Ambetter Health 400

The Quaker State 400, presented by Walmart, began as the Atlanta 500 in October 1960. Bobby Johns won the first event for Cotton Owens. Fred Lorenzen and Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough each won three consecutive races during the 1960s. Lorenzen’s win in 1964 was particularly dominant after he built a two-lap lead over the rest of the field.

The trio of champions and Hall of Famers David Pearson, Bobby Allison, and Richard Petty dueled for wins during the 1970s. The three of them won seven of the 10 races in the decade. In 1972, Allison earned Chevrolet’s first superspeedway victory since the 1960s. In 1976, Pearson battled back from losing a lap early to get the win. He’d finish second behind Petty the following year.

The 1981 race saw the first corporate sponsor of the event when Coca-Cola took title sponsorship. Yarborough took the fifth of his record six event wins that year, the sixth coming in 1983. Allison’s protest of NASCAR reducing the spoiler on his Pontiac Lemans was the story of the race that year. Owner Harry Ranier threatened a boycott but eventually relented after getting no support in the garage. NASCAR Hall of Fame driver and 1973 champion Benny Parsons won his last Cup Series race at the 1984 Coca-Cola 500.

Motorcraft took over sponsorship in 1986, with the race being called the Motorcraft 500 (later the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 from 1987-1993). In the 1989 race, three-time champion Darrell Waltrip was slowed behind the pace car after it picked up the wrong leader during pit stops. In the wake of this, NASCAR implemented a new rule to close pit road under yellow, making it less likely for mistakes during manual lap scoring. In the same race, Petty made a pit stop and his car caught fire, injuring a gas man and nearly burning reporter Dr. Jerry Punch. After that incident, pit reporters are required to wear fire suits.

The 1993 race was the only one in the event’s history to be postponed for a week due to snow. Purolator took over sponsorship from 1994 to 1996 before Primestar took sponsorship in 1997 and 1998. Cracker Barrel sponsored the race from 1999 through 2001. The 1990s saw just two drivers win multiple events: multiple-time champions Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon. The track was rebuilt in 1997 from an oval to a quad-oval. It became one of the fastest tracks on the NASCAR calendar as a result.

The 2001 race, won by 2014 champion Kevin Harvick by inches over Gordon, marked the first win for Richard Childress Racing since Earnhardt’s death in Daytona that year. Earnhardt had won the race a year prior and Harvick ran the event with a different number.

Sponsorship changed hands four times from 2002 to 2007. MBNA America sponsored the 2002 race, Bass Pro Shops in 2003, Golden Corral from 2004 to 2006, and Kobalt Tools from 2007 to 2010.

The 2005 race saw future champion Carl Edwards take his first win past Jimmie Johnson on the last lap. A year later, Bill Lester became the first African-American driver in the Cup Series since Willy T. Ribbs in 1986. The final races of the 2000s were marked by wins by the Busch brothers: Kyle in 2008 and Kurt in 2009 and 2010. Kurt would win the event on its return to Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2021. Be sure to catch the thrilling action of the 2023 Quaker State 400 Moneyline

Speedway Motorsports announced in late 2020 that the race would be moved from Kentucky back to Atlanta starting in 2021. Last year’s race was won by 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott.

Yarborough has the record for the most wins in event history with six.