NASCAR drivers weigh in on changes at renovated Atlanta Motor Speedway

HAMPTON — Last July, Atlanta Motor Speedway announced that it was not only repaving for the first time since 1997 but making major changes, most notably increasing banking in the corners to 28 degrees.

Reaction from drivers at the time was at best mixed with Kyle Busch being one of the most vocal critics of the reconfiguration.

In a short interview after Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, he still was not a fan of the new track, to say the least.

At lap 101, Busch spun out Austin Dillon, causing a wreck that also took out his brother Ty Dillon. Later at lap 171, Busch was out of the race when he spun out.

Busch had a short interview in the garage area after his day ended.

“I don’t know; it got loose,” Busch said when asked about what happened in the accident with Austin Dillon.

When asked if the new track makes him more of an entertainer than driver, Busch answered “yep.”

And then when asked if he liked this version of Atlanta better than the old, he said “no” and then walked away from the interview.

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 NASCAR Cup winner William Byron said that while “these fans saw one heck of a race, from my seat it was mentally taxing.”

He also added that he had “a lot to learn from this weekend. I was shocked at how crazy it was, how fast the runs were.”

Byron’s crew chief Rudy Fugle said he thought the racing was really good Sunday on the new track but he loved the old track.

“Crew chiefs loved coming to Atlanta just like the drivers did because if you had it dialed in right, if you did your homework, if you were perfect, you could go dominate here and have 8, 10 second leads. That’s snoozers for TV but it’s something to be proud of from our side of things. We enjoyed that challenge of how hard Atlanta was.”

Ty Gibbs, who won Saturday’s Nalley Cars 250 Xfinity race said the new track is kind of like a hybrid race between a mile-and-a-half track and a superspeedway.

In a post-race press conference, he was asked if he enjoyed the new track.

“I’m enjoying it right now,” he said. “But an hour ago, I was like, I don’t really know. … it was probably pretty fun to watch but it was nerve-wracking at the end. As a driver, it’s just for me, just gaining more experience is something I am more super pumped about. I don’t feel like I have enough experience to where I can say anything.”

Ross Chastain took second in Sunday’s Cup race.

“I’m not upset with it,” he said about the changes at Atlanta. “But let’s not go repave every mile-and-a-half in the country. This can be its own thing; people can get excited about that. … It’s a cool place.”

The new track drew many comparisons to the superspeedway tracks in Daytona and Talladega but Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick said the new Next Gen car makes a big difference in Atlanta.

He said his team has not had much luck recently completing races at the superspeedways as drivers will get in good position but then get in wrecks.

“I don’t think this will be quite as bad (in Atlanta),” Hendrick said. “These cars are durable and you saw it today. Usually when you have a wreck in Talladega or Daytona it’s just trash. I think it’s going to be easier and better with this car and I think with the speeds here, it’s going to be a great show.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway executive vice president and general manager Brandon Hutchison said he was pleased with the action on track and the turnout of fans throughout the race weekend.

“It’s not often drivers, crew, the fans and the media all find out at the same time what a track is going to produce and we’re ecstatic with what we saw here the last two days,” Hutchison said Sunday after the Cup race. “All three races provided extremely entertaining entertainment for our fans. That’s what this is all about and we couldn’t be more pleased.”

While official attendance figures were not announced, there were more fans in the stands and more campers and RVs in the infield than there have been at AMS in several years.

“It’s exciting to see,” Hutchison said. “As a promoter, that’s what you want to see. You want to see packed grandstands, you want to see people having fun, you want to see families out here, you want to see people creating memories that will last a lifetime.”

He added that it’s not just Atlanta but interest in NASCAR is increasing across the board.

“Our sport is going in the right direction,” he said. “We saw it at Daytona, we saw it at California, we saw it at Phoenix, and we’ve seen it in Atlanta that the industry is on the upswing for sure.”