Atlanta Motor Speedway to lose one of its two Sprint Cup dates to Kentucky Speedway
Atlanta Motor Speedway will lose one of its two Sprint Cup dates. Kentucky Speedway will be getting a Cup date. // Jim Fluharty, NASCAR Illustrated
Atlanta Motor Speedway will lose one of its two NASCAR Sprint Cup dates beginning in 2011, track officials announced in a news release Thursday.
The 1.5-mile oval will keep its Labor Day weekend event but will not have its traditional March event. AMS parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc. plans to move the Cup race from Atlanta to Kentucky Speedway, which likely would have its race in June or July next year. A formal announcement of the Kentucky date is scheduled for Tuesday.
Atlanta has had two Cup races annually since 1969.
“Atlanta Motor Speedway has provided top-quality racing entertainment to spectators from across the nation and around the world for 50 years,” AMS President Ed Clark said in a statement. “While our schedule will change, our commitment to the racing fans who have been the heart and soul of Atlanta Motor Speedway through these years will be stronger than ever.
“Our entire staff will be even more driven to produce the top annual sporting event in Georgia for many years to come.”
Atlanta has struggled for years to sell tickets to its spring race while last year’s Labor Day weekend event was one of its best attended races in years.
Atlanta hopes to make its lone Cup weekend a Labor Day tradition, much like the Southern 500 was for years at Darlington Raceway. The track had its race in October moved to Labor Day in 2009 as part of a date swap with Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
“We were thrilled with the acquisition of the Labor Day date two years ago and are proud to host such a prestigious, historical date on the NASCAR schedule,” Clark said. “This track produces some of the greatest racing the circuit sees, it remains one of the drivers’ favorite tracks and we will continue to build a platform that sets this one date apart from the rest.”
The Labor Day race weekend will include a Nationwide Series race as well.
