Clayton News Daily

By Johnny Jackson

jjackson@henryherald.com

NASCAR night racing will return to the Atlanta Motor Speedway this fall for the Labor Day weekend races, according to officials.

"The interest in tickets has been phenomenal; there is definitely a buzz here in Atlanta," said Matthew Simmons, marketing and promotion coordinator for the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Tickets for the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Sept. 4, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series on Sept. 5, went on sale on April 23, according to Simmons. General admission tickets for the Sept. 4 Nationwide Series race and Sprint Cup Series qualifying round start at $25, while tickets for the Sprint Cup Series race on Sept. 5, start at $39.

"We made history last year by bringing night racing to Atlanta Motor Speedway and returning NASCAR racing back to the South on Labor Day weekend," added Speedway President Ed Clark. "Now, it's time to turn Labor Day night racing into a tradition by doing it bigger and better than last year."

Simmons said, according to NASCAR, the Speedway's first night races last year turned out a record 113,000 race fans.

"We hosted the largest-ever crowd for a NASCAR Labor Day weekend event, but our traffic patterns were improved compared to our March race date," added Brandon Hutchison, the Speedway's vice president of events.

"By hosting such a marquee, holiday-weekend event, many fans made it a point to arrive early, thus reducing inbound traffic on race day," continued Hutchison. "Similarly, with many fans off work on Monday for Labor Day, outbound traffic was remarkably improved as fans camped on Sunday night. While we expect an even larger crowd for our 50th Anniversary celebration this year, we are well prepared to host NASCAR's best fans on Labor Day weekend."

Simmons said race fans are now able to purchase tickets by calling the Speedway's ticket office at (770) 946-4211, toll free at (877) 9-AMS-TIX, or visiting online at www.atlantamotorspeedway.com. Fans may also visit the ticket office, Monday through Friday, during business hours, at 1500 Tara Place in Hampton.

He said the Sprint Cup Series qualifying round is set to begin at 4:40 p.m., on Sept. 4, followed by the Nationwide Series race at 7 p.m. The Sprint Cup Series race is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., on Sept. 5.