NASCAR fans witnessed a weekend of contrasting emotions at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. While Sunday’s Cup Series race provided a heart-pounding history-making 0.003 seconds, three abreast battle to the checkered flag, the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series races left spectators and spotters alike scratching their heads, wondering if they were even watching the thrill of NASCAR at all.

Fuel mileage strategies backfired, rookie dreams were shattered, and the cast of the controversial ‘Door Bumper Clear’ podcast called out the substandard competition and driver ‘fear’ that allegedly choked the excitement out of the lower series races. So, what went wrong, and is there any hope for improvement?

DBC Slam Xfinity & Truck Races at Atlanta: “It’s a Parade, It’s a Train”

In the United Rentals 300 NXS race, Austin Hill snatched the checkered flag thanks to a strategic gamble, and some misfortune faced by the other drivers. While Hill showcased his talent throughout, the real drama unfolded in the final laps when several cars, including the laps-leader and pole-winner, Jesse Love, who dominated for most of the event, ran out of gas finishing a disappointing 12th. Love’s heartbreak was a stark reminder of the unforgiving nature of relentless fuel-mileage strategies.

The preceding Fr8 208 Craftsman Truck Series race wasn’t much better either. Much like the Xfinity Series, it lacked the usual edge-of-your-seat NASCAR action, leaving fans yearning for the competitive spirit that typically defines the sport. Although Kyle Busch secured his 65th CTS victory. the lackluster display prompted veteran spotters, especially the trio behind the popular but unfiltered podcast “Door Bumper Clear”, to dissect the perceived issues plaguing these lower series.

South Carolina native Brett Griffin, the spotter for Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric, bluntly stated, “They’re not racing. It’s a parade, it’s a train.” Consequently, Freddie Kraft, who spots for Bubba Wallace at 23XI Racing, echoed Griffin’s harrowing sentiments, adding, “I was talking to Jordan Bianchi before the race started and I said you know, obviously last night was awful. I thought those were two terrible races… Not to take anything away from Jesse Love, but you shouldn’t be able to lead 157 of whatever… He led, like, 165 laps before he ran out of gas. And I said listen I didn’t have a lot of optimism about the bottom but I knew it would be better because just for the sole purpose of our Cup guys are better than the Xfinity guys…”

Fingers Pointed at Lack of Competition & Driver ‘Fear’

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Griffin, infamous for his candid takes, pinpointed the lack of competition as a major factor while coming up with a crucial question for the trio to discuss, “Obviously in Cup, you’ve got 30 plus cars that are going to keep up and be in that lead pack and be able to create that energy, and Xfinity, if we’re honest with each other, there’s 15 to 18 teams that are really, really fast and funded. So I was curious what you guys thought caused the racing to be so bad.”

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To which the 2018 Championship winning spotter with Joey Logano, TJ Majors, replied earnestly, “Honestly to me, it’s the drivers and the cars. So everyone goes back and watches videos, the last race and everyone’s like ‘Oh man you got to get that top lane!’ So they all come out of these meetings, ‘Man, we gotta be in the top.’ So now they all have a fear of going to the bottom which I think, will evolve and it’ll change once these guys see a guy like Kyle (Busch) run that race and be like, ‘Oh okay, well we can run bottom and make it work, this is how we do it now.’”

The controversial trio went on to refer to Kyle Busch’s dominant run in the #7 Spire Motorsports Silverado at the Fr8 208 in Atlanta, highlighting it as a potential turning point for the lower series. Majors emphasized that witnessing his success might inspire Xfinity and Truck Series drivers to explore different approaches to racing lines, which could lead to more overtaking and a more exciting racing experience. Looking ahead to next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, both the Victoria’s Voice Foundation 300 Craftsman Truck Series on March 1st, and the LiUNA 300 NXS race on March 2nd will be closely watched to see if the drivers embrace bolder racing ideas.

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