The gasoline shortage affecting much of the Southeast -- particularly Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville -- is on the minds of officials at Talladega Superspeedway, where more than 150,000 fans are expected to gather for Sunday's Amp Energy 500.

Track president Rick Humphrey said he's monitoring the situation, and from what he's being told, there should be sufficient supplies of gasoline available for fans making the trip to Talladega.

"The conversation we had [Monday morning] with several folks in the area has been encouraging," Humphrey said. "We are watching it closely and it's getting better daily."

According to Humphrey, the supply of gasoline at stations near the track is better than it was a week ago -- and assurances have been made that improvement in availability will continue.

"We are keeping close contact with the gas suppliers in the area," Humphrey said. "It's better in Birmingham than it was last week, and it's getting better as you come east. We're being told, by the end of the week, we should have sufficient amount of gas in the area. The gas flow on the I-20 corridor will obviously be better than in the rural areas."

"The folks coming from the Atlanta area should be a little more cautious. But the area in and around the racetrack, there should be sufficient gas."

The gasoline shortage, brought about by decreasing production at refineries in the path of hurricanes Gustav and Ike, has created major problems for several of the Southeast's major metropolitan areas. Two weeks after Ike made landfall in Texas, production is slowly returning to normal, but the flow of product in the Colonial Pipeline, which is one of two that serves Atlanta, is still not at capacity.

Because gasoline in the pipeline travels at no more than 5 mph, it could take up to 10 days to reach Atlanta. With supplies already limited, many stations remained shuttered, with plastic bags tied over fuel pump nozzles.

The average price for regular gas Monday was $3.94 per gallon in Georgia, 30 cents higher than the national average, according to AAA. Motorists were paying an average of $3.89 a gallon Monday in North Carolina and $3.80 in South Carolina.

However, several major college football games -- including the game between Alabama and Georgia at Athens, Ga. -- were played on Saturday despite the gas shortage, and there are no plans to postpone any of the activities this weekend at Talladega. Still, Humphrey does suggest fans keep a close eye on their fuel gauge.

"If you're coming from the east and see a station that has gas, it would be a good idea to get some and be as prepared as you can be when you get here," Humphrey said. "As the weekend rolls around, we believe we'll have a sufficient amount of gas. We've already got folks with their motorhomes who are already here. The worst thing we can do, as these pipelines continue to supply the gas, is to create a scare or crisis in our area where all the gas is used up before the weekend gets here."

But for now, Talladega officials are watching the situation and expecting nothing out of the ordinary.

"We've got a whole lot of folks who will be leaving home -- if they haven't already -- later this week with one thing on their mind, and that's to get to Talladega," Humphrey said. "After the race, they'll worry about getting home. And I think they'll find sufficient gas in the area."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.