ATLANTA — After the Atlanta Motor Speedway was forced to hit pause back in March, they will back with the Folds of Honor QuiKTrip 500 on June 7. It will run without fans.
“We’re ready to get NASCAR back that’s for sure. To have the history that we have, we’ve been running races since July 31, 1960. More than anything else I think you’re going to see what you’ve seen the last 60 years,” said Atlanta Motor Speedway Executive Vice President & General Manager Brandon Hutchison.
Hutchison said the good news is, the track has stayed ready to go.
“We had already prepared once. We pressed pause on this thing during our race week. Of course, the world has changed in the last three months,” said Hutchison.
He has been in contact with Darlington, Bristol and Charlotte Motor Speedways to learn more about how to run with the new regulations set by NASCAR.
“Our questions right out of the gate were, how did you pull it all together? How did it happen? What did it look like? How did you test? Our employees will be wearing masks and practicing social distancing,” said Hutchison.
NASCAR has been running several races successful now during the pandemic and Hutchison has been impressed with the drivers more than anything.
“The competitors have really been fantastic. We knew all along that these were the best drivers in the world but, it’s just been very impressive," he said. "The show on the track has just been great. We’ve had some exciting races and some exciting finishes.”
Dawsonville native Chase Elliott has certainly looked impressive over the last few races, even though he’s had some tough finishes.
“I’ve been watching Chase race since he was a young boy. He started racing the quarter mile here. Not only would it be very cool for Chase to win, but he’s driving a Chevrolet car and we’re a Chevrolet track," Hutchison said."If the stars align and he’s able to win in Atlanta that would be just awesome."
There are two more Cup Series races before action gets underway at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Charlotte and Bristol are up first.
OTHER HEADLINES