Earnhardt added to Atlanta's mystique

By Troy Fletcher, Special to Turner Sports Interactive
November 6, 2001
1:32 PM EST (1832 GMT)

Mystique. Tradition. Atlanta Motor Speedway has established plenty of both elements, thanks to its storied history of great Winston Cup races dating back to 1960.

Dale Earnhardt won nine times at AMS.

What's more, the AMS victory list looks like a Who's Who of NASCAR, and it will try to add another scintillating chapter to its record books on Nov. 18 when it hosts the NAPA 500.

The late Dale Earnhardt is on top of winner's chart, collecting nine of his 76 Cup victories at the facility.

His last was a thrilling final-lap win over Bobby Labonte in Atlanta Motor Speedway's March 12, 2000, spring race -- the Cracker Barrel 500.

Earnhardt's victory margin was 0.010 seconds and was just the cure at the time for what many fans and media members had dubbed boring season-opening races at Daytona, Rockingham and Las Vegas.

"When I think of Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first thing that comes to my mind is how great Dale Earnhardt was there," said Kenny Wallace, who has been racing full-time in the Cup Series since 1993.

Not only did The Intimidator take nine checkered flags in 45 total races at AMS, but he had 26 top-five and 30 top-10 finishes there, en route to winning a track-best $1,796,225 in career earnings.

Richard Petty has six victories at Atlanta.

Legendary Cale Yarborough is next on the AMS winner's ladder with seven victories, followed by "The King" -- Richard Petty -- at six, and Bobby Allison and Georgia's own Bill Elliott, with five each.

Speaking of Elliott, the 1988 Winston Cup champion provided one of the most memorable AMS moments in 1992.

He won the season finale -- the Hooters 500 at Atlanta, but led only 102 laps, while the late Alan Kulwicki, the second-place finisher, was ahead for 103 laps.

Bill Elliott nearly won the 1992 Winston Cup championship with a win at Atlanta.

Had Elliott led one more lap than Kulwicki, he and Kulwicki would have tied for the season points championship and Elliott would have been declared the winner since he won more races that year than Kulwicki.

Instead, Elliott lost the title by a mere 10 points, the closest margin ever in a Winston Cup points race.

"I used to love racing on the old Atlanta Motor Speedway because you could race on the top, middle and bottom grooves and the car would handle great," Wallace said. "That was a lot of fun."

The track was reconfigured in 1997 to a 1.54-mile track with the backstretch becoming the start-finish line. Still, Wallace and others still appreciate the facility.

Kevin Harvick edged Jeff Gordon for an emotional victory in this year's spring race.

"I still love racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway since it has been redesigned," said Wallace, who has been filling in for the injured Steve Park. "Mostly, because it is still a flat track that is incredibly fast. It has Daytona characteristics to it, because the corners are so wide and you have room to slide and work with the track."

David Green, who raced full-time in the Cup ranks from 1997-99, echoed Wallace.

"The new track is awful flat and extremely fast," Green said, "and that has made for some great racing. Just look at Kevin Harvick's dramatic win in the 2001 spring race there for proof of that."