Atlanta Motor Speedway has been NASCAR’s 1.5-mile superspeedway since it was repaved for 2022. Since that first race, though, the track surface has aged. While it’s still high-intensity pack racing, there’s now a handling element unique among the superspeedways.
“Atlanta Motor Speedway, it’s been quite a different race the past few years since the repave. I feel like every time I’ve gone back there, I’ve gained more and more confidence on how to approach it. It’s not a total superspeedway feeling, but it’s not really a mile and a half race. It’s got its own unique approach to it,” explained Ty Dillon, who’s driving the No. 10 for Kaulig this year.
That means a different challenge for drivers even compared to last year since the surface will continue to have changed ahead of Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400, airing at 3 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Hopefully, though, the action on track won’t change.
Odds via BetMGM
+1000 – Ryan Blaney
+1000 – Joey Logano
+1200 – Austin Cindric
+1200 – Kyle Busch
+1600 – Denny Hamlin
+1600 – Brad Keselowski
+1700 – Chase Elliott
+1700 – William Byron
+1700 – Christopher Bell
+1800 – Kyle Larson
It certainly can’t get much better. Atlanta was home to a three-wide photo finish with a .003-second margin of victory in this race last year to kick off the season in the most exciting way possible (even if the series had a somehow even closer finish later in the year at Kansas).
That finished also showed just how unpredictable Atlanta can be, with an eclectic mix of Daniel Suarez, and Ryan Blaney in a drag race to the line. The first of those drivers won that race, the second went winless on the year, and the third finished runner-up in the championship. Like any superspeedway, there’s no way of knowing who will be there at the end.
But there are some drivers who tend to find themselves up front. Just look at William Byron, who’s now won two Daytona 500s in a row; that requires consistently being in the right place at the end. But on the drafting tracks one team always seems to be in the position to win, so long as they make it to the end – Team Penske.
That trend was exemplified at Daytona, the first points race of the year and another superspeedway, where Joey Logano clearly had the fastest car for much of the race but was collected in a wreck after an aggressive block by Ricky Stenhouse squeezed him out. However, he’s also the last winner at Atlanta in the second race at the track last season.
If Logano can survive to the end, expect him to be a threat, and much the same holds true for teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric. That’s reflected in the betting odds, though there’s no one clear favorite as testament to the unpredictable style of racing.
Another driver who’s always a threat on the superspeedways is Denny Hamlin. He’s won more Daytona 500s than any other active driver, and he was in position to win this year’s until he was taken out while battling for the lead on the last lap. Look for an attempt at superspeedway requiem at Atlanta.
And imagine being a new driver learning Atlanta. That’s especially the experience for Shane van Gisbergen, who’s not only in his first year in the Cup Series but in his second year of oval racing full-stop.
“You can’t practice that in the simulator,” he said with a laugh about Atlanta. “It’s odd, you do qualifying one lap by yourself and it’s boring, you’re driving around with one hand blocking the air and all that, but when you’re in a pack, you’re doing four or five seconds a lap quicker. It’s unbelievable!”
Van Gisbergen has some sim racing experience as a prolific iRacing driver, including plenty of oval starts. As van Gisbergen continues to take the NASCAR world by storm (he scored multiple wins in the Xfinity Series last year, all on the road courses), it’s a test of all that simulator experience in real life.
Some drivers might be hoping that changes to the track will mean a change in fortunes. One driver who’s a fan of the facility is Justin Haley, who’s driving the No. 7 Spire Motorsports machine this season.
“I enjoy Atlanta,” Haley said. “The track is really starting to wear, I feel like there’s three grooves now. You really have to put an emphasis on making sure your handling is good. After getting our first race out of the way, we can only get better. I like where the 7 team is at and we are ready to get back out on the track.”
Handling as the focus is unique for the superspeedways, which are typically flat-out with the only lifting being to balance pushes against the car in front or to save fuel. Atlanta, on the other hand, requires more lifting in the corners and that makes it something of a hybrid – indeed, something more akin to the superspeedway racing years ago. As Atlanta races got somewhat spread out last year, they looked increasingly like that.
Other drivers don’t have the same level of confidence going in at least as it relates to their own ability to control their destinies.
“Atlanta is kind of a crapshoot race in general with it now being a superspeedway race,” said Kyle Busch. “The superspeedway style of racing, there’s so many things that can change just in a given lap, let alone that whole race.”
But Busch, who was involved in the three-wide finish last year, acknowledged that “races at Atlanta have become ones to remember”. That’s certainly true.
One interesting stat to note: Both winners at Atlanta in 2024 led only nine laps total in each race. Superspeedway racing is in many ways a high-speed chess match that requires balances saving fuel (and perhaps tires as Atlanta ages and handling becomes a premium), surviving wrecks, and maintaining track position, and a driver who runs up front all day may not play all the moves perfectly to be up front when it truly matters.
Qualifying will be broadcast on Amazon Prime from 11 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Can Anyone Stop Austin Hill at Atlanta in the Xfinity Series?
Austin Hill established himself as the Xfinity Series’ draft master last season. He won at Daytona and Atlanta to start the season, won when the series returned to Atlanta for a second time, and dominated at Talladega even if he didn’t win.
And if it’s not Austin Hill, it might be his teammate. Jesse Love, who’s now in his second year of the series, impressed by winning in his rookie season and followed that up with a win in the season-opener at Daytona.
That’s a challenge for the rest of the field in the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250, airing at 5 p.m. ET on The CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. To make matters worse, that’s a race sponsored by Hill’s primary partner and it’s at his home track.
Still, Atlanta has been reconfigured into a superspeedway, and even though Austin Hill seems to have figured it out superspeedways are defined by their unpredictability.
For one driver, it’s going to be a weekend of learning. Connor Zilisch, Rolex 24 class winner, had only done two Xfinity Series races before this season, but he won in his debut attempt at Watkins Glen. He’s back for a full-time campaign this season, hoping to transfer his road-course skills to the highest-speed ovals.
“There’s no practice so I’m going straight into qualifying and straight into the race which is different from what I’m used to,” Zilisch explained. Still, he took an optimistic approach. “It’s going to be the same for everybody. I don’t think it will be too big of a struggle.”
Driving for JR Motorports means Zilisch has experienced teammates to lean on too, especially series veteran Justin Allgaier.
“All season long it’s going to be important to lean on Justin (Allgaier) and all my teammates who have experience for advice and help,” Zilisch said. “There’s a lot of questions that I’ll have that he will be able to answer throughout the year, especially going to Atlanta for the first time.”
Qualifying will be broadcast on the CW App from 5 p.m. ET on Friday.
Moonlighter Kyle Busch Hoping to Steal Truck Series Thunder at Atlanta
It’s two drafting ovals in a row for the Craftsman Truck Series as it heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Fr8 Racing 208, airing at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
It was a dramatic and drawn-out ending to the season-opener at Daytona, with Parker Kligerman crossing the line for an emotional win only to have that win disqualified shortly after and for Corey Heim to be declared the winner. Kligerman’s appeal of the disqualification has since been rejected and he will not be a Daytona winner just yet.
Kligerman won’t be driving at Atlanta to seek redemption, sticking to the TV booth for the weekend. But challenging Heim and the rest of the field will be Cup Series driver Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck.
When Busch ran this race in the Truck Series last year, he won it. With Busch winless in the Cup Series last year, expect even more motivation to capture a checkered flag again. That will be a formidable challenge for the series regulars.
Another Cup Series driver will be competing for Spire Motorsports, with Michael McDowell behind the wheel of the No. 07. McDowell is racing for Spire for the first time this season, but he’s proven very prolific on the superspeedways in the Cup Series, scoring a Daytona 500 win and getting pole at Atlanta last season for Front Row Motorsports.
A few new drivers for the series to watch are Trans-Am winner Connor Mosack in the No. 81, last year’s ARCA champion Andres Prez in the No. 77, actor Frankie Muniz in the No. 33, and model and USAC winner Toni Breidinger in the No. 5.
Qualifying will be broadcast on FS1 from 3 p.m. ET on Friday.
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