The 1.5 mile Atlanta Motor Speedway was the seventh superspeedway to host a Cup Series event when it opened on July 31, 1960. Atlanta is one of four of the original seven speedways that are still in operation today.

Atlanta Motor Speedway has been through many changes and setbacks, including bankruptcy in the 1970's, to become one of the finest facilities on the NASCAR circut.

"It was just the Weaver Grandstand and wooden bleachers on the backstretch," Former Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket manager Frances Goss recalled. "Fans would bring blankets and sit on the dirt bank."

When Brutton Smith purchased what was known then as the Atlanta International Raceway on October 23, 1990, he renamed it the Atlanta Motor Speedway and immediately began upgrades.

Smith added seating, luxury suites, condominiums, media facilities, garages and fan support buildings. Smith's vision and determination are responsible for the great racing and hospitality that hardcore race fans experience when they visit the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

"Bruton told me before he ever bought the track, 'I'd like to see what could be done with this place,'" Goss recalled. "He's made it. I never would have believed Atlanta Motor Speedway would look like it does today."