ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY – Spring Event News

Ted Austad
Event Promotions Coordinator
Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sweet Repeats Consignment Sale – March 26, 27 and 28
Help raise money for a local Henry County charity while saving money on some of the best bargains in town. You can find everything from baby items to books to furniture at prices that will surprise everyone. This consignment sale fills the entire NASCAR Nationwide garage (22,000 square feet). Doors open at 8am each day. Enter the speedway infield at the Main Tunnel entrance off Speedway Boulevard. No cost for admission to the show.

RV SuperShow & Outdoor Extravaganza – April 17, 18 and 19
Georgia's largest showcase of RVs, motorhomes, travel trailers, pop-up campers, tents and camping accessories. Hundreds of units on display will allow enthusiasts to shop and compare various brands to get the best possible deal. Vendors will include satellites, camping accessories, supplies and more. Attend camping seminars, cooking shows and experience the thrill of NASCAR with speedway rides. Gates open Friday 11am – 7pm; Saturday 10am – 7pm; Sunday 11am – 5pm. Enter the speedway infield at the Main Tunnel entrance off Speedway Boulevard. Ticket prices are $10 for adults; $9 for over 55; $5 for ages 8 – 18; Under 8 is FREE. Family package is available for the weekend. Ticket prices include admission into the Tara Place Home & Garden Show.
* Trade show booth space available by calling: 770-826-1448.

Tara Place Home & Garden Show – April 17, 18 and 19
Enjoy a showcase of home and garden ideas. If you are planning your dream home, looking for property, building, remodeling, landscaping, creating custom lighting or doing anything to your home and garden, this show will have companies that can assist your planning, design and implementation. Businesses from all over Atlanta and central Georgia will be in attendance for this Spring show. Gates open Friday 11am – 7pm; Saturday 10am – 7pm; Sunday 11am – 5pm. Enter the speedway infield at the Main Tunnel entrance off Speedway Boulevard. Ticket prices are $10 for adults; $9 for over 55; $5 for ages 8 – 18; Under 8 is FREE. Family package is available for the weekend. Ticket prices include admission into the RV SuperShow and Outdoor Extravaganza.
* Trade show booth space available by calling: 770-826-1448.

7th Annual Mopar Southern Classic – May 2
Enthusiasts can enjoy the southeast’s largest display of classic, custom and current Mopars. Hundreds of prizes and multiple categories. Plus, Huge Swap Meet, Cars For Sale Corral and Manufacturer’s Midway. 1/8th Mile Drag Racing with the Hotlanta Mopar Challenge – ALL CARS INVITED!!! Drive your classic or custom entry on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s high-banked super speedway. Plymouth Plaza ‘Kids Corner’ (Bring the whole family); 50/50 Raffle Drawing, Photos in Victory Lane and lots more! Enter the speedway infield at the Main Tunnel entrance off Speedway Boulevard. Gates Open at 8:00am. $7 for spectators (kids 12 and under are FREE). Drag Racing starts at 10:00am. Street Racing – No timing system. Car Show entry, vendor and car corral information: 2009MoparShow@mindspring.com

Friday Night Drags Test & Tune – May 15
Local competitors power up for weekly drag racing among several divisions. Everything from full-blown dragsters to grandma's grocery-getter will compete in side-by-side, heads-up drag racing along the speedway's pit road eighth-mile drag strip. Open testing begins at 6:15pm. $10 per person. Tech opens at 6:30pm and will remain open until 9:00pm. Grandstands will not be open for this event. Friday Night Drag rules are available at http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/events/drags/.

Friday Night Drags & Show-N-Shine ‘Season Opener’ – May 22
The first night of competition cranks up with several divisions of street drag racing. Everything from full blown dragsters to tuner cars to trucks and motorcycles competing in side by side, straight-up drag races down the 1/8th mile pit road drag strip. Plus, the season’s very first Show-N-Shine car show takes place in the Nationwide Garage and out on the high banks of the speedway. Pit area opens at 6pm. Grandstands open at 6:30pm. Speedway Parade at 8:20pm with Drag Race Eliminations beginning at 9:05pm. Spectator admission is $7. Drag race or Show competitors are $20. FREE parking outside the facility. Drag rules and Show divisions are available at http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/events/drags/.
* Pre-season advance sale group ticket packages for this opening night event are available for only $2 per ticket (minimum of 100 ordered). Contact Ted Austad at 770-946-3954.


REMEMBER…Night Racing comes to Atlanta Motor Speedway this upcoming Labor Day weekend (September 5 and 6, 2009). NASCAR Sprint Cup racing ‘under the lights’ with the Sunday, September 6th running of the Pep Boys Auto 500. A great tradition of racing in the southeast over Labor Day weekend returns. Tickets are selling fast. Check out our ticket specials below, make plans with family and friends and purchase your tickets now. The Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office can be reached by calling 770-946-4211.

www.atlantamotorspeedway.com

INAUGURAL SATURDAY INSANITY RACE A SUCCESS

By: Amy Glover

(Commerce, GA – March 21) The first day of spring also marked the inaugural ‘Saturday Insanity’ event at Atlanta Dragway. Track Manager Ray Wilkings sought to change things up, by creating a “fun family day of testing and competition.” Throughout the day is open Test & Tune, as well as 6.50 and 7.50 Index classes, along with the new “No Box Pro Series” classes, Open Wheel and Full-Bodied. Racers also have the option of organizing a “Gambler’s Race,” pooling entry money for the purse payout, while Atlanta Dragway provides the facilities. Altogether, the event is made to reach back to racing’s roots, making it much simpler, and a lot of fun.

The new “No Box Pro Series” provides serious bracket racing without electronics, and is designed to challenge individuals to strive for consistency. The best qualifying run is chosen from a competitor’s runs, and their individual index becomes .05 seconds under that run. The series is a points series, similar to the Summit ET series, allowing competitors to qualify for the Division Finals, and run for a “Wally” and a Gold Card. Also, the Open Wheel and 6.50 Index classes start with a .400 Pro Tree, while the Full-Bodied and 7.50 Index classes start with a .500 Pro Tree.

The 6.50 Index Final was a ’76 Vega showdown, between Ed Nalley (Maysville, GA) and Joe Rampley (Gainesville, GA). Rampley launched with a .085 light, but broke out by .001 of a second, running a 6.49 at 105.62 mph. Nalley stayed on top of things, cutting a .046 light, and crossing the line with a 6.56 elapsed time at 99.83 mph. Nalley was enthused about the new event. “I can’t believe I won the first one!” Nalley thanked his new sponsor O’Reilley’s at Commerce, his tire sponsor Bill Boomhower, and all his friends. He also thanked Ray Wilkings and everyone that works at the track, “for putting on a good show. The track was phenomenal.” Matt Ward (’69 Camaro – Fair Play, SC) and Todd Mayfield (’85 Firebird – Dallas, GA) were the semi-finalists.

The 7.50 Index final was between John Norris’s ’86 Camaro and Team Ford Thunder’s Randall Roop in a ’66 Mustang. Roop, out of Canton, GA, jumpstarted the tree, with a -.008 red-light. Norris, from Royston, GA, cut a decent .075 light, crossing the finish line in 7.53 seconds at 92.33 mph. Norris (no relation to Chuck), who had never run a Pro Tree, liked the change, saying, “I’ll be back.” Norris thanked Wade Bryant automotive, Mason Racing, and everyone at the track. Gainesville’s Danny Freeman ended the night in his Mustang.

The Open Wheel category was a race for the regulars, with Jesse Young in his ’00 Undercover dragster and Keith Neal’s ’02 Spitzer dragster in the final round. Neal (Snellville, GA) left with the better reaction time of .050, against the .108 reaction Young (Danielsville, GA) launched with. However, Neal ran a 5.09 on his 4.88 index, as 128.82 mph, while Young ran much closer at the top end, crossing the win stripe in 4.89 seconds on a 4.80 index, at 130.92 mph. Young described the win as “awesome,” adding, “I hope more people come next time; it’s a good program.” Young was cheered on by his 17-month-old son Lucas, and thanked his dad David and wife Corie “for putting up with me racing.” Commerce local Jeremy Hancock finished in the semi-finals, in his ’05 M&N Dragster.

The Full-Bodied class provided a tight final between Bill Boomhower (Walhalla, SC) and Jimmy Mason (Canon, GA). Boomhower’s ’65 Plymouth left the tree with a .084 reaction time, while Mason’s ’93 Camaro left a little late with a .101 light. Mason ran a 7.20 on a 7.15 index at 96.92 mph (a .151 package), while Boomhower ran a 6.17 on a 6.11 index, at 100.10 mph (a .150 package). Boomhower’s reaction time sealed the deal, winning the run with an impressive .001 margin of victory. Boomhower said he “had a good day; I like heads-up stuff,” and joked, “I seem to do better at this than full tree racing.” Boomhower thanked 6.50 Index winner Ed Nalley, for helping with fueling, and Tim Gibson, for his transmission. Steve Adams (’78 Malibu Wagon – Buford, GA) finished in the semi-finals, along with double-entrant, double-semi-finalist Matt Ward (’69 Camaro – Fair Play, SC).

Sanctioned by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), Atlanta Dragway is located just off I-85 at Exit 149 in the Banks Crossing area of Commerce, Georgia. Information on all 2009 events, including the NHRA Summit Southern Nationals on April 16-April 19, 2009, may be obtained by calling the track office (706-335-2301) or logging on to www.atlantadragway.com .

———————————————————————————————————————————————-
6.50 INDEX CAR HOMETOWN ET MPH INDEX
Win: Ed Nalley ’76 Vega Maysville, GA 6.56 99.83 (6.50)
R/U: Joe Rampley ’76 Vega Gainesville, GA 6.49 105.62 (6.50)
Semi: Matt Ward ’69 Camaro Fair Play, SC
Semi: Todd Mayfield ’85 Firebird Dallas, GA
———————————————————————————————————————————————
7.50 INDEX CAR HOMETOWN ET MPH INDEX
Win: John Norris ’86 Camaro Royston, GA 7.53 92.33 (7.50)
R/U: Randall Roop ’66 Mustang Canton, GA 7.72 73.20 (7.50) (foul)
Semi: Danny Freeman ’90 Mustang Gainesville, GA
———————————————————————————————————————————————
OPEN WHEEL CAR HOMETOWN ET MPH INDEX
Win: Jesse Young ’00 Undercover Danielsville, GA 4.89 130.92 (4.80)
R/U: Keith Neal ’02 Spitzer Snellville, GA 5.09 128.82 (4.88)
Semi: Jeremy Hancock ’05 M&N Dragster Commerce, GA
———————————————————————————————————————————————
FULL-BODIED CAR HOMETOWN ET MPH INDEX
Win: Bill Boomhower ’65 Plymouth Walhalla, SC 6.17 100.10 (6.11)
R/U: Jimmy Mason ’93 Camaro Canon, GA 7.20 96.92 (7.15)
Semi: Matt Ward ’69 Camaro Fair Play, SC
Semi: Steve Adams ’78 Malibu Wagon Buford, GA
———————————————————————————————————————————————