Atlanta 500 Classic

Atlanta 500 Classic

Indy Racing League
Venue	Atlanta Motor Speedway
First race	1965
First ICS race	1998
Last race	2001
Distance	515.505 km (320.32 mi)
Laps	208
Most wins (driver)	Rick Mears (5)
Most wins (team)	Penske Racing (5)

The Atlanta 500 Classic was an Indy Racing League event held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway from 1998 until 2001.

Previous USAC and CART races had been held at the track dating to 1965. The first National Championship races in Atlanta were held at Atlanta Motordrome, a 2-mile (3.2 km) dirt oval, in 1910. Later AAA and USAC races were held at Lakewood Speedway, a dirt oval in Atlanta.

Past winners

Atlanta Motordrome

Year	Date	Winner	Car
American Automobile Association
1910	May 5	Ray Harroun	Marmon
	May 6	Bill Endicott	Cole
	May 6	Herbert Lytle	American
	May 7	Tom Kincaid/Johnny AitkenA	National

^A Shared drive

Lakewood Speedway

Year	Date	Race name	Winner	Chassis	Engine
American Automobile Association
1946	March 31	Mike Benton Sweepstakes (non-points)	Jimmy Wilburn		Offy
	June 2	Lakewood Race 1	Ted Horn		Offy
	July 4	Lakewood Race 2	Ted Horn	Wetteroth	Offy
	July 7	Lakewood Race 3	Ted Horn		Offy
	September 2	Atlanta 100	George Connor	Kurtis Kraft	Offy
	September 28	Lakewood Race 5	Ted Horn		Offy
	October 5	Lakewood Race 6	Bill Holland		Offy
1947	July 4	Atlanta 100	Walt Ader	Adams	Offy
1948	September 6	Atlanta 100	Mel Hansen	Wetteroth	Offy
1949–1951: Not held
NASCAR Speedway Division
1952	June 8	Atlanta 100	Al Keller	?	Cadillac
1953–1955: Not held
USAC Championship Car
1956	July 14	Atlanta 100	Eddie Sachs	Hillegass	Offy
1957	July 4	Atlanta 100	George Amick	Lesovsky	Offy
1958	July 4	Atlanta 100	Jud Larson	Watson	Offy

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Season	Date	Race Name	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)
							Laps	Miles (km)
USAC Championship Car
1965	Aug 1	Atlanta 250	Johnny Rutherford	Leader Card Racing	A. J. Watson	Ford	167	250.5 (403.14)	1:46:03	141.728
1966	June 26	Atlanta 300	Mario Andretti	Clint Brawner	Brawner Hawk	Ford	200	300 (482.803)	2:09:12	139.319
1967 – 1977	Not held
1978	July 23	Gould Twin Dixie	Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	100	152.2 (244.942)	1:03:44	141.215
CART PPG Indy Car World Series
1979	April 22	Gould Twin Dixie 125	Johnny Rutherford	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren	Cosworth	82	124.804 (200.852)	0:47:28	157.758
			Johnny Rutherford	Bruce McLaren Motor Racing	McLaren	Cosworth	82	124.804 (200.852)	0:45:40	166.159
	Sept 30	Rich's Atlanta Classic	Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	100	152.2 (244.942)	0:50:09	182.094
1980	Not held
1981	June 21	Kraco Twin 125	Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	83	126.326 (203.301)	0:51:29	147.22
			Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	83	126.326 (203.301)	0:45:20	167.073
1982	May 1	Stroh's 200	Rick Mears	Penske Racing	Penske	Cosworth	132	200.904 (323.323)	1:13:10	164.75
1983	April 17	Kraco Dixie 200	Gordon Johncock	Patrick Racing	Wildcat	Cosworth	132	200.904 (323.323)	1:22:29	146.133
1984 – 1997	Not held
Indy Racing League
1998	Aug 29	Atlanta 500 Classic	Kenny Bräck	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	208	320.32 (515.505)	2:17:05	140.026
1999	July 17	Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 Presented by MCI WorldCom	Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	208	320.32 (515.505)	2:12:15	141.546
2000	July 15	Midas 500 Classic	Greg Ray	Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile	208	320.32 (515.505)	2:02:02	153.403
2001	April 28	zMax 500	Greg Ray	Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile	200	308 (495.677)	2:14:41	133.647

External links

• Champ Car Stats: Motordrome archive
• Champ Car Stats: Lakewood archive
• Champ Car Stats: Atlanta archive