The speedway, located 25 miles south of Atlanta, had its humble beginnings in 1960.  In those early years, one of the ticket takers was none other than future President Jimmy Carter.  The crowd capacity has grown from around 25,000 then to 124,000 today.   The 1.54 mile oval sees speeds approaching 190 miles per hour.   Dale Earnhardt holds the record for most wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway with nine.    In the 1980s, the track was featured in several movies including Six-Pack, starring Kenny Rogers, and couple of Burt Reynolds' films Stroker Ace, and Smokey and the Bandit II, whose opening scene can be enjoyed by clicking the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZTXTdq6nzE