Atlanta #1 Pre-Race Thread

[StandOnIt]

All three series race at Atlanta

 

[donthaveanickname]

Just realized this race and Texas have been reduced to 400 miles.
Don't mind the change, Atlantadega is probably my least favorite track on the schedule.
On the positive side - two consecutive Saturday doubleheaders this week and next week.

 

[Fordracing28]

I expect Hendrick to dominate as it seemed last year you weren't really able to pass

 

[DanicaFreak]

wasnt this race a wreckfest last year or am I misremembering?

 

[DanicaFreak]

 

[wi_racefan]

Just realized this race and Texas have been reduced to 400 miles.
Don't mind the change, Atlantadega is probably my least favorite track on the schedule.
On the positive side - two consecutive Saturday doubleheaders this week and next week.

You could make it 30 miles and I'm not sure the end result would be much different

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[JJ_14]

wasnt this race a wreckfest last year or am I misremembering?

It was relatively clean all things considered. I don't expect this year to be the same though.

 

[rd45usa]

 

[Get That 88 Up There !!]

Going to Atlanta for the first time this weekend. Can’t wait

 

[AdoubleU24]

Going to Atlanta for the first time this weekend. Can’t wait

Haven't been in a few years but it's always been one of my favorites. Took advantage of that stellar triple header ticket package they offer many times.

 

[Mispeedway15]

It was relatively clean all things considered. I don't expect this year to be the same though.

I wouldn’t say that. The racing has been pretty tame to start the season in my opinion

 

[DanicaFreak]

 

[DanicaFreak]

Gordon in a ford....and a p0rn stache. LMFAO

 

[DanicaFreak]

Drifting that big car....

 

[sdj]

I have been to the Atlanta Track many times in the past, but, the reconfiguration to a mini Dega/Daytona, well, I'm done, no more Atlanta.

 

[Charlie Spencer]

I have been to the Atlanta Track many times in the past, but, the reconfiguration to a mini Dega/Daytona, well, I'm done, no more Atlanta.

While I agree, it will take many thousands more agreeing with us before SMI cares.

 

[DanicaFreak]

 

[Charlie Spencer]

I thought Shrub was with RCR. That's one boring Hendrick-style paint scheme.

 

[StandOnIt]

 

[Brentford]

Going to Atlanta for the first time this weekend. Can’t wait

I want to go back sometime. It's about a 14 hr trip though, so it's not the easiest trip to make. The one and only time we went, it was freezing outside on race day. And the day we went to Stone Mountain, it was raining, so we could even see anything at the top due to cloud cover. Dawsonville was cool though, minus the boy scout group that was running through the museum. Fun trip, but could have been much more enjoyable.

 

[Pat]

Going to Atlanta for the first time this weekend. Can’t wait

AMS is my home track so I might be a little bias, but I love the track and the atmosphere. Sunday is my birthday. The last time I spent a birthday at the track, I had a blast. That was the year I got almost every driver's autograph. Now, I just can't handle the rain, the sun, the walking. Getting old ain't for sissies. Enjoy your trip. I know you will.

 

[Turtle84]

This seems like the right move, allows the driver's to have a straightline getting onto pit road out of the pack.

 

[DanicaFreak]

 

[StandOnIt]

 

[aunty dive]

Goodyear Fast Facts — Atlanta​

MARCH 14, 2023 AT 8:14 AM

NASCAR Cup Series — Race No. 5 – 260 laps / 400 miles
Atlanta Motor Speedway (1.54-mile oval) – Hampton, Ga.
Fast Facts for March 18-19, 2023

Tire: Goodyear Eagle 18-inch Superspeedway Radials

Set limits: Cup: 1 set for qualifying and 9 sets for the race
(8 race sets plus 1 set transferred from qualifying)

Tire Codes: Left-side — D-5174; Right-side — D-5188

Tire Circumference: Left-side — 2,264 mm (89.13 in.); Right-side — 2,278 mm (89.69 in.)

Minimum Recommended Inflation: Left Front — 20 psi; Left Rear — 22 psi;
Right Front — 52 psi; Right Rear — 50 psi

Storyline – Super-smooth superspeedway: As of the 2022 season, with a complete repave and reconfiguration, Atlanta Motor Speedway has joined the superspeedway group of tracks on the NASCAR schedule. That means Cup Series teams will run the same package they run at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. For Goodyear, the biggest challenge is the relatively “smooth” track surface, which will not naturally wear tires. In the racing world, tire wear is good because as a tire’s tread wears, it allows heat to dissipate. When teams encounter a track that does not wear tires — like Atlanta — Goodyear counters that by bringing a tire with less tread thickness (gage) to help that process along. A tire that dissipates heat and runs “cooler” runs at a more optimal grip level.
“Cup teams had two races on the ‘new’ Atlanta Motor Speedway last season to get used to the superspeedway rules package on this track configuration and new surface,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “On a smooth surface like this track now has, heat dissipation is an important factor we keep an eye on. At most facilities, the track surface generates some wear, and as a tire sheds rubber it runs cooler. At Atlanta, since it was repaved just over a year ago, the surface has not had a chance to degrade so tire wear won’t happen much on its own. Because of that, we’ve designed the tread compounds for Atlanta to introduce some wear, as well as bring a tire with less gage to help alleviate some of the heat that builds over the course of a run.”

Notes – Goodyear rolls in construction updates to Atlanta tire set-up: Being on the 18-inch bead diameter tire, NASCAR Cup teams will run a different tire set-up than those in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series at Atlanta this week . . . this is the first time these Goodyear tire codes have been run . . . compared to what Cup teams ran at Atlanta last season, both this left-side and right-side tire feature construction updates . . . this is the only track at which these teams are scheduled to run either of these two codes . . . with this 18-inch tire, and its lower profile sidewall, NASCAR Cup cars will not run inner liners in any of their tires in 2023.

 

[FLRacingFan]

It’d be a particularly bad weekend to have to serve a drive-through.

 

[Daytripper]

Looks like everything is gonna be rained out today, then the cold comes but at least the rest of the weekend looks dry.

 

[StandOnIt]

A lot less important to get qualifying in than the races. Not looking that great

 

[Charlie Spencer]

A lot less important to get qualifying in than the races.

I thought the X and Truck races were both on Saturday. Is there another series running today?

 

[donthaveanickname]

I thought the X and Truck races were both on Saturday. Is there another series running today?

No but it sucks for the team that will not qualify in case of a rainout.

 

[StandOnIt]

I thought the X and Truck races were both on Saturday. Is there another series running today?

#24

It’d be a particularly bad weekend to have to serve a drive-through.

A long ride of shame

Pretty cool.

 

[donthaveanickname]

 

[hmmm298]

It’d be a particularly bad weekend to have to serve a drive-through.

Noted don't use Hamlin in pick em

 

[StandOnIt]

 

[StandOnIt]

 

[Pat]

Oh WOW Bell messed up quals really bad. Car got bounced around good

 

[AdoubleU24]

Why do they not clean the tops of these race tracks off when they don't have practice?

 

[StandOnIt]

It's a Ford party at the front qualifying.

 

[Pat]

hmmmm Ford wins the day at quals

 

[StandOnIt]