Dale Earnhardt Jr Credits SMI President’s Controversial Gamble for Atlanta’s Revival, Rejecting DBC Insiders’ Argument

The 2023 NASCAR event at the Atlanta Motor Speedway was a visual feast for the sport’s die-hard fans. Even though the NASCAR Cup Series race was called off early for the second weekend in a row, it was still an exciting event for everyone in attendance. Business-wise, too, racing has been quite profitable for its proprietors in recent times.

Many people speculated that it was due to the excitement of being caught in a downpour. However, on a recent episode of the ‘Dale Jr Download’ podcast, Mike Davis and Dale Earnhardt Jr offered a somewhat different perspective.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Goes Against His Fellow Podcasters’ Opinion to Tell Why Atlanta Was a Success

Brett Griffin and Freddie Kraft, two DBC insiders, articulated that the race was thrilling since everyone was trying to beat the rain. The JR Motorsports owner, though, appeared to differ. He noted that it was Speedway Motorports, Inc (SMI) president Marcus Smith’s decision to enhance the quality of the racetrack, and it wasn’t only the weather that made the race exciting.

According to Earnhardt Jr, Marcus Smith proposed reconfiguring and repaving the circuit, and the former was on board with this idea.

In order to rescue the market, the racetrack, and the land, Dale said, “The reconfiguration was, I think last-ditch effort. So I supported the choice that Marcus made to do it. It was a massive investment that he was making in something that was failing.”

On top of that, Dale brought up the topic of new technology introduced by Marcus that was able to revive the track’s old racing surface. It was a bad idea to update the racetrack in a manner that would ensure the track’s grip would last indefinitely. However, the races have become more interesting as the courses have begun to reveal their true potential now.

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According to the video released by Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ross Chastain shared his take, saying, “I was excited and I wanted to come learn and see it for myself, walk the track, feel it in the racecar, and see: what do we need to do when we come back here? We’re going to race here twice; what do we need to do?”

Four-time Atlanta race winner Kurt Busch, who also won the last race on the original layout in July 2021, was impressed by the changes to the almost 62-year-old track.

“It was exciting to go out on track and be in a different environment, but yet here at Atlanta Motor Speedway,” said Busch.

Well, it looks like people owe SMI President a huge mea culpa for their critiques given that it was his out-of-the-box thinking that really helped the success of the Atlanta Motor Speedway race track.

Read More: SMI President’s Wisdom Questioned as Fans Demand Return of Historic NASCAR Track