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Emory Healthcare 500 (Atlanta)

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The Labor Day Classic 500 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. This most recent name change for the fall Atlanta race reflects a rescheduling of this particular race, the second in its history. Prior to its most recent rescheduling the fall Atlanta race was always run during the final stages of the NASCAR season, in either October or November, and was one of the ten races in the Chase for the Sprint Cup from its inauguration in 2004 until 2008.

With the realignment NASCAR returns its Labor Day weekend Cup race to the southern United States for the first time since the 2003 Southern 500.

Overview

From 1987 until 2001, the race was scheduled as the final race of the NASCAR season, and typically the event in which the champion was decided. Several times, however, the championship was decided prior to this race, or was decided when the points leader simply started the race, clinching enough points simply by finishing last or better.

The 1992 event 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.

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.

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 shortend to 221 laps because it was after 11:00 PM and NASCAR wanted to "get the fans out at a decent hour". The 1999 Cracker Barrel 500 also ended at night.

In 2006, the race start time was changed from 12:40 PM to 2:55 PM 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.

Beginning in 2009 the race will be run Labor Day weekend as part of a realignment agreement with Auto Club Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, where Talladega's fall race will move to the Atlanta race weekend and Fontana will get a race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, moving into the date where Talladega's race was. [1] As was the the case with the recent Labor Day weekend races run at Fontana the Pep Boys Auto 500 will be run at night, marking the first regularly scheduled Sprint Cup race at Atlanta to start at night.

See also: List of Labor Day Classic 500 broadcasters

Past winners

Dixie 300

Dixie 400

Dixie 500

Atlanta Journal 500

  • 1980 - Cale Yarborough
  • 1981 - Neil Bonnett
  • 1982 - Bobby Allison
  • 1983 - Neil Bonnett
  • 1984 - Dale Earnhardt
  • 1985 - Bill Elliott
  • 1986 - Dale Earnhardt
  • 1987 - Bill Elliott
    • For the first time, this race was scheduled as the final race of the NASCAR season.
  • 1988 - Rusty Wallace
  • 1989 - Dale Earnhardt
    • In this race independent driver Grant Addcox was killed in a crash.
  • 1990 - Morgan Shepherd
    • One of Bill Elliott's crew members was killed when Ricky Rudd was coming into the pits for service and lost control of his car. This led to NASCAR mandating a speed limit on pit road for crew members safety.

Hardee's 500

  • 1991 - Mark Martin

Hooters 500

NAPA 500

  • 1995 - Dale Earnhardt
  • 1996 - Bobby Labonte
    • Labonte's older brother Terry clinched the 1996 Winston Cup Championship driving for Hendrick Motorsports. The two made a victory lap together and celebrated together in victory lane.
  • 1997 - Bobby Labonte (325 laps with new configuration)
  • 1998 - Jeff Gordon (221 laps / 340.34 miles because of rain; first night Cup race)
  • 1999 - Bobby Labonte
  • 2000 - Jerry Nadeau
    • Moved from Sunday to Monday due to rain. Final career start for Darrell Waltrip. It would be the final time the event would be the last race of the NASCAR season.
  • 2001 - Bobby Labonte
    • Was scheduled to be the final race of the 2001 season, but Loudon was moved to the weekend after due to 9/11. That instead made this the second-to-last race of the season.
  • 2002 - Kurt Busch (248 laps / 381.92 miles because of rain)
    • Moved from November to October, such that the race will no longer be the final race of the NASCAR season.

Bass Pro Shop MBNA 500

  • 2003 - Jeff Gordon (race postponed due to rain, held on Monday)
  • 2004 - Jimmie Johnson
  • 2005 - Carl Edwards
  • 2006 - Tony Stewart

Pep Boys Auto 500

Labor Day Classic 500

  • 2009 -

Realignment

Main article: NASCAR Realignment § Realignment 2009

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. [2] 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.

References

  1. ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3543062
  2. ^ NASCAR.COM - Smith proposes date swap between California, Atlanta - Feb 29, 2008
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