Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a track in Hampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a seating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
The first practice session was held on Friday, March 3, at 11:00 AM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3]Chase Briscoe of Brad Keselowski Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.616 and an average speed of 181.082 miles per hour (291.423 km/h).[4]
The second practice session was held on Friday, March 3, at 2:30 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3]Christopher Bell of Kyle Busch Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.739 and an average speed of 180.357 miles per hour (290.256 km/h).[5]
The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, March 3, at 4:30 PM EST, and would last for 55 minutes.[3]Chase Elliott of GMS Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.876 and an average speed of 179.557 miles per hour (288.969 km/h).[6]
Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 4, at 10:40 AM EST.[3] Since Atlanta Motor Speedway is at least a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) racetrack, the qualifying system was a single car, single lap, two round system where in the first round, everyone would set a time to determine positions 13–32. Then, the fastest 12 qualifiers would move on to the second round to determine positions 1–12.[7]
Christopher Bell of Kyle Busch Motorsports would win the pole, setting a lap of 30.643 and an average speed of 180.922 miles per hour (291.166 km/h) in the second round.[8]