Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

The Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. The race is sponsored by QuikTrip, along with the nonprofit organization Folds of Honor, and is run as the second race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
This race was originally Atlanta's second race of the season and was run as a late season event for much of its history. From 1987 until 2001, the race was scheduled in November as the final race of the NASCAR season. From 2002 until 2008, the race was moved to October in favor of awarding the final race weekend to Homestead-Miami Speedway and became part of what is now the NASCAR Chase for the Championship in 2004. In 2009, Atlanta swapped fall race dates with Auto Club Speedway and the race was moved to Labor Day weekend. From 2011 onward, this has been Atlanta's only race date as its spring race was moved to Kentucky Speedway and run later in the year.
In the most recent round of schedule changing, NASCAR elected to move the Labor Day weekend race back to Darlington Raceway, which hosted the Southern 500 on that weekend from 1950 until 2003, and moved Atlanta's lone date back to the early season.
== Overview ==
From 1987 until 2001, the race was scheduled as the final race of the NASCAR season, and thus was typically the event in which the champion was decided. Several times, however, the championship had already been clinched prior to this race, rendering the race anti-climactic. In some cases, the championship would be decided the moment the points leader took the green flag to start the race - effectively clinching enough championship points by finishing last or better.
The 1992 race marked the final race for Richard Petty, and coincidentally, the debut for Jeff Gordon. With six drivers eligible for the Winston Cup Championship, the race is widely regarded as one of the greatest NASCAR races of all time. Alan Kulwicki, who finished second in the race, edged out Bill Elliott, the race winner, by leading one more lap in the race. Kulwicki won the NASCAR Winston Cup title by a then-record margin of only 10 points.
The 1998 race was run mostly at night after a long rain delay; despite the inexperience with the lights, newly installed for an Indy Racing League race, NASCAR and the teams agreed to attempt finishing the race at night. It was shortened to 221 laps because it was after 11:00 p.m. EST and NASCAR wanted to "get the fans out at a decent hour". The 1999 Cracker Barrel 500 also ended at night. This would mark a springboard of sorts at finishing delayed races at night by utilizing a track's permanent lighting system.
In 2001, the race was scheduled as the season finale, however, it ended up being the second-to-last race. The New Hampshire 300 was postponed from September 16 to the Friday after Thanksgiving, due to 9/11. Beginning in 2002 the race was moved to mid-October as NASCAR elected to hold its final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway instead of Atlanta. The 2003 race started a tradition of night qualifying at Atlanta, which has carried over to the spring race as well.
In 2006, the race start time was changed from 12:40 p.m. EDT to 2:55 p.m. EDT in order to finish the race at night. Driver complaints erupted because of the track's troublesome situation where the sun can get into the driver's eyes in Turn 1, including leading to a crash during the time the sun sets in that area of the track between Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray, led to the abandonment of the 3 PM start after this race.
In 2009, the race was moved Labor Day weekend as part of a realignment agreement with Auto Club Speedway, which had received the Labor Day weekend race in 2004, and Talladega Superspeedway, where Talladega's fall race moved to the Atlanta race weekend and Fontana received a race in the Chase in Talladega's spot.
In 2015, Atlanta's lone race date moved to the second week of the season in early March, with the Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway returning to its traditional Labor Day weekend date. Atlanta will be run on a Sunday afternoon. This event used to be called the Oral-B USA 500, and this event used to be aired on ESPN for 6 years preceding the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway and the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway
== Realignment ==
This race, Atlanta's second of the season, had been rumored to be either eliminated or moved several times in recent years. Most recently, track owner Bruton Smith, president of Speedway Motorsports, Inc., was talking with International Speedway Corporation about a possible date switch with one of its tracks. On February 29, 2008, Smith proposed a move that involved the fall Atlanta race and the Pepsi 500, the Labor Day weekend race held at Auto Club Speedway. Doing so gave the Fontana, California track a race in the Chase for the Championship as well as return the Labor Day weekend race to the southern U.S. for the first time since the second-to-last Southern 500 was run. It also makes the three races that precede the beginning of the Chase closer to each other geographically. Prior to the realignment, the teams raced in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol the week before Labor Day, then traveled cross country for the Pepsi 500, then came back across the country to run the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond the following Saturday.
Ultimately, NASCAR adjusted the schedule as announced on August 19, 2008 to allow the fall race at Atlanta and the Chase event to Fontana to be swapped, but also in the process moved the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to Atlanta's old date — usually the last weekend in October — and the aforementioned Pepsi 500 was placed in the old Talladega date, the first weekend in October beginning in 2009.
== Past winners ==
Year	Date 	No.	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Race Distance	Race Distance 	Race Time	Average Speed(mph)	Report
Year	Date 	No.	Driver 	Team 	Manufacturer	Laps 	Miles (km) 	Race Time	Average Speed(mph)	Report
1960	July 31 	22 	Fireball Roberts	John Hines 	Pontiac 	200 	300 (482.803) 	2:29:47 	112.652 	Report
1961	September 17 	3 	David Pearson 	John Masoni 	Pontiac 	267 	400.5 (644.542) 	3:11:39 	125.384 	Report
1962	October 28 	4 	Rex White 	Rex White 	Chevrolet 	267 	400.5 (644.542) 	3:12:24 	124.74 	Report
1963	June 30 	3 	Junior Johnson 	Ray Fox 	Chevrolet 	267 	400.5 (644.542) 	3:18:42 	121.139 	Report
1964	June 7 	11 	Ned Jarrett 	Bondy Long 	Ford 	267 	400.5 (644.542) 	3:33:32 	112.535 	Report
1965	June 13 	21 	Marvin Panch 	Wood Brothers Racing 	Ford 	267 	400.5 (644.542) 	3:38:13 	110.12 	Report
1966	August 7 	43 	Richard Petty 	Petty Enterprises 	Plymouth 	267 	400.5 (644.542) 	3:04:30 	130.244 	Report
1967	August 6 	29 	Dick Hutcherson 	Bondy Long 	Ford 	334 	501 (806.281) 	3:47:14 	132.286 	Report
1968	August 4 	98 	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Ford 	334 	501 (806.281) 	3:56:34 	127.068 	Report
1969	August 10 	98 	LeeRoy Yarbrough	Junior Johnson & Associates	Ford 	334 	501 (806.281) 	3:45:35 	133.001 	Report
1970	August 2 	43 	Richard Petty 	Petty Enterprises 	Plymouth 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:29:53 	142.712 	Report
1971	August 1 	43 	Richard Petty 	Petty Enterprises 	Plymouth 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:52:05 	129.061 	Report
1972	July 23 	12 	Bobby Allison 	Richard Howard 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:47:08 	131.295 	Report
1973	July 22 	21 	David Pearson 	Wood Brothers Racing 	Mercury 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:50:01 	130.211 	Report
1974	July 28 	43 	Richard Petty 	Petty Enterprises 	Dodge 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:42:31 	131.651 	Report
1975	November 9 	15 	Buddy Baker 	Bud Moore Engineering 	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:48:40 	130.99 	Report
1976	November 7 	71 	Dave Marcis 	Nord Krauskopf 	Dodge 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:55:07 	127.396 	Report
1977	November 6 	88 	Darrell Waltrip 	DiGard Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	268* 	407.896 (656.444)	3:42:23 	110.052 	Report
1978	November 5 	1 	Donnie Allison 	Ellington Racing 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	4:00:43 	124.312 	Report
1979	November 4 	21 	Neil Bonnett 	Wood Brothers Racing 	Mercury 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:33:46 	140.12 	Report
1980	November 2 	11 	Cale Yarborough 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:48:19 	131.19 	Report
1981	November 8 	21 	Neil Bonnett 	Wood Brothers Racing 	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:49:43 	130.391 	Report
1982	November 7 	88 	Bobby Allison 	DiGard Motorsports 	Buick 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:48:51 	130.884 	Report
1983	November 6 	75 	Neil Bonnett 	RahMoc Enterprises 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:37:37 	137.643 	Report
1984	November 11 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:42:31 	134.61 	Report
1985	November 3 	9 	Bill Elliott 	Melling Racing 	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:34:34 	139.597 	Report
1986	November 2 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:15:22 	152.523 	Report
1987	November 22 	9 	Bill Elliott 	Melling Racing 	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:35:25 	139.047 	Report
1988	November 20 	27 	Rusty Wallace 	Blue Max Racing 	Pontiac 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:52:09 	129.024 	Report
1989	November 19 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:33:36 	140.229 	Report
1990	November 18 	15 	Morgan Shepherd 	Bud Moore Engineering 	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:32:34 	140.911 	Report
1991	November 17 	6 	Mark Martin 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:37:06 	137.968 	Report
1992	November 15 	11 	Bill Elliott 	Junior Johnson & Associates	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:44:20 	133.322 	Report
1993	November 14 	2 	Rusty Wallace 	Penske Racing 	Pontiac 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:59:12 	125.221 	Report
1994	November 13 	6 	Mark Martin 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:21:03 	148.982 	Report
1995	November 12 	3 	Dale Earnhardt 	Richard Childress Racing 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:03:03 	163.633 	Report
1996	November 10 	18 	Bobby Labonte 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Chevrolet 	328 	499.216 (803.41) 	3:39:13 	134.661 	Report
1997	November 16 	18 	Bobby Labonte 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Pontiac 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:07:48 	159.904 	Report
1998	November 8 	24 	Jeff Gordon 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	221* 	340.34 (547.724) 	2:57:42 	114.915 	Report
1999	November 21 	18 	Bobby Labonte 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Pontiac 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:37:43 	137.932 	Report
2000	November 20* 	25 	Jerry Nadeau 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:32:32 	141.296 	Report
2001	November 18 	18 	Bobby Labonte 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Pontiac 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:17:53 	151.756 	Report
2002	October 27 	97 	Kurt Busch 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	248* 	381.92 (614.64) 	2:59:42 	127.519 	Report
2003	October 26/27*	24 	Jeff Gordon 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:55:02 	127.769 	Report
2004	October 31 	48 	Jimmie Johnson 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:25:54 	145.847 	Report
2005	October 30 	99 	Carl Edwards 	Roush Racing 	Ford 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:24:31 	146.834 	Report
2006	October 29 	20 	Tony Stewart 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Chevrolet 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:29:23 	143.421 	Report
2007	October 28 	48 	Jimmie Johnson 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	329* 	506.66 (815.39) 	3:44:45 	135.26 	Report
2008	October 26 	99 	Carl Edwards 	Roush Fenway Racing 	Ford 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:43:39 	134.272 	Report
2009	September 6 	9 	Kasey Kahne 	Richard Petty Motorsports 	Dodge 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:44:03 	134.033 	Report
2010	September 5 	14 	Tony Stewart 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	Chevrolet 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:52:43 	129.041 	Report
2011	September 6* 	24 	Jeff Gordon 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	4:00:58 	124.623 	Report
2012	September 2 	11 	Denny Hamlin 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	327* 	503.58 (810.433) 	3:32:45 	142.02 	Report
2013	September 1 	18 	Kyle Busch 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	Toyota 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:42:14 	135.128 	Report
2014	August 31 	5 	Kasey Kahne 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	335* 	515.9 (830.26) 	3:55:24 	131.512 	Report
2015	March 1 	48 	Jimmie Johnson 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:49:06 	131.078 	Report
2016	February 28 	48 	Jimmie Johnson 	Hendrick Motorsports 	Chevrolet 	330* 	508.2 (817.868) 	3:15:38 	155.863 	Report
2017	March 5 	2 	Brad Keselowski 	Team Penske 	Ford 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:33:08 	140.898 	Report
2018	February 25 	4 	Kevin Harvick 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	Ford 	325 	500.5 (805.476) 	3:29:54 	143.068 	Report
===Notes===
*1977, 1998, & 2002: Race shortened due to rain; 1998 due to approaching curfew.
*2000: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
*2003: Race started on Sunday but was finished on Monday due to rain.
*2007, 2012, 2014, & 2016: Race extended due to a NASCAR Overtime finish. 2014 took two attempts.
*2011: Race delayed from Sunday Night to Tuesday Morning due to rain.
===Track length notes===
*1960–1969: 1.5 mile course
*1970–1996: 1.522 mile course
*1997–present: 1.54 mile course
=== Multiple winners (drivers) ===
No. Wins	Driver 	Years Won
4 	Richard Petty 	1966, 1970, 1971, 1974
4 	Dale Earnhardt 	1984, 1986, 1989, 1995
4 	Bobby Labonte 	1996, 1997, 1999, 2001
4 	Jimmie Johnson 	2004, 2007, 2015, 2016
3 	Neil Bonnett 	1979, 1981, 1983
3 	Bill Elliott 	1985, 1987, 1992
3 	Jeff Gordon 	1998, 2003, 2011
2 	LeeRoy Yarbrough	1968, 1969
2 	David Pearson 	1961, 1973
2 	Bobby Allison 	1972, 1982
2 	Rusty Wallace 	1988, 1993
2 	Mark Martin 	1991, 1994
2 	Carl Edwards 	2005, 2008
2 	Tony Stewart 	2006, 2010
2 	Kasey Kahne 	2009, 2014
=== Multiple winners (teams) ===
No. Wins	Team 	Years Won
9 	Hendrick Motorsports 	1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016
7 	Joe Gibbs Racing 	1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013
5 	Roush Fenway Racing 	1991, 1994, 2002, 2005, 2008
4 	Wood Brothers Racing 	1965, 1973, 1979, 1981
4 	Petty Enterprises 	1966, 1970, 1971, 1974
4 	Junior Johnson & Associates	1968, 1969, 1980, 1992
4 	Richard Childress Racing 	1984, 1986, 1989, 1995
2 	Bondy Long 	1964, 1967
2 	DiGard Motorsports 	1977, 1982
2 	Melling Racing 	1985, 1987
2 	Team Penske 	1993, 2017
2 	Stewart-Haas Racing 	2010, 2018
=== Manufacturer wins ===
No. Wins	Manufacturer	Years Won
23 	Chevrolet 	1962, 1963, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016
18 	Ford 	1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1975, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2017, 2018
7 	Pontiac 	1960, 1961, 1988, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001
3 	Plymouth 	1966, 1970, 1971
3 	Dodge 	1974, 1976, 2009
2 	Mercury 	1973, 1979
2 	Toyota 	2012, 2013
1 	Buick 	1982
== Notable races ==
*1966: Richard Petty led 90 laps and beat Buddy Baker for his first Atlanta win, but the story of the race centered on pole-sitter Curtis Turner and third-starting Fred Lorenzen. With Ford participation stopped in a dispute over engine rules, the season had been dominated by Chrysler racecars. Turner entered in a Smokey Yunick Chevrolet rumored to be radically altered and not in compliance with the NASCAR rulebook; Lorenzen drove Junior Johnson's Ford, a car nicknamed "The Yellow Banana" because the body had been visibly altered; both cars passed NASCAR inspection where others did not. Turner led 60 laps and finished 24th with distributor failure while Lorenzen led 24 laps and was eliminated in a crash, finishing 23rd.
*1971: Richard Petty became the first stock car driver to reach $1 million in career earnings after a race-long duel with Bobby Allison.
*1976: Dave Marcis took his final superspeedway win. Driving Harry Hyde's famous No. 71 Dodge, Marcis engaged in a nose-to-nose battle for most of the first 64 laps with Buddy Baker, Cale Yarborough, and David Pearson. Part-time racer Dale Earnhardt survived a huge crash with some 60 to go when Dick Brooks hit the wall in Three and slid into Earnhardt's path; Earnhardt tumbled to the fourth turn.
*1977: The race shortened due to rain/darkness. Darrell Waltrip took advantage of the lapped car of James Hylton to storm past Donnie Allison on the last lap; Allison crashed with Cale Yarborough coming to the stripe.
*1978: A scoring breakdown led to an embarrassing change of the declared winner. Manual scoring ruled that Richard Petty had edged Dave Marcis at the stripe, but a recheck hours later proved that Donnie Allison, who finished two lengths ahead of Petty and Marcis, had indeed won.
*1979: Neil Bonnett edged Dale Earnhardt, Yarborough, and Bobby Allison in a hot four-car battle over the race's final 20 laps. Following the race Darrell Waltrip took a two-point lead over Richard Petty entering the season finale at Ontario.
*1980: A multicar wreck in the first 20 laps eliminated the Allison brothers and other contenders, leaving Cale Yarborough to breeze all but uncontested to the win; the win helped him close to within 29 points of leader Dale Earnhardt with one race left in the 1980 title chase.
*1981: ESPN televised the race live, the first such telecast for the third-year cable network. The race turned into a spirited affair as Neil Bonnett and Richard Petty fought back and forth for the lead amid bids by Darrell Waltrip, Joe Ruttman, and Harry Gant. The final two laps were a fierce duel won by Bonnett over Waltrip and Cale Yarborough.
*1982: The race set a track record for lead changes at 45, among 14 drivers. Blistered tires ruined a victory bid by Richard Petty as Bobby Allison outdueled Darrell Waltrip and Harry Gant for the win. This would be the final start for Country Music singer Marty Robbins, who would die in December of that year.
*1984: Driver Terry Schoonover was killed in the race after crashing into the barrier in turn two.
*1986: Dale Earnhardt wrapped up his second career title by completely dominating the Dixie 500. The rest of the top five was a list of NASCAR luminaries - Richard Petty, Bill Elliott, Tim Richmond, and Buddy Baker.
*1987: For the first time, this race was scheduled as the final race of the NASCAR season.
*1989: In this race, independent driver Grant Adcox was killed in a crash.
*1990: With cars packed tightly together for late-race pitstops under yellow (the result of NASCAR's rule closing pit road when the yellow comes out instead of letting cars pit before taking the yellow), one of Bill Elliott's crew members was killed when Ricky Rudd was coming into the pits for service and lost control of his car. This led to NASCAR mandating a speed limit on pit road for crew members safety.
*1992: Widely considered one of the most dramatic NASCAR races of all time. See 1992 Hooters 500
*1993: Race winner Rusty Wallace, and Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt circled the track in a Polish Victory Lap, carrying No. 7 and No. 28 flag to honor Alan Kulwicki and Davey Allison who were both killed in aviation accidents during the season. Both Kulwicki and Allison were key fixtures exactly one year earlier at the classic 1992 race.
*1995: Jeff Gordon wrapped up his first series title as Dale Earnhardt drove his No. 3 to victory at the race time of 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 3 seconds.
*1996: Bobby Labonte took the win, the first for Joe Gibbs Racing building its own engines after four seasons running Rick Hendrick engines. Terry Labonte clinched the 1996 Winston Cup Championship driving for Hendrick Motorsports. The two made a victory lap together and celebrated together in victory lane.
*1997: 325 laps / 500.5 miles with new configuration. Bobby Labonte won in JGR's first win with Pontiac; Pontiacs dominated the top ten at the finish
*1998: Race shortened due to rain and darkness. Rain delays throughout the day made the race go into midnight, and track officials wanted the fans to get home at a decent hour. First night Cup race.
*2000: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain. Final career start for Darrell Waltrip. It would be the final time the event would be the last race of the NASCAR season.
*2001: Was scheduled to be the final race of the 2001 season, but Loudon was moved to the weekend after due to 9/11. That instead made this the second-to-last race of the season.
*2002: Race shortened due to rain. Moved from November to October, such that the race will no longer be the final race of the NASCAR season.
*2009: Race moved from October to Labor Day weekend, marking the first regularly scheduled NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta to start at night. Kasey Kahne took the win, the second of the year for the team now under the aegis of Richard Petty Motorsports.
*2011: Race postponed from Sunday Night to Tuesday Afternoon due to rain. Jeff Gordon scored his 85th career win after a fierce duel with teammate Jimmie Johnson over the final ten laps on worn tires, giving him sole possession of third on the all-time wins list and the most wins by a driver in NASCAR's Modern Era (1972–present). This was only the second time in NASCAR's Modern Era that a race was postponed to a Tuesday, the other time coming in August 2007 at Michigan (also for rain). Gordon was honored by NASCAR president Mike Helton with a framed portrait of photos from past victories by Jeff made into the shape of the No. 85 to commemorate the milestone victory.
* 2015: The start of the race was delayed nearly an hour due to rain. Once the race Race began there were two wrecks, one with 69 laps to go where two cars were involved, and another wreck with 21 laps to go. Six cars were involved in the second incident, which brought a nine-minute, one second red flag to facilitate cleanup on the track. Jimmie Johnson scored his first win of the season.
* 2016: Johnson repeated as race winner and tied Dale Earnhardt with 76 career Cup wins. Matt Kenseth was blackflagged on a green flag stop when a crewman left a wedge wrench on the rear deck and another crewman picked it up for use on the car; a communication breakdown meant Kenseth stayed on the racetrack for five laps and was not scored for one of those laps.
* 2017: 2500th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Kevin Harvick led 292 of the 325 laps and looked to be on his way to his second win at Atlanta until a caution came out for Austin Dillon's stalled car. When they came down pit road under caution, Harvick got caught speeding exiting sending him to the rear of the field. Kyle Larson found himself on his way to the win, until with seven laps to go left the door open as if he were oblivious, allowing Brad Keselowski to pass him and ultimately win. It was also the first time the stage racing format was used at Atlanta, where stages 1 and 2 were 85 laps long each, and the stage 3 comprising the final 155 laps of the event. Last race on the original pavement laid down when the track was reconfigured in 1997, but voices from fans and drivers are calling for them not to repave the surface, even though several drivers saw tires fail during the race.
== Television broadcasters ==
Year	Network 	Lap-by-lap 	Color commentators 	Pit reporters
1981	ESPN 	Mike Joy 	Larry Nuber 	
1986	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Larry Nuber 	
1987	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Larry Nuber 	
1988	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Gary Nelson 	Jerry Punch
1989	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch
1990	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch John Kernan
1991	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch John Kernan
1992	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch John Kernan
1993	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch John Kernan
1994	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch John Kernan
1995	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch John Kernan
1996	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch John Kernan
1997	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch Bill Weber John Kernan
1998	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch Bill Weber John Kernan
1999	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch Bill Weber John Kernan
2000	ESPN 	Bob Jenkins 	Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons 	Jerry Punch Bill Weber John Kernan
2001	NBC 	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach 	Dave Burns Marty Snider Bill Weber Matt Yocum
2002	NBC 	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach 	Dave Burns Marty Snider Bill Weber Matt Yocum
2003	NBC 	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach 	Dave Burns Marty Snider Bill Weber Matt Yocum
2004	NBC 	Allen Bestwick	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach 	Dave Burns Marty Snider Bill Weber Matt Yocum
2005	NBC TNT	Bill Weber 	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach 	Marty Snider Dave Burns Matt Yocum Allen Bestwick
2006	NBC 	Bill Weber 	Benny Parsons Wally Dallenbach 	Marty Snider Dave Burns Matt Yocum Allen Bestwick
2007	ABC 	Jerry Punch 	Rusty Wallace Andy Petree 	Jamie Little Dave Burns Allen Bestwick Mike Massaro
2008	ABC 	Jerry Punch 	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree 	Jamie Little Dave Burns Shannon Spake Vince Welch
2009	ABC 	Jerry Punch 	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree 	Jamie Little Dave Burns Shannon Spake Vince Welch
2010	ESPN 	Marty Reid 	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree 	Jerry Punch Jamie Little Dave Burns Vince Welch
2011	ESPN 	Allen Bestwick	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree 	Jerry Punch Jamie Little Dave Burns Vince Welch
2012	ESPN 	Allen Bestwick	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree 	Jerry Punch Jamie Little Dave Burns Vince Welch
2013	ESPN 	Allen Bestwick	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree 	Jerry Punch Jamie Little Dave Burns Vince Welch
2014	ESPN 	Allen Bestwick	Dale Jarrett Andy Petree 	Jerry Punch Jamie Little Dave Burns Vince Welch
2015	Fox 	Mike Joy 	Darrell Waltrip Larry McReynolds	Matt Yocum Jamie Little Chris Neville
2016	Fox 	Mike Joy 	Darrell Waltrip Jeff Gordon 	Matt Yocum Jamie Little Vince Welch
2017	Fox 	Mike Joy 	Darrell Waltrip Jeff Gordon 	Matt Yocum Jamie Little Vince Welch
2018	Fox 	Mike Joy 	Darrell Waltrip Jeff Gordon 	Matt Yocum Jamie Little Vince Welch
 	Fox 	Mike Joy 	 	
== Former logos ==
Image:Oralb500.jpg|Oral-B USA 500 (2014)
Image:2011 AdvoCare 500 race logo.jpg|AdvoCare 500 (2011–2013)
== References ==
== External links ==
*Folds of Honor website
*NASCAR Commentators Crews and Networks
Category:Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Races