Some of the fastest laps of the Winston Cup season are expected Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway during qualifying for Sunday's MBNA 500.

The 1.54-mile quad oval is the only track other than Texas Motor Speedway in which qualifying speeds have been over 190 mph in recent years.

AMS has been among the fastest on the NASCAR circuit since it was reconfigured in 1997 from a 1.522 mile oval.

Geoffrey Bodine set a track qualifying record of 197.478 mph in November 1997, the first race weekend on the configuration. Qualifying speeds have been higher only at Daytona and Talladega before NASCAR began requiring carburetor restrictor plates to slow the cars in the interest of safety.

As the pavement at Atlanta has worn down, speeds have also been reduced.

Qualifying for the race last fall was rained out, but Bill Elliott won the pole for the spring event at 191.542. Only Elliott's 194.224 later in the spring at the Texas track topped that performance.

"Those two qualifying laps at Atlanta are the most intense a driver is going to be during the year,'' said Johnny Benson. "It's a wild ride. But it only last for a short time.

"I'd say it would be about a 9 on the 10 scale. When you race there, assuming your car is handling well, it is about a 6 on that scale.''

Even the straightaways are demanding on the AMS track, and Benson said there is no time to relax during the qualifying run.

"I think Atlanta is about as on the edge as you can get when it comes to qualifying,'' Benson added. "It is so fast. ... Sometimes you will see drivers out of breath when they get out of the car from just one or two qualifying laps. You put everything out there.''

Kyle Petty said he doesn't get scared on the Atlanta track, but he does respect it.

"It's kind of like Talladega used to be before the plates as far as speed is concerned,'' Petty said "Every time you blink, you've gone a football field. Sneeze, and you've missed the backstretch. Everything just happens so fast there.

"Generally, that's not a big deal as long as everything is going OK. If you have the car pointed in the right direction, speed -- even at Atlanta -- is not that big of a deal. ... "But, if something happens, that changes awfully quick. Not-so-fast turns into really fast in a heartbeat."