Thursday, February 25, 2016

All Three of #NASCAR's National Touring Series Descend on Atlanta Motor Speedway

With all three of NASCAR's national touring series set to descend on Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 weekend, drivers looking ahead to the races have described AMS in many different ways. Fast, abrasive, slick, aged, fun, wild and even mean are just a handful of the adjectives that have been uttered by drivers about historic 1.54-mile race track. In a yearbook of race tracks, AMS might sweep the superlatives page for most character, most dramatic and certainly, most popular. 


All Three of #NASCAR's National Touring Series Descend on Atlanta Motor Speedway


In their own words, here's what a few drivers have had to say about NASCAR racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway:

"I'm hoping Atlanta is just like it was in 2005 - the first time I really went here and felt really competitive. Atlanta is just the perfect race track. The pavement's aged, now we're taking a little downforce away, and it might be up on the top again and that'd be cool. The problem is we just don't have as many race tracks with that good asphalt anymore. If you could take Atlanta and put that asphalt everywhere, that'd be spectacular. It's so much fun to race on that, but everybody knows how I feel about Atlanta - it's as good as it gets. If we could go there once a month I'd be happy." - Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 19 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing

"I think it's going to be an incredible race with lower downforce on the race cars. I think the cars are going to be a real handful, and it's going to be exciting. I'm looking forward to just kicking off that part of the season, getting to work, seeing how our cars are, where we stack up. The anticipation is high. Going to Atlanta with a little bit of momentum is always a good feeling." - Martin Truex, Jr., driver of the No. 78 Toyota for Furniture Row Motorsports

"Atlanta is a fun place, because of tire wear, because of low-downforce. It's going to be a crazy race. There's going to be cars sliding all over the place. It's a unique race track by itself without a low-downforce package, but it's going to be even more so this year with the way the aero rules are. I'm looking forward to Atlanta. I missed that race last year but was able to catch it on TV. Restarts are hectic, groove changes are crazy, and having less aero on the race car - I think - is going to lead to more driver-crew-chief-type relationships, the better ones to showcase their talents." - Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing

"You go to Atlanta, and it's 'hang on.' Super-fast, super-slick. The track wears the tires out very, very fast. The cars have to handle well. You're lifting a lot. You're sideways. Just a completely different feel as a driver. The cars are going to drive much different with the new rules, and that's to be expected. As a driver, you're going to have to change your inputs, your techniques. Without giving anything proprietary away, it's going to be a challenge." - Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Ford for Team Penske

"I always liked racing at Atlanta. As long as they don't repave it, it's still going to be one of the greatest tracks on the circuit. It is a driver's race track. You aren't going to win a race by just having a great car. You have to figure out what to do with it at Atlanta to be successful." - Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing

NASCAR racing returns to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, featuring the Heads Up Georgia 250 XFINITY Series and Great Clips 200 Camping World Truck Series doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 27 and the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 28.

Source: http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com
Photo: HHP Images

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