Atlanta Motor Speedway set to repave, reprofile track for 2022

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | July 6, 2021 1:17 PM ET

Atlanta Motor Speedway will repave its racing surface and reprofile its facility ahead of the 2022 season.

Atlanta was last repaved following the 1996 season when reconfigured into a quad-oval like Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. It is the third-oldest racing surface in NASCAR.

In addition to laying down the new pavement, Atlanta will increase its banking from 24 degrees to 28 degrees while narrowing the racing surface. The frontstretch will be 52 feet, the backstretch 42 feet, and 40 feet in the turns (the overall decrease in width going from 55 to 40 feet).

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“As Atlanta’s racing surface has aged, we’ve challenged ourselves to reimagine what NASCAR racing at an intermediate track can be,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “With high banks in the turns, narrower width and new pavement technology, Atlanta will be unlike any other mile-and-a-half track on the circuit. It’s all new for ’22 and this will be specifically designed for close, competitive racing.”

Atlanta will remain a 1.54-mile facility. With 28 degrees of banking, it will be the highest-banked intermediate track on the current NASCAR schedule.

The project will begin next week and be completed ahead of the ’22 race season and introducing the Next Gen race car. Atlanta will host both the Xfinity and NASCAR Cup Series this weekend.

“Our partners at Speedway Motorsports have reprofiled Atlanta Motor Speedway to optimize the racing with the Next Gen car, and early simulations suggest the racing will be closer and even more competitive,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “From the Charlotte Roval to the Bristol Dirt Race and now a re-imagined Atlanta, Marcus Smith and his team continue to take bold, innovative steps to bring unique and exciting racing experiences to our fans.”
All new for '22!
The next generation of Atlanta Motor Speedway!

Get the details https://t.co/X6T7IL05Y0 pic.twitter.com/MzPKIHlVja

— Atlanta Motor Speedway (@amsupdates) “Flexing the muscles of our virtual track-building capabilities to prototype Speedway Motorsport’s vision for Atlanta Motor Speedway has been a fun and exciting process,” said iRacing executive vice president and executive producer Steve Myers. “From one concept to the next, we’ve seen the future of AMS take shape; all without moving a shovel of dirt in the real world.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway, Cup Series, NASCAR

 

Atlanta 101: Odds, Goodyear tire info, facts and more

By
Zach Sturniolo For NASCAR.com July 9, 2021 at 8:15 AMThe NASCAR Cup Series rolls into Atlanta Motor Speedway for the second time this season for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Ryan Blaney netted the win down in Georgia when the series made its first visit of the season back in March. Will the No. 12 team find a way to repeat or will someone else make the trip to Victory Lane in Hotlanta?

RELATED: Atlanta schedule | Paint Scheme Preview shows off the weekend’s looks

GEORGIAN ROOTS EARN TOP STARTING SPOT

Chase Elliott, a native of Dawsonville, Georgia, will start from the pole on Sunday via the performance formula after claiming the win last weekend at Road America.

Starting directly behind Elliott is the entirety of Joe Gibbs Racing, as Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. round out the top five. Check out the whole starting lineup here.

FAN ATTENDANCE

After a limited 35% capacity crowd was permitted in March, Atlanta Motor Speedway will be completely open to fans this weekend.

Fans will also be permitted to bring one clear bag and one soft-sided cooler no larger than 14” X 14” X 14” to bring food and beverages into the grandstands, although glass is prohibited.

More fan information for Atlanta Motor Speedway can be found here.

RULES PACKAGE

Because Atlanta Motor Speedway sits at 1.54 miles, the NASCAR Cup Series will utilize the 550-horsepower, high-downforce package this weekend. This package features taller spoilers and longer splitters to increase drag and downforce.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Atlanta’s surface is one of if not the most abrasive on the Cup Series circuit. Its rough, aggregate asphalt tears tires to shreds, wearing tires as much as three seconds per lap, according to Goodyear.

Teams will have 10 sets of tires to use this weekend, made of the same compounds used during the March race weekend, and it’s fair to expect them to utilize a new set every chance they get.

“It is well known that Atlanta’s abrasive surface really wears tires very aggressively,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “It’s also a track where the pit crews play almost as big a part in the race as the drivers. For the drivers, ‘tire management’ will be the phrase of the day. Those that are smoother on and off the throttle and don’t slide their tires will be able to save more of their tires’ performance for the end of a run.

“As a result, some guys will be able to run several tenths of a second quicker over the second half of a run and make up a lot of positions over those that were aggressive early.”

RELATED: See every winner in Atlanta history | Opportunities for crews to turn it up at Atlanta

NASCAR HISTORY AT ATLANTA

— NASCAR has been visiting Atlanta Motor Speedway since 1960, one year after its scheduled debut was delayed due to inclement weather delaying construction.

— This season marks the first since 2010 that Atlanta will host two Cup Series races as it did since 1960. The Hampton, Georgia, track hosted just one race yearly between 2011-2020.

— Last paved and reconfigured in 1997, Atlanta’s surface is the second-oldest in the series, only behind the concrete at Dover International Speedway.

— On Tuesday, Atlanta announced it would again be resurfacing and reconfiguring the mile-and-a-half track, this time creating 28 degrees of banking in the corners while also narrowing the racing surface.

— Ryan Blaney’s March victory was Ford’s fifth in a row, the longest manufacturer streak in track history.

Source: Racing Insights

MONEY ON THE LINE

Despite finishing outside the top 10 last week at Road America for the first time in nine races, Kyle Larson is Las Vegas’ No. 1 man. BetMGM lists Larson at 9-4 odds entering Sunday’s contest at Atlanta, a fitting estimation considering the No. 5 car dominated the day at the same track in March, leading 269 laps and winning both stages before getting passed by Ryan Blaney with nine laps to go.

Larson is the favorite by a lot. The next best odds go to Kyle Busch at 15-2 and Chase Elliott at 8-1.

If you’re looking to gain some cash, though, perhaps consider William Byron at 12-1. Byron finished eighth at Atlanta in the spring and finished in the top 10 in both stages, plus he’s yet to finish outside the top 10 in any of the five 1.5-mile races this season.

RELATED: See the odds for Sunday’s race at Atlanta

HOTLANTA STORY LINES

– Hendrick Motorsports, the winningest team in track history with 14, led 271 of 325 laps in March, with Kyle Larson finishing second, Alex Bowman third and William Byron eighth.

– Kyle Larson holds the best average finish among average drivers at Atlanta, averaging 12.14 in seven starts, bettering Kyle Busch’s 13.48 in 23 starts.

– Bill Elliott is the only Georgia-born driver to win at Atlanta and did so five times.

– Kyle Larson led the most laps in the last four races on 1.5-mile tracks, tying the Cup record held by Richard Petty and David Pearson. No one has ever led the most laps in five straight races on 1.5-mile tracks.

– Kyle Busch and William Byron are the only two drivers who have finished inside the top 10 in each of the five races held at mile-and-a-half facilities this season.

– Toyota’s last Atlanta win came from Kyle Busch in August 2013. Since that victory, Toyotas have gone to Victory Lane 98 times on 23 tracks, including eight triumphs at Pocono Raceway alone.

– The last seven Atlanta races have only produced four total winners: Brad Keselowski (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Kevin Harvick (2) and Ryan Blaney (1).

– Kevin Harvick has led the most laps in six of the last eight Atlanta races, including 151 laps in 2020. The March race marked the first Atlanta event in which Harvick didn’t lead a lap since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.

Source: Racing Insights

 

INSIGHT: Tearing up more than just a track

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | July 13, 2021 12:27 PM ET

Atlanta Motor Speedway’s surface has likely already started being torn up by now. After 24 years of being used and abused by NASCAR’s best, the old girl is not only getting shiny new lip gloss (asphalt) but a facelift (steeper banking and a narrower racing surface).

She’s desperately in need of a repave, and any argument to try and keep holding off was shattered when the surface started to come apart during the Cup Series race this past Sunday. The Quaker State 400 was red-flagged for almost 20 minutes for repairs, and as the reality of its future took hold.

Honestly, Atlanta has needed this for a few years, but the feedback in support of continually delaying the work was so strong that that’s what officials did. And now, not only is it being repaved, but reprofiled. Speedway Motorsports and NASCAR are getting the last laugh as the sport continues to push for more entertaining racing, and this project coincides with the rollout of the Next Gen car.

There is frustration amongst the drivers about Atlanta’s renovation. Not so much about the repave, as even the staunchest supporters can admit the time has come. It’s been harder for some to understand and agree with the reprofiling idea. Most drivers said they were not consulted.

“Just a broken-down process, and that’s what is so frustrating,” Denny Hamlin said. “The process is just broken. I look at a lot of the responses, and people are like, ‘Why should they listen to you all because you’re always going to look at what’s in your best interest and agenda is.’ The thing is, as drivers, just tell us the agenda. Do you want speedway racing here? OK. We don’t like it, but here’s what you need to do to get there. We’ll help you accomplish that; just tell us the goal.

“Don’t mix the message by saying you’re going to see something you’ve never seen, and they show a clip of iRacing cars racing in a pack, but yet you want your surface to match the old (one). That’s counterintuitive. You can’t make it narrower and a superspeedway. Those two things don’t match up. Again, I think we can help. We’re an asset. We are the biggest asset that NASCAR and these tracks can have. Just tell us your goals. We may not agree with the goal, but we can help them get where they want to go.”
Denny Hamlin is among those left frustrated by what he described as “a broken down process.” Baker/Motorsport Images

Hamlin said International Speedway Corp. (ISC) usually consults drivers before its projects. In this case, with Speedway Motorsports, Hamlin believes the drivers feel “super-disconnected” because their input was not sought.

Former series champion Brad Keselowski was a bit more diplomatic with his thoughts on what’s to come for the track. When he addressed the media, Keselowski admitted he had not seen enough information about the track’s plans to offer an informed response, which brings big question marks. But he did agree that there is a disconnect between NASCAR and the drivers – sometimes.

“Ultimately, I think the disconnect is, we have to decide as a sport if we’re working together or we’re not working together,” Keselowski said. “I think there are some frustrations that come up time and time again where we’re working together until we’re not, and that can be frustrating. I sense a lot of those emotions through the garage area right now.”

Emotions were undoubtedly high going into and then over the weekend. Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Rodney Childers has reservations about the changes and said early last week it would make the racing horrible and the track one-lane.

Kyle Busch used his post-race media availability after winning the Saturday Xfinity Series race to offer his unfiltered and honest thoughts when asked about the subject.

Busch said he was glad to win the Xfinity Series race on a real Atlanta racetrack because the next one “is going to be a showpiece, and it’s going to be s***.”

Hamlin and Busch have both been blunt about the way Speedway Motorsports does things. Hamlin said last year they go “rogue” with how they prepare racetracks when it comes to the PJ1. And Busch all but said the same earlier this year (“they just go off and do whatever the hell they want to do every week”) when talking about Circuit of the Americas and some of the track preparation done there.

Kevin Harvick is “of the opinion that they don’t care. They just do what they want.”
Joey Logano was caught off guard by SMI’s announcement to repave and reprofiling Atlanta. Kinrade/Motorsport Images

Joey Logano said he was “blindsided” by the news of the repave and reprofile, and didn’t have an answer for why drivers were not told.

“I don’t know why,” Logano said. “I feel like the relationship with the drivers and SMI have always kind of been there and been able to talk back and forth, so I don’t know why you’d make it a surprise. I don’t get it. I think something I’ve learned over the last few years is everyone can bring something different to the table.

“When you bring 10 other people around, that might change your perspective. Well, if we’re all sitting around a table, we can probably change each other’s perspective a little bit to come up with what’s the best, but we’ve got to have the meeting to do that. We didn’t have the opportunity to do that.”

In the end, it doesn’t matter. The Atlanta surface is coming up, both on its own and now with the help of heavy machinery. Goodbye tire wear and off-throttle time. So long to seeing multiple lane options for racing.

Repair work aside, it felt good to see Atlanta give everyone one more fun Sunday afternoon of racing. Drivers were all over the track, and the win came down to a duel between brothers. Afterward, a few drivers made sure to give one last nod to the place.

Winner Kurt Busch was thrilled that the track he described as “old school” gave way to an old guy winning. Matt DiBenedetto acknowledged he was going to miss the surface, and he made sure to appreciate the final 400 miles he had running on it on Sunday.

Ryan Blaney also said he would miss it, and then the Team Penske driver acknowledged a new era in Atlanta Motor Speedway history is coming. Whether we like it or not.

“It was fun to race on it,” said Blaney, who won at the track in the spring. “I really wish we could have swept (both races) before they paved this place, but I’ll take one last good look at it, and it’ll be a lot different when we come back here next year.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Speedway Motorsports, Cup Series, Insights & Analysis, NASCAR