Kyle Busch is conveying a forceful message as the Ambetter event looms on the horizon. With the reconfiguration of the Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2021, the NASCAR Cup Series now boasts not two but three drafting tracks.
Among the significant alterations to the track was a reprofiling of the banking on the turns. Starting from the 2022 season, the track featured 28-degree banking and was narrowed from 17 meters to 12 meters.
Despite its considerably shorter length compared to Daytona International Speedway and Talladega, the venue adopted superspeedway rules and packages. In theory, this should have promised an exhilarating prospect for drivers to compete on a freshly paved track.
However, in reality, drivers are displaying a lack of enthusiasm towards racing at this venue. Kyle Busch, elucidating why the new configuration doesn’t sit well with drivers, delineated the key disparities between the old setup and the new one.
Racing on the superspeedway now resembles a game of chess more than traditional racing. Teams and drivers find themselves compelled to devise tactics in pursuit of improved results.
Why the shift? NASCAR mandates teams to employ superspeedway packages on drafting tracks, which reduces the speed of the racecar, forcing drivers to engage in drafting and race in packs rather than pursuing aggressive racing.
The addition of another banking track to the Cup Series schedule raised some eyebrows.
Pointing out the pivotal difference and questioning the necessity of the banking revamp, Busch explained, “I would say as much as the surface deteriorated, there comes a point where something has to be done, and they went through it. I just don’t understand and appreciate why we added the banking and stuff that they did here in the reconfiguration.”
“I would have much rather seen them repave what we had probably because then at least when it deteriorates some and it can get back to old Atlanta ways. If this deteriorates here, I mean it’s going to be fast, it’s going to be damn fast sliding around like 10 miles an hour. Faster through the corner sliding around than what the old track would have been, comparatively equal time frame on asphalt.”
Despite his disdain for draft racing, Busch did participate in yesterday’s Truck Series event at the racetrack with Spire Motorsports.
When it comes to Kyle Busch’s involvement in the Truck Series, there were raised eyebrows following his decision to race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The 38-year-old piloted the No. 7 Spire Motorsports truck in the race and continued his series dominance with a win.
However, he wasn’t at liberty to choose his venues for the five-race features with Spire, and given a choice, he would have likely opted out of racing at this particular venue.
“Wasn’t my first choice, definitely wouldn’t have been at all my choice. But thankfully the opportunity that Spire and group 101 gave to me to be able to run the five Truck Races that I’m allowed to do. This was the fifth one that was available on the list… So my pick of the litter was literally eight or nine races that I could do, so it gets small.”
Although Busch harbors reservations about racing on drafting tracks, he’ll be aiming for positive results in the Cup Series race after his triumph in the Truck Series event yesterday.
