Refreshed and Reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway awaits the NASCAR Cup Series
It took construction crews 163 days, but the newly redesigned Atlanta Motor Speedway awaits the NASCAR Cup Series for this Sunday’s (March 20) Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio at 3 p.m. ET, the fifth race of the 2022 season.
We love the hustle and bustle in the pits. #FOHQT500 | #fansfirst pic.twitter.com/kCgdy1Ynmb
— Atlanta Motor Speedway (@amsupdates) March 20, 2022
Not long after Kurt Busch took the checkered flag last July at Atlanta Motor Speedway, crews began dismantling the track in preparation for its first repave since 1997. The reconfiguration produced 28-degrees of banking in every corner of the 1.54-mile speedway, making Atlanta the steepest intermediate track on the NASCAR schedule.
“Our goal all along for the reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway has been to create a first-of-its-kind experience on the NASCAR circuit and we’ve done just that,” said AMS Executive Vice President and General Manager Brandon Hutchison. “Never before has NASCAR raced on an intermediate track like ours with 28 degrees of banking, much less with superspeedway cars. Both will happen for the first time in Atlanta this year.”
In addition to the steeper turns, over the course of the five months of transformation the changes to the speedway include a new drainage technology and brand-new asphalt.
All the action begins at Atlanta for the NASCAR Cup Series this Friday, March 18 with 50 minutes of practice from 5:05-5:55 p.m. ET and the Busch Light Pole Qualifying will be held on Saturday, March 19 from 12:30-1:50 p.m. ET and both will be televised on FS1.
There are many unknowns on how this weekend's racing will play out, but all indications are pointing to superspeedway-style racing that has been seen at Daytona and Talladega.
“In NASCAR we have our Daytona and Talladega style draft and those are on 2.5- and 2.66-mile tracks,” NASCAR driver and four-time Atlanta winner Kurt Busch said during testing at Atlanta back in January. “This is a mile-and-a-half. Things are going to be moving quicker. You’re going to be digesting things much faster and you’re going to have that Daytona and Talladega style feel here at a mile-and-a-half.”
That new track smell and feel. Good job @amsupdates. Send it! pic.twitter.com/21tYJtYIIk
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) January 5, 2022
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Qualifying was cancelled due to weather. NASCAR used a mathematical formula to set the starting lineup for a race.
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