Bodine says his 197.478 mph perfect lap at Atlanta in 1997 is ‘a record that won’t be broken.’
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There is more than a touch of mystery associated with this weekend’s NASCAR visit to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500.
Since NASCAR last stopped at the 1.54-mile track in the far suburbs of Atlanta, major changes have been made. The track’s weather-beaten surface has been repaved, and, more importantly, the banking has been lifted to more severe angles.
These changes, mixed with the addition of the Next Gen car’s first appearance at the track, create a level of unknown. Speeds are a bit hard to predict.
Geoff Bodine conquered Atlanta Motor Speedway, for one lap anyway, in 1997.
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Twenty-five years ago, AMS hosted the NAPA 500 in November, and speed also was a major topic of interest. The track had been repaved and higher speeds were predicted, but no one was ready for what was to come on that weekend.
In the spring of that year, before the repave, Robby Gordon had won the AMS pole with a speed of 186.507 mph.
Fast-forward to November. Enter fresh asphalt, and enter Geoffrey Bodine.
In practice before time trials, Bodine was more than pleased with his Ford’s performance.
“I went out to run, and I knew we had something,” he said. “There was a little issue off turn two with an asphalt patch, and that worried me. I thought everyone might lose it. But the car felt great. I told the guys I thought I could run wide open around the track if I could make it through one and two. I knew three and four would be okay.
“I was all pumped up for it.”
Qualifying time arrived, and big numbers were floating around in Bodine’s head.
“I came off turn four to take the green, and I just said, ‘I’m gonna do it,’ ” he said. “I got into one OK and got off two and then stayed wide open into three. There was a wave in the track and I bobbled a little bit, and I had to lift just a touch to let the car turn.”
Bodine completed the lap, and the numbers flashed across the garage area.
This was much more interesting than your normal qualifying lap. Bodine had run 197.478 miles per hour, almost 10 miles per hour faster than the pole for the spring race.
“It was a crazy lap,” Bodine said. “But I was disappointed. I wanted to run 198.”
No one was close to Bodine’s lap. He circled the track in 28.074 seconds. Ward Burton was second at 28.365 seconds and 195.452 mph, more than two miles per hour off Bodine’s pole-winning pace.
Bodine’s lap was the fastest on a fast day. The top 28 drivers all qualified at 192-plus.
“That’s a record that won’t be broken,” Bodine said. “I loved qualifying. I loved that challenge of hanging it out there and going fast. It’s one on one, just you and the track.”
Unfortunately, having the fastest car on Saturday didn’t translate into a good race day for Bodine. He led the first four laps but finished 33rd, 11 laps behind race winner Bobby Labonte.
Keyword: NASCAR Next Gen, Atlanta Repave No Match For Geoff Bodine's 25-Year-Old Track Record