As the stars of NASCAR rolled south from Chicago to Atlanta, the big story was Shane Van Gisbergen. The Australian V8 Supercar driver pulled off the upset in his first career Cup Series start in Chicago. Overall, the weekend in Chicago was a massive success. Ratings were up on TV and the fans stuck around the entire weekend despite the nasty weather. The street race in Chicago opens several possibilities for NASCAR in the future. But only time will tell if they can capitalize off last weekend’s success. With NASCAR riding huge momentum, the circuit rolled south into Atlanta. Atlanta is a popular stop among the fans. The new configuration that debuted in Atlanta in 2022 was a bit shaky with fans to begin with. But after this weekend, Atlanta very well could currently be the hottest ticket in NASCAR.
Great Racing in Atlanta:
With the new Atlanta configuration, the idea was for it to become a smaller version of Daytona and Talladega. Daytona and Talladega are known for pack racing and constant three-wide action. Since the Spring 2022 Atlanta race, the racing at Atlanta has constantly improved. Right from the green flag, there was action right away. After about 40 laps, there were hardly any challenges for the lead. But after 45 laps or so, there were constant battles for the lead. This race was also a race to halfway through the race. This race was 260 laps and once this race got to lap 130, it was official. Why? Once again, mother nature. So, the urgency to get the lead at halfway was through the roof for the drivers. At halfway, lap 130, it looked like it was going to be a first-time winner on the season.
Perhaps a winner such as Brad Keselowski or Chris Buescher could catch a break with the weather. But at the end of stage two, Keselowski was forced to pit and give up the lead. Both Keselowski and Buescher were on a different fuel strategy than other drivers. This put the race in the hands of AJ Allmendinger. But with 95 laps to go, William Byron was able to surge ahead of Allmendinger. Byron never looked back. With a caution coming out for Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace with 83 laps to go, this was all that Byron needed. The field was brought down pit road a few laps later for rain, and the race was called official. This win is Byron’s fourth of the season, eighth of his career, and second at Atlanta. This is huge for Byron, but did NASCAR make the right call to call the race official?
Did NASCAR Make the Right Call with the Weather?
The easy answer is yes. NASCAR 100% made the right call with the weather and called the race official when they did. After what happened at Daytona in August of last year, NASCAR made the right call. They did not need another situation like Daytona. For context, it started downpouring rain as the field entered turn one, and the entire field wrecked. There was all but one car that came damage free from that incident, and that was Austin Dillon, who would win that event. NASCAR did not need another scenario like Daytona last year. That incident in Daytona last year was an awful look for the sport. If a similar situation happened this past weekend in Atlanta, it would’ve been disastrous. Thankfully, the right call was made by NASCAR. But as the sport turns from Atlanta, they head to the Atlantic northeast for a unique stop on the circuit.
What to Expect from New Hampshire:
This coming weekend NASCAR heads to New Hampshire. New Hampshire is a unique oval as it is a flat one-mile track. Nicknamed “The Magic Mile,” Loudon has provided some fantastic racing in the past. That being said, Loudon is a track that has been primarily dominated by Toyota in the past five years. It would be smart to keep an eye on Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. Bell won last year’s race at Loudon while Truex had the best car last year. It will be a good battle between the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates if it does come down to those two drivers.
Featured Articles
Featured Writers
