Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

"AdvoCare 500" redirects here. For the Monster Energy Cup race of the same name held in November at Phoenix International Raceway from 2012–2013, see Can-Am 500.
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series
Venue Atlanta Motor Speedway
Location Hampton, Georgia, United States
Corporate sponsor Folds of Honor and QuikTrip
First race 1960
Distance 500.5 miles (805.476 km)
Laps 325
Previous names Dixie 300 (1960)
Dixie 400 (1961–1966)
Dixie 500 (1967–1979)
Atlanta Journal 500 (1980–1990)
Hardee's 500 (1991)
Hooters 500 (1992–1994)
NAPA 500 (1995–2002)
Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 (2003–2006)
Pep Boys Auto 500 (2007–2009)
Emory Healthcare 500 (2010)
AdvoCare 500 (2011–2013)
Oral-B USA 500 (2014)
Most wins (driver) Richard Petty
Dale Earnhardt
Bobby Labonte
Jimmie Johnson (4)
Most wins (team) Hendrick Motorsports (9)
Most wins (manufacturer) Chevrolet (23)
Circuit information
Surface Asphalt
Length 1.54 mi (2.48 km)
Turns 4

The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is a NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The race is sponsored by QuikTrip, along with the nonprofit organization Folds of Honor, and is run in March as the second race of the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup season.

This race was originally Atlanta's second race of the season and was run as a late season event for much of its history. From 1987 until 2001, the race was scheduled in November as the final race of the NASCAR season. From 2002 until 2008, the race was moved to October in favor of awarding the final race weekend to Homestead-Miami Speedway and became part of what is now the Chase for the Sprint Cup in 2004. In 2009, Atlanta swapped fall race dates with Auto Club Speedway and the race was moved to Labor Day weekend. From 2011 onward, this has been Atlanta's only race date as its spring race was moved to Kentucky Speedway and run later in the year.

In the most recent round of schedule changing, NASCAR elected to move the Labor Day weekend race back to Darlington Raceway, which hosted the Southern 500 on that weekend from 1950 until 2003, and moved Atlanta's lone date back to the early season.

Overview

From 1987 until 2001, the race was scheduled as the final race of the NASCAR season, and thus was typically the event in which the champion was decided. Several times, however, the championship had already been clinched prior to this race, rendering the race anti-climactic. In some cases, the championship would be decided the moment the points leader took the green flag to start the race - effectively clinching enough championship points by finishing last or better.

The 1992 race marked the final race for Richard Petty, and coincidentally, the debut for Jeff Gordon. With six drivers eligible for the Winston Cup Championship, the race is widely regarded as one of the greatest NASCAR races of all time. Alan Kulwicki, who finished second in the race, edged out Bill Elliott, the race winner, by leading one more lap in the race. Kulwicki won the NASCAR Winston Cup title by a then-record margin of only 10 points.

The 1998 race was run mostly at night after a long rain delay; despite the inexperience with the lights, newly installed for an Indy Racing League race, NASCAR and the teams agreed to attempt finishing the race at night. It was shortened to 221 laps because it was after 11:00 p.m. EST and NASCAR wanted to "get the fans out at a decent hour". The 1999 Cracker Barrel 500 also ended at night. This would mark a springboard of sorts at finishing delayed races at night by utilizing a track's permanent lighting system.

In 2001, the race was scheduled as the season finale, however, it ended up being the second-to-last race. The New Hampshire 300 was postponed from September 16 to the Friday after Thanksgiving, due to 9/11. Beginning in 2002 the race was moved to mid-October as NASCAR elected to hold its final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway instead of Atlanta. The 2003 race started a tradition of night qualifying at Atlanta, which has carried over to the spring race as well.

In 2006, the race start time was changed from 12:40 p.m. EDT to 2:55 p.m. EDT in order to finish the race at night. Driver complaints erupted because of the track's troublesome situation where the sun can get into the driver's eyes in Turn 1, including leading to a crash during the time the sun sets in that area of the track between Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray, led to the abandonment of the 3 PM start after this race.

In 2009, the race was moved Labor Day weekend as part of a realignment agreement with Auto Club Speedway, which had received the Labor Day weekend race in 2004, and Talladega Superspeedway, where Talladega's fall race moved to the Atlanta race weekend and Fontana received a race in the Chase in Talladega's spot.[1]

In 2015, Atlanta's lone race date moved to the second week of the season in early March, with the Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway returning to its traditional Labor Day weekend date. Atlanta will be run on a Sunday afternoon. This event used to be called the Oral-B USA 500, and this event used to be aired on ESPN for 6 years preceding the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway and the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway[2]

Realignment

This race, Atlanta's second of the season, had been rumored to be either eliminated or moved several times in recent years. Most recently, track owner Bruton Smith, president of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., was talking with International Speedway Corporation about a possible date switch with one of its tracks. On February 29, 2008, Smith proposed a move that involved the fall Atlanta race and the Pepsi 500, the Labor Day weekend race held at Auto Club Speedway.[3] Doing so gave the Fontana, California track a race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup as well as return the Labor Day weekend race to the southern U.S. for the first time since the second-to-last Southern 500 was run. It also makes the three races that precede the beginning of the Chase closer to each other geographically. Prior to the realignment, the teams raced in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol the week before Labor Day, then traveled cross country for the Pepsi 500, then came back across the country to run the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond the following Saturday.

Ultimately, NASCAR adjusted the schedule as announced on August 19, 2008 to allow the fall race at Atlanta and the Chase event to Fontana to be swapped, but also in the process moved the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to Atlanta's old date — usually the last weekend in October — and the aforementioned Pepsi 500 was placed in the old Talladega date, the first weekend in October beginning in 2009.

Past winners

Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Race Distance Race Time Average Speed
(mph)
Report
Laps Miles (km)
1960 July 31 22 Fireball Roberts John Hines Pontiac 200 300 (482.803) 2:29:47 112.652 Report
1961 September 17 3 David Pearson John Masoni Pontiac 267 400.5 (644.542) 3:11:39 125.384 Report
1962 October 28 4 Rex White Rex White Chevrolet 267 400.5 (644.542) 3:12:24 124.74 Report
1963 June 30 3 Junior Johnson Ray Fox Chevrolet 267 400.5 (644.542) 3:18:42 121.139 Report
1964 June 7 11 Ned Jarrett Bondy Long Ford 267 400.5 (644.542) 3:33:32 112.535 Report
1965 June 13 21 Marvin Panch Wood Brothers Racing Ford 267 400.5 (644.542) 3:38:13 110.12 Report
1966 August 7 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Plymouth 267 400.5 (644.542) 3:04:30 130.244 Report
1967 August 6 29 Dick Hutcherson Bondy Long Ford 334 501 (806.281) 3:47:14 132.286 Report
1968 August 4 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 334 501 (806.281) 3:56:34 127.068 Report
1969 August 10 98 LeeRoy Yarbrough Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 334 501 (806.281) 3:45:35 133.001 Report
1970 August 2 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Plymouth 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:29:53 142.712 Report
1971 August 1 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Plymouth 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:52:05 129.061 Report
1972 July 23 12 Bobby Allison Richard Howard Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:47:08 131.295 Report
1973 July 22 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:50:01 130.211 Report
1974 July 28 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:42:31 131.651 Report
1975 November 9 15 Buddy Baker Bud Moore Engineering Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:48:40 130.99 Report
1976 November 7 71 Dave Marcis Nord Krauskopf Dodge 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:55:07 127.396 Report
1977 November 6 88 Darrell Waltrip DiGard Motorsports Chevrolet 268* 407.896 (656.444) 3:42:23 110.052 Report
1978 November 5 1 Donnie Allison Ellington Racing Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 4:00:43 124.312 Report
1979 November 4 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Mercury 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:33:46 140.12 Report
1980 November 2 11 Cale Yarborough Junior Johnson & Associates Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:48:19 131.19 Report
1981 November 8 21 Neil Bonnett Wood Brothers Racing Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:49:43 130.391 Report
1982 November 7 88 Bobby Allison DiGard Motorsports Buick 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:48:51 130.884 Report
1983 November 6 75 Neil Bonnett RahMoc Enterprises Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:37:37 137.643 Report
1984 November 11 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:42:31 134.61 Report
1985 November 3 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:34:34 139.597 Report
1986 November 2 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:15:22 152.523 Report
1987 November 22 9 Bill Elliott Melling Racing Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:35:25 139.047 Report
1988 November 20 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:52:09 129.024 Report
1989 November 19 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:33:36 140.229 Report
1990 November 18 15 Morgan Shepherd Bud Moore Engineering Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:32:34 140.911 Report
1991 November 17 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:37:06 137.968 Report
1992 November 15 11 Bill Elliott Junior Johnson & Associates Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:44:20 133.322 Report
1993 November 14 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Pontiac 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:59:12 125.221 Report
1994 November 13 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:21:03 148.982 Report
1995 November 12 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:03:03 163.633 Report
1996 November 10 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 328 499.216 (803.41) 3:39:13 134.661 Report
1997 November 16 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:07:48 159.904 Report
1998 November 8 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 221* 340.34 (547.724) 2:57:42 114.915 Report
1999 November 21 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:37:43 137.932 Report
2000 November 20* 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:32:32 141.296 Report
2001 November 18 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:17:53 151.756 Report
2002 October 27 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 248* 381.92 (614.64) 2:59:42 127.519 Report
2003 October 26/27* 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:55:02 127.769 Report
2004 October 31 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:25:54 145.847 Report
2005 October 30 99 Carl Edwards Roush Racing Ford 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:24:31 146.834 Report
2006 October 29 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:29:23 143.421 Report
2007 October 28 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 329* 506.66 (815.39) 3:44:45 135.26 Report
2008 October 26 99 Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Racing Ford 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:43:39 134.272 Report
2009 September 6 9 Kasey Kahne Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:44:03 134.033 Report
2010 September 5 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:52:43 129.041 Report
2011 September 6* 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 500.5 (805.476) 4:00:58 124.623 Report
2012 September 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 327* 503.58 (810.433) 3:32:45 142.02 Report
2013 September 1 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:42:14 135.128 Report
2014 August 31 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 335* 515.9 (830.26) 3:55:24 131.512 Report
2015 March 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 500.5 (805.476) 3:49:06 131.078 Report
2016 February 28 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 330* 508.2 (817.868) 3:15:38 155.863 Report

Multiple winners (drivers)

No. Wins Driver Years Won
4 Richard Petty 1966, 1970, 1971, 1974
Dale Earnhardt 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995
Bobby Labonte 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001
Jimmie Johnson 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016
3 Neil Bonnett 1979, 1981, 1983
Bill Elliott 1985, 1987, 1992
Jeff Gordon 1998, 2003, 2011
2 LeeRoy Yarbrough 1968, 1969
David Pearson 1961, 1973
Bobby Allison 1972, 1982
Rusty Wallace 1988, 1993
Mark Martin 1991, 1994
Carl Edwards 2005, 2008
Tony Stewart 2006, 2010
Kasey Kahne 2009, 2014

Multiple winners (teams)

No. Wins Team Years Won
9 Hendrick Motorsports 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016
7 Joe Gibbs Racing 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013
5 Roush Fenway Racing 1991, 1994, 2002, 2005, 2008
4 Wood Brothers Racing 1965, 1973, 1979, 1981
Petty Enterprises 1966, 1970, 1971, 1974
Junior Johnson & Associates 1968, 1969, 1980, 1992
Richard Childress Racing 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995
2 Bondy Long 1964, 1967
DiGard Motorsports 1977, 1982
Melling Racing 1985, 1987

Manufacturer wins

No. Wins Manufacturer Years Won
23 Chevrolet 1962, 1963, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016
16 Ford 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2002, 2005, 2008
7 Pontiac 1960, 1961, 1988, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001
3 Plymouth 1966, 1970, 1971
Dodge 1974, 1976, 2009
2 Mercury 1973, 1979
Toyota 2012, 2013
1 Buick 1982

Notable races

Television broadcasters

Year Network Lap-by-lap Color commentators
1986 ESPN Bob Jenkins Larry Nuber
1987
1988 Ned Jarrett
Gary Nelson
1989 Ned Jarrett
Benny Parsons
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001 NBC Allen Bestwick Benny Parsons
Wally Dallenbach
2002
2003
2004
2005 NBC
TNT
Bill Weber
2006 NBC
2007 ABC Jerry Punch Rusty Wallace
Andy Petree
2008 Dale Jarrett
Andy Petree
2009
2010 ESPN Marty Reid
2011 Allen Bestwick
2012
2013
2014
2015 Fox Mike Joy Darrell Waltrip
Larry McReynolds
2016 Darrell Waltrip
Jeff Gordon

Former logos

References

  1. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3543062
  2. "NASCAR reveals 2015 schedules for national series". NASCAR. August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  3. NASCAR.COM - Smith proposes date swap between California, Atlanta - February 29, 2008

External links

Previous race:
Daytona 500
NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Next race:
Kobalt 400
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