Today is July 4, which of course marks our nation's independence from the jolly ol' chaps across the pond.
It also marks exactly two months until race day for the Sprint Cup Series at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The September 4 Advocare 500 wraps up a weekend of racing action that will feature the world's top stock car drivers and the up-and-coming stars of the sport.
The action kicks off Friday, September 2, with the running of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 200-miler. Saturday, September 3, the NASCAR Nationwide Series takes center stage as current and future Sprint Cup stars do battle for 300 miles.
Finally, the sport's biggest names - Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and defending Advocare 500 champion Tony Stewart - will compete Sunday evening under the lights in the 104th Sprint Cup race held at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
This season marks the third year of Labor Day Weekend racing at Atlanta, and the first in which that is big-time stock car racing's lone trip to the Peach State. It also marks the 52nd year of racing at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, which opened in 1960.
Starting with the legendary Fireball Roberts' victory in the Dixie 300 on July 31, 1960, the Atlanta Motor Speedway has played host to a number of pivotal moments in NASCAR's 61-year-history, and one can be assured that more history will be written the first weekend in September.
Over the next two months, SB Nation Atlanta will take a look back at some of the great moments in the history of the Atlanta Motor Speedway, so check back often and make sure you are in the grandstands for all three races so you can witness the next chapter of great racing at one of the original superspeedways. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased through the Atlanta Motor Speedway website.
Be sure to follow the track on Twitter, and you can follow SB Nation Atlanta's NASCAR writer there as well.