Despite the Wreck Fest, Atlanta Breaks Records and Driver Approval Goes Through the Roof

A crazy race unfolded at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. On the occasion of the NASCAR Ambetter Health 400, Daniel Suarez secured his first victory since 2022. The race finished tightly and had to be reviewed to check the winner. This in itself is proof of how close the race concluded. It is sure to go down in the history books as one of the most insane races ever. The Georgia-based racetrack underwent massive changes through a renovation in 2021. NASCAR drivers have mixed feelings about it. What are their varied opinions on the changes and what created history in today’s race?

Atlanta Motor Speedway comes out on top

Despite numerous wrecks, we witnessed several record breaks at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race ended with the third-closest finish in NASCAR history. Daniel Suarez won by a margin of just 0.003 seconds, beating Ryan Blaney. The previous two closest victory margins were 0.002 seconds, at Darlington in 2003, and Talladega in 2011. With that, it becomes the closest finish in AMS history as well. The previous closest finish at the venue was held by Kevin Harvick, who beat Jeff Gordon by a margin of .006 back in March 2001.

Apart from that, the race set a new record of 48 lead changes in Cup Series. The previous record was of 46, back in March 2022. There were 6,536 green flag passes throughout the field, with 110 green flag passes for the lead. Quite rare for a 1.5 mile track, right? It also had 14 different leading racers throughout, marking AMS’s fifth consecutive race to have more than a dozen leaders. At the final moment, Kyle Busch raced in line with Suarez and Blaney. He occupied the middle, and all three dashed to the checkered flag. While initially the drivers seemed to confused about who won the race, the review finally declared Trackhouse Racing‘s #99 Suarez victorious.

However, just like Daytona 500, at least 16 cars got piled up leading to a multi-car wreck. Race winner Daniel Suarez was also a part of the wreck, but came out unharmed. Josh Williams’ car received a fatal blow and had to take his car to the garage. Other survivors like Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, and Christopher Bell raced with affected vehicles. Despite such mishaps on the track, the popular opinion about the Atlanta Motor Speedway seemed to tilt on the positive side and drivers came out to appreciate the venue.

NASCAR drivers’ disapproval of the AMS

The Atlanta Motor Speedway refurbished to make quite a few changes in 2021. Since then, it became a superspeedway style racetrack. There were changes in the surface of the track, the widths for passing were cut short and the banks were made higher. Daytona 500 winner William Byron seemed blessed by the changes as he won two out of four Cup Series races. Yet, he has mixed feelings towards it. He claimed the track to be unique, but at the same time, expressed that he will not want to race here very often.

“It’s unique for sure. I wouldn’t want to do it every week,” said Byron during a qualifying round interview on Saturday, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

Read More: Daniel Suarez Claims Atlanta Title Win Over Kyle Busch & Ryan Blaney in Ultimate Photofinish

Kyle Busch, who occupied P3 in Sunday’s dramatic race criticized the track. He claimed that the track has deteriorated after making the changes, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

It would be interesting to see if the authorities take these criticisms into consideration. After the Atlanta outing, drivers head to the Sin City for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Spring Race. Whom are you placing your bet upon in that race?