Subsequent up on the NASCAR Cup Collection schedule is EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), and it is a race that’s distinctive among the many remainder of the tracks on the NASCAR schedule.
Following a large reconfiguration undertaking after the 2021 season, it’s neither a real intermediate nor a correct superspeedway today, however a wierd hybrid of the 2.
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However for the reason that begin of the Subsequent Gen period in 2022, it has constantly been probably the most thrilling occasions on the complete schedule. Simply have a look at among the information:
No fewer than 12 totally different drivers have shared the lead in every of the earlier 9 Atlanta races, and the variety of lead adjustments for the final three Cup races have been between 46 and 57! And that is simply counting them in the beginning/end line.
22-car pileup in 2025
22-car pileup in 2025
Each single one in all these races that managed to finish beneath green-flag situations had a margin of victory beneath two tenths of a second, and the primary Atlanta race of 2024 was the closest three-wide photograph end within the historical past of NASCAR!
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The newest Atlanta race set a file for lead adjustments at 57, and because the floor ages, the racing solely will get extra thrilling as drivers battle to regulate their automobiles, maintain their strains, all whereas anybody on brisker tires will tear by the sector.
The observe is simply nonstop motion, and drivers have described it as being probably the most mentally draining occasions they’ve ever competed in. It is superspeedway-level racing crammed right into a 1.5-mile intermediate oval.
And when issues go flawed, it is not often a small affair. In final summer season’s Atlanta race, one unhealthy bump on the backstretch led to nearly two dozen automobiles crashing in a track-blocking accident. The attrition is at all times excessive as new Atlanta — the latest winner (Tyler Reddick) really received with no right-front fender after wrecking earlier within the race!
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Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Moreover, three of the final 4 races have gone into time beyond regulation, simply fueling these dramatic finishes. Earlier this yr, the race went eleven laps and 17 miles past the scheduled distance earlier than the checkered flag lastly flew. However do not suppose they want late-race yellows to maintain issues thrilling, both.
Race winners have come from all around the subject. Simply have a look at the beginning positions of current victors: Pole, fifteenth, thirty second, seventh, twenty third, 18th. Pole-sitters received two of the primary three races on the brand new floor, nevertheless it’s solely gotten extra unpredictable since then.
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One other extraordinary truth is that the ultimate cross for the lead within the final FIVE consecutive Atlanta races has come both on the ultimate lap or the penultimate lap. It is at all times a nail-biting end.
It is a race you’ll be able to’t look away from or you’ll most definitely miss one thing. There is no such thing as a driving round counting laps or respite, aside from when the warning flies for the newest melee. It has shortly turn into probably the most highly-anticipated races on the schedule, and is must-watch TV even when you’re not a weekly NASCAR viewer.
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Within the days main as much as this weekend’s race, veteran driver A.J. Allmendinger stated that “it’s most likely probably the most intense—if not probably the most intense—pack-racing tracks we go to.”
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Shane van Gisbergen in contrast it to “a superspeedway on steroids,” noting that “your mind is simply fried on the finish, you are flat out the entire time and at all times in a battle.”
As you look by the feedback, it is extra of the identical, with Carson Hocevar stating how “you’re on offense always,” and noting that you do not essentially need assistance if you wish to make a transfer. Ross Chastain known as it “mentally draining,” whereas Ricky Stenhouse Jr. remarked that “from the primary lap to the final, you’re on the ragged edge. “
However you do not have to easily take our phrase for it (or the drivers), as we have included among the finishes from NASCAR’s earlier Atlanta races:
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Watch: Hear FOX Sports activities Latin America’s name of Daniel Suárez’s wild Atlanta win
Watch: Chase Elliott makes last-lap magic to win at EchoPark Speedway
Watch: Christopher Bell wins as warning flies on last lap at Atlanta
Watch: Hometown boy: Chase Elliott wins thrilling race at Atlanta
Watch: Doubled up! Reddick triumphs at EchoPark for back-to-back wins
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