NASCAR returns to roots with 1st of 2 Atlanta visits
Nineteen of the races on this year’s schedule are in seven traditional states
NASCAR is returning to its roots. Even as the good ol’ boys attempt to break with the uglier parts of their history — most notably, the Confederate flag — the sport has embraced a more traditional footprint with its 2021 schedule.
That includes Atlanta Motor Speedway, which on Sunday is hosting the first of two Cup races.
NASCAR will return to the track in July — the first time since 2010 that the 1.54-mile tri-oval has staged a pair of events.
The drivers are certainly pleased to be making a couple of visits to one of their favorite stops, a treacherous, highspeed layout that produces some of the best racing on the Cup circuit.
“Atlanta has always been a track I enjoyed,” said Martin Truex, coming off a victory in last week’s race in Phoenix. “It’s a very fun racetrack, being able to run all over the track, just the tire wear and all those things, are things I enjoy behind the wheel.”
Nearly two decades ago, NASCAR began an effort to expand its fan base by staging more races beyond the seven states — North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida — that had long dominated the schedule.
But with attendance dipping at many tracks and big TV ratings harder to come by from an increasingly fragmented audience, the governing body decided to shake things up by turning to its past.
The coronavirus pandemic muddled the effort in 2020, but this year’s schedule includes 19 races in those seven traditional states — the most
since 2003.
Atlanta has returned to having two Cup dates. So has South Carolina’s Darlington Raceway, which was limited to one race from 2005-19. Nashville is back on the schedule for the first time since 1984.
To accommodate the changes, NASCAR dumped Chicago and Kentucky. Dover gave up one of its two races. The first race scheduled in California in February was moved because of COVID-19 restrictions, but NASCAR still has a June stop in Sonoma on the schedule.
Reigning Cup champion Chase Elliott is thrilled to have two chances to win at what he considers his home track.
“It’s always going to be a special place for me,” he said. “I spent lot of time racing Legends cars and things like that down there. For sure, I would love to go have a good run.”
If it doesn’t work out this time, he’ll get another chance in July.
Yep, Atlanta is a two-race track again.
“I’m looking forward to racing there twice this year,” Truex said.
Some things to watch for in Sunday’s Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500:
Harvick anniversary
Atlanta means a lot to Kevin Harvick.
Twenty years ago, he won his first Cup race at the track only three weeks after the death of Dale Earnhardt.
Harvick replaced Earnhardt on the Richard Childress team and took the checkered flag in his third Cup start.
He didn’t realize the magnitude of the moment at the time. He does now.
“Knowing now what it meant to the sport, and just that moment in general of being able to carry on, was so important,” Harvick said.
After a 16-year drought in Atlanta, he has won two of the past three Cup races at the track, including last year’s pandemic-delayed event.
Xfinity: Justin Allgaier snatched the lead after Martin Truex Jr. made a mistake on pit road, and then held off his furious charge at the end to win the series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Allgaier’s celebration was marred by a scuffle on pit road between Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric, whose cars had gotten into each other on pit road during the race. Hemric came over to confront Gragson while he was doing an interview. Gragson took several swings, but appeared to miss before crew members and officials stepped in to separate the drivers.
Trucks: Kyle Busch raced to his 60th series victory with a dominating performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch pulled away over the last 30 laps and finished more than 4 seconds ahead of the field. The Kyle Busch Motorsports team also picked up a third-place finish from series leader John Hunter Nemechek, a fulltime competitor in Trucks. Austin Hill was second in his best showing of the season.