HAMPTON, Ga. — The move was hair-raising. Shocking. Austin Cindric fought hard and was four wide heading into turn one on the tri-oval. This is sure to end in disaster.
But on Sunday night, in the second race of the 2024 NASCAR season, to everyone’s surprise, the cheeky move actually gave Cindric the unsurprising lead.
“That’s cool, isn’t it?” Cindric said. “… It’s not easy to do, but I guess that’s why they call us the best in the world.”
At this moment, the much-criticized Atlanta Motor Speedway has become the new favorite track among NASCAR fans. Cindric’s passing is not of the highest level. Things got better and better from there, with Daniel Suarez finishing 0.003 seconds ahead of Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch for the third closest victory in Cup history.
Can you believe this ending? 🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/zKwqYNRQbG
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 26, 2024
“Oh my gosh! It was so close,” Blaney said when he saw the replay for the first time.
From start to finish, Atlanta offers it all. This is exactly the experience you want from NASCAR’s highest level of competition.
All 400 miles of racing are intense races with never a dull moment as the riders can barely hold on on the track and sometimes lose control, thus enhancing their skills. Sometimes racing on a draft circuit can give the impression that a driver has it easy, which is an unfair impression, given the right opportunity, anyone can do it.
That Sunday night was nothing. Every lap is a grind, with a real chance of making a serious mistake, like when Denny Hamlin drove across the front of Kyle Busch’s car, or when Chris Busch (Chris Buescher) When he lost control out of Turn 4 early in the race, or when Joey Logano drifted high on the exit of the turn 2 near the end of the second period.
Something went wrong on the last lap of the stage! pic.twitter.com/FXNmRF1IZ2
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 25, 2024
This is NASCAR pushing the envelope at its best. Sometimes even beyond.
“There’s surprise parties around every corner,” Martin Truex told Fox Sports’ Kevin Harvick during the red-flag timeout. “It’s crazy, but it’s also fun.”
Todd Gilliland, who led 58 laps, said: “It’s like going to a haunted house, you know? It’s fun, but at the same time I’m afraid for my life.”
If there’s anyone who doesn’t like Sunday’s game, it’s probably the people driving. Drivers are in an uncomfortable position as they have to race on a track that combines elements of superspeedway racing – running close together with little escape when things go wrong, and managing draft – with those on a traditional intermediate track Common combinations of elements — tire wear, car skidding, and driving in traffic.
Races on unchallenging tracks often result in forgettable events, and the best races tend to be on tracks that push drivers outside their comfort zones. Even if the drivers weren’t happy on Sunday, the race became an instant classic and one that fans will be talking about for years to come.
Most riders really seemed to embrace the moment and enjoy the progress of the race.
“It was a super cool race,” said sixth-place finisher Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “I think the fans got their money’s worth.”
Even Kyle Larson, who retired from racing and never liked superspeedways, praised it.
“I actually had a lot of fun today,” he said. “It was a very tight game, it was a great game.”
The praise the drivers have given Atlanta is a complete about-face, considering the vitriol directed at the track since it transitioned from a traditional midfield track to its current form in 2022. Many within NASCAR have questioned why track owner Speedway Motorsports would bring bulldozers to the beloved track’s oval in favor of a redesigned configuration that diminishes their capabilities.
To them, it feels sacrilegious. That’s not what NASCAR should stand for. That animosity intensified with the announcement last fall that Atlanta’s second race would be moved to the playoffs to begin NASCAR’s championship run.
Sunday’s victory was also a necessary victory for Trackhouse driver Daniel Suarez, who won the Cup Series for the second time in 254 career starts. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
If anything, drivers are almost starting to hate Atlanta. Partly because of the demands it places on them, and partly because it represents the ever-changing balance between entertainment and sport, with the former seemingly considered more important to NASCAR’s growth.No wonder then Competitor An anonymous survey was conducted last week asking people in the garage which game they were least looking forward to, and Atlanta’s two games topped the list.
One can’t help but wonder how those surveyed will react now. Atlanta certainly wouldn’t rank as the worst track. Heck, it might not even get a single vote.
“I don’t know if you want more from a NASCAR race than what we saw tonight,” said Justin Marks, Suarez’s team owner at Trackhouse Racing. “I was a total racing fan tonight. I just hung on every lap. And then you get the three-wide finish and it was an incredible race just for the entertainment value.
“I think it’s one of the most compelling games in the sport.”
High praise, but well deserved. Because while Atlanta may have been hated before Sunday, it’s now the track that hosts one of the longest-running races in NASCAR history.
deeper
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(Photo of Daniel Suarez’s car beating Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney in a tense finish to Sunday’s race: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
