FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                     

Contact: Marcy Scott

               (Matthew Simmons

 

 

              

Atlanta Motor Speedway Storms Into Summer with Thursday Thunder and Friday Night Drags,

Providing Racing Entertainment for the Whole Family

 

HAMPTON, Ga. (May 18, 2009) – Revered among local motorsports fans as annual rites of summer in Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder and Friday Night Drags are geared up for another summer of short-track racing and street-style drag racing.

 

            Offering affordable racing entertainment for the whole family, Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder and Friday Night Drags return for the 2009 seasons on May 22 and June 4 respectively. Featuring multiple classes of high-speed racing, weekly entertainment and affordable ticket prices, Thursday Thunder and Friday Night Drags have become among the most popular summer-entertainment options in the Atlanta area.

 

            Each week at Thursday Thunder, the action features a full slate of Legends, Bandolero and Thunder Roadster racing, in addition to family entertainment that includes concourse activities, grandstand games and intermission amusements. Entertainment during the 10-week schedule includes weekly on-track autograph sessions, fireworks, and a kids’ bike, trike and Power Wheels race.

 

            Adding to the intrigue surrounding Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Thursday Thunder, the series has become a training ground for young racers looking to advance their budding careers. In past years, fans have witnessed the meteoric rise of NASCAR upstarts David Ragan, Reed Sorenson and Joey Logano on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s “Thunder Ring”.

 

            At Friday Night Drags, everything from grandma’s grocery getter to full-blown dragsters can be seen barreling down AMS’ one-eighth mile drag strip. Entering the event’s third-full season, the 2009 Friday Night Drags schedule has been expanded from 10 to 14 weeks to meet burgeoning fan and racer demand. With weekly entertainment that includes backwards drag racing, special competitor classes, kids’ Power Wheel races and fireworks, Friday Night Drags has quickly become a local Friday-night favorite. In addition, on select dates ladies can race for free or fans can ride-along in lower division cars for $20.

 

Adult tickets to Thursday Thunder are just $5 and children ages six to 11 are just $1, while ages five and under are admitted free of charge. Making Thursday Thunder an even better family value, exterior parking at the Speedway is free.

 

For Friday Night Drags, spectator entry is just $7, while children ages five and under are admitted free of charge. To compete, the cost to drag race or enter the Show-N-Shine car show is just $20 for one or $30 to enter both. Outside parking is free for spectators or just $20 to park on the AMS infield.

 

New for the 2009 seasons, both Thursday Thunder and Friday Night Drags will feature new competitor classes. The addition of the Young Lions class to Thursday Thunder will divide the Semi-Pro class, allowing the Young Lions division to serve as a developmental class for drivers ages 12 to 15, while resulting in more competitive racing among the Semi-Pros.

 

For Friday Night Drags, five new classes have been introduced to provide fans and competitors with more competitive racing. For stock foreign and domestic sport compact cars, the Sport Compact class has been introduced as a novice division for Tuners. The Truck Advanced class has been created for significantly-modified trucks, while AMS has fine tuned its Pro division by adding the Super Pro division for the most-advanced drag cars and leaving Pro for naturally-aspirated engines only. For motorcycle enthusiasts, AMS has also developed a Super Bike class and a Motorcycle division.

 

Grandstand gate 13 opens at 6:00 p.m. for Thursday Thunder and gate 15 opens at 6:30 p.m. for Friday Night Drags.

 

For more information on Thursday Thunder or Friday Night Drags, visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com or call the Atlanta Motor Speedway ticket office at 877-9-AMS-TIX (877-926-7849) or 770-946-4211.

 

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2009 Thursday Thunder Promotional Schedule

 

June 4 – Clayton County Chamber of Commerce Night and Networking Night

 

June 11 – Kids' Candy and Coin Scramble and Georgia Auto Racing Hall of Fame Night

 

June 18 – Mascot Mania Night

 

June 25 – Kid’s Bike, Trike and Power Wheel Race Night

 

July 2 – Double Feature Night featuring Independence Day Fireworks Show

 

July 9 – Joe Momma Night featuring the Kid’s Candy & Coin Scramble

 

July 16 – Fastor Pastor Race Night

 

July 23 – Disco Night featuring the 2009 Bandolero Nationals ‘Green Flag Party’

 

July 30 – Classic Car Night featuring the Classic Car Cruise

 

Aug. 6 – Championship Night

 

 

2009 Friday Night Drags Promotional Schedule

 

May 22 – $20 Drag Ride-Along Night (Non-points night)

 

May 29 – OFF WEEK

 

June 5 – Points Opener and Kids’ Candy & Coin Scramble

 

June 12 – 60’s Muscle Cars Show Class and Kids’ Power Wheels Races

 

June 19 – Backwards Drag Racing and Modern Tuner Show Class

 

June 26 – Lucky Ladies Race Free and Hot Rod Heaven Show Class

 

July 3 – FIREWORKS! and Harley-Davidson Show Class

 

July 10 – Double Points Night and Ford Owners Rally

 

July 17 – Kids’ Candy & Coin Scramble and Mopar Owners Rally

 

July 24 – $20 Drag Ride-Along and Foreign Car Owners Rally

 

July 31 – Kids’ Power Wheel Races and Chevy Owners Rally

 

Aug. 7 – OFF WEEK

 

Aug. 14 – Double Points Night and Truck Show Class

 

Aug. 21 – The Great Moodini and Super Bike Show Class

 

Aug. 28 – Lucky Ladies Race Free and Classic Car Show Class

 

Sept. 4 – OFF WEEK for Atlanta’s first Sprint Cup night race on Sept. 6

 

Sept. 11 – Championship Night with Final Ladders