Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.522-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.
The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate 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, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. The first round was scheduled to be held on Friday, March 14, at 1:00 PM EST. Originally, the first 20 positions were going to be determined by first round qualifying, with positions 21-40 meant to be determined later in the day at 2:00 PM EST.[6] However, due to rain, the first round was cancelled. As a result, qualifying was both delayed for over two hours and condensed into one round for all starting grid spots in the race. Depending on who needed it, a select amount of positions were given to cars who had not otherwise qualified but were high enough in owner's points; up to two were given.[7]
Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes
^Withdrew after Ribbs' car failed to arrive in time for a mandatory technical inspection despite a two-hour extension.[3] According to DiGard Motorsports, the team was stuck trying to repair the car that was supposed to race, which was wrecked by Ribbs during a test on February 27, 1986. The team was also struggling after the departure of master engine builder Robert Yates, who left the team on February 14.[4]
^Driver changed to Eddie Bierschwale for the start of the race after Bierschwale and Kodak paid Johnson to drive Johnson's car when Bierschwale failed to qualify. Johnson later switched seats with Bierschwale during the race. As Bierschwale started the race, he is classified as the driver in the official results.[5]
