Fresh off an historic sweep of Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, Ford heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500. Here is a look at how the Blue Oval has done at the 1.5-mile facility.
THE FIRST TIME…Ford won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway came in 1961 by one of the latest inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Fred Lorenzen. He captured the Festival 250 on July 9 while driving for Holman-Moody, and did it in dominating fashion by lapping the field. Lorenzen, who led 52 laps on the day, beat runner-up Bob Welborn by one lap in his 1961 Ford. Richard Petty finished third that afternoon, but was three laps down. That victory served as a springboard for Lorenzen’s future success at AMS, which included becoming the first driver to win the Atlanta 500 three straight years (1962-63-64).
THE LAST TIME…Ford went to victory lane in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at AMS was on Oct. 26, 2008 when Carl Edwards beat Jimmie Johnson to the finish line by 2.684 seconds. The win was Edwards’ third at the track and first since sweeping both events in 2005, which was his first full season on the circuit. In addition, it moved Edwards up two spots into second-place in the point standings, but he was still a distant 183 points behind Johnson with only three races to go. Edwards eventually finished runner-up in the Chase that season by 69 points.
IN BETWEEN…Ford teams have enjoyed great success at Atlanta Motor Speedway with 30 overall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins – one of only five tracks where the manufacturer has won 30 or more times. There have also been some memorable moments during that time, including Marvin Panch becoming the first driver to sweep both AMS races in a single season when he did it in 1965 with the Wood Brothers; Bill Elliott posting a pair of season sweeps (1985 and 1992) and winning five times overall; Morgan Shepherd capturing Ford’s 400th series victory in 1993 when snow delayed the Motorcraft 500 for nearly a week; and Carl Edwards posting the first win of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career in dramatic fashion over Jimmie Johnson in 2005.
FORD’S ATLANTA CUP WINNERS
1961 – Fred Lorenzen
1962 – Fred Lorenzen
1963 – Fred Lorenzen
1964 – Fred Lorenzen and Ned Jarrett
1965 – Marvin Panch (sweep)
1967 – Cale Yarborough and Dick Hutcherson
1968 – LeeRoy Yarbrough
1969 – LeeRoy Yarbrough
1975 – Buddy Baker
1978 – Bobby Allison
1981 – Neil Bonnett
1985 – Bill Elliott (sweep)
1987 – Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott
1990 – Morgan Shepherd
1991 – Mark Martin
1992 – Bill Elliott (sweep)
1993 – Morgan Shepherd
1994 – Ernie Irvan and Mark Martin
1997 – Dale Jarrett
2002 – Kurt Busch
2005 – Carl Edwards (sweep)
2008 – Carl Edwards
