Charlotte every time. That’s why it’s such a shame the fans haven’t turned out there in droves the past few years.
The whole situation is a mystery to me and many others. The facility is superb. Owner Bruton Smith tirelessly upgrades the fan amenities at AMS. There are plenty of campground areas, pedestrian tunnels and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a fan-friendly race track. The traffic pattern in and out also has improved greatly over the years.
Additionally, ask any driver in NASCAR and they’ll tell you Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of their favorite, if not their favorite, tracks because it is a driver’s track. Drivers can pass each other, something that’s difficult to come by at other mile-and-a-half speedways, because there are two distinct racing grooves at AMS. I always enjoyed Atlanta as a competitor because the cars slip and slide so much there, contributing to multiple passing opportunities and great racing.
One of my favorite Atlanta memories was Carl Edwards passing Jimmie Johnson to win his first Cup race in 2005, one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history. Or how about Dale Earnhardt nipping Bobby Labonte, the Atlanta master, at the finish line in 2000? That’s Atlanta at its finest.
But hands down, the best race ever at Atlanta was also the best race in NASCAR history because the championship came down to the end of that one final race, the season finale. Davey Allison was leading the points going in with Alan Kulwicki second and Bill Elliott third.
I was driving for Bobby Allison and remember Ernie Irvan in the No. 4 car was driving wildly, so I radioed Bobby to warn Davey to be careful around him. Well, Davey got collected in Irvan’s eventual wreck and it cost him the championship. Next in line for the title were Kulwicki and Elliott, and I’ve never seen two guys drive that intensely in my life. In a dramatic race filled with all kinds of twists and turns, hometown favorite Elliott went to Victory Lane but Kulwicki won the championship by only 10 points because he led the most laps. That was simply awesome.
Another great race at Atlanta, not to mention one of the most emotional moments in the sport’s history, was Kevin Harvick's first Cup win for Richard Childress Racing in March 2001 driving the No. 29 in the third race since Dale Earnhardt’s death. What a special moment for the No. 3 team, Childress, the entire organization and millions of race fans worldwide. RCR’s return to Victory Lane with Earnhardt’s team began the healing process for lots of people.
Looking back on great finishes such as these, I’m still surprised Atlanta hasn’t appealed to the fans lately in the same way it did for so many years. However, if the track officials are as successful and creative with their lone Labor Day weekend date as I think they’ll be, it should become a tradition any race fan can get behind and support.
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on his “Getting Primed with Jimmy Presented by Kilz Primer” segment on NASCAR Race Hub on SPEED. He retired from driving with two NASCAR Sprint Cup, 12 NASCAR Nationwide and one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory, putting him in an elite group of drivers who have logged wins in all three of NASCAR’s premier divisions. In 478 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Spencer amassed 28 top-five and 80 top-10 finishes. He won back-to-back NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championships in 1986 and 1987 on the heels of 15 victories, becoming the first driver ever to earn consecutive titles in the series. He earned the nickname “Mr. Excitement” for his flamboyant and aggressive driving style early in his racing career.
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