Atlanta Motor Speedway is the center of discussion this weekend for all NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
The last time NASCAR drove on this track was on July 11, 2021. Since then, the oval has been repaved and re-profiled. The width of the turns reduced and the inclination increased from 24 to 28 degrees. Now this Banking is the steepest of all NASCAR intermediate speedways.
The new configuration should allow high-speed racing. NASCAR has therefore decided to use the package usually dedicated to superspeedways for the fifth event of the season. The power of Next Gen cars is reduced to around 510 hp. This season NASCAR has chosen the 670 hp package on the intermediate circuits.
But for one of the most anticipated races of the season, the drivers are still in the dark. Will fans see a Daytona- or Talladega-type race package? Will they see a hybrid of superspeedway racing and that which characterizes intermediate tracks?
“I have no idea about this one, actually. I watched a few test laps they had done. I’ve heard people say we’re going full throttle all the time. We’ll just have to see what it will really look like. »
said Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. “
Ross Chastain, who took part in a Goodyear tire test in Atlanta in January, is leaning towards a Daytona-type peloton.
“It’s like a superspeedway – it really is. The transitions are a bit sharper than Daytona and Talladega, but it’s pretty smooth and we have enough grip to keep things going. It’s Daytona minus a mile. »
said Chastain
Towards a hybrid race?
Looking ahead to races in Atlanta, Cliff Daniels, crew chief of NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson, studied the Daytona 500, the first superspeedway race with the Next Gen car.
“We are looking carefully at what we learned at Daytona earlier this year, and there was a team test. You can’t expect it to be like a normal intermediate race…
Daniels said.
“I think Sunday’s race will start as a superspeedway race. But because of the tighter cornering radius compared to Daytona and Talladega, there will be a lot more demands on the car to perform well, and that could lead to the field breaking up and a race like mid-track.
Larson led 269 laps in last year’s spring event before being passed by race winner Ryan Blaney with eight laps remaining. Blaney’s win was the fifth in a row for Ford drivers, before Kurt Busch won the July race in a Chevrolet.
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