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Hampton, Ga. – This step was shocking. Eye-popping. Austin Cindric was going for it, going four-wide for the lead into Turn 1 through the tri-oval. Surely this will end in disaster.
But Sunday night in this second race of the 2024 NASCAR season, to everyone’s surprise, the brazen move actually gave Cindric the lead without incident.
“That was pretty cool, wasn’t it?” Cindric said. “…It’s not easy to do, but I guess that’s why they call us the best in the world.”
At this time, the much-maligned Atlanta Motor Speedway became the new favorite track for NASCAR fans. And it’s not like Cindric’s pass was a high-water mark. Things got better from there, culminating with a legitimate photo finish in which Daniel Suárez edged out Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch by 0.003 seconds, the third-closest margin of victory in Cup Series history.
Can you believe this ending!? pic.twitter.com/zKwqYNRQbG
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) 26 February 2024
“Holy s—! It was very close,” Blaney said after watching a replay of the finish for the first time.
From start to finish, Atlanta offered everything. Exactly what you want from NASCAR’s highest level of racing.
There was intense racing throughout all 400 miles, with never a moment of exhaustion as the drivers barely stayed on track – and occasionally lost control – which stretched their skill set. Sometimes racing on drafting tracks gives the impression that drivers have it easy, an unfair assumption that anyone can do it if given a fair chance.
There was nothing that Sunday night. Each lap was difficult, with the real possibility of making a serious mistake, such as when Denny Hamlin drove into the front of Kyle Busch’s car or when Chris Buescher lost control coming out of Turn 4 early in the race, or When Joey Logano went too high while exiting the turn. Near the end of Stage 2.
Trouble in the final stage of the stage! pic.twitter.com/FXNmRF1IZ2
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) 25 February 2024
This was NASCAR’s best effort pushed to its limits. And sometimes even beyond that.
“There’s a little surprise party around every corner,” Martin Truex Jr. told Fox Sports’ Kevin Harvick during a red-flag stoppage. “It’s as crazy as it is fun.”
Todd Gilliland, who led the race for 58 laps, said: “Do you know, it’s like going to a haunted house? It’s fun, but at the same time I’m scared for my life.”
If anyone didn’t enjoy Sunday’s race, it might have been the people driving. Drivers were in the uncomfortable position of competing on a track that combined elements of racing on a superspeedway – racing in a tight pack should cause little trouble, and managing draft – with elements of what you see on traditional intermediate tracks. – Tires rubbing, cars sliding here and there, and driving traffic.
Racing on challenging tracks often leads to forgettable incidents, while the best races often occur on tracks that push drivers out of their comfort zone. Even though the drivers didn’t enjoy themselves on Sunday, the race was an instant classic, exactly the kind that fans will talk about for years to come.
And it appeared that most drivers accepted the moment and enjoyed how the race went.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished sixth, said, “It was a pretty good race.” “I think the fans got their money’s worth.”
Even Kyle Larson, who sat out the race and was never a fan of superspeedways, expressed praise.
“I really had a lot of fun today,” he said. “It was very intense and it was a great race.”
Drivers speaking favorably about Atlanta are quite wrong considering the vitriol directed toward the track since it was converted from a traditional intermediate track to its current form in 2022. Many within NASCAR questioned why track owner Speedway Motorsports was moving a bulldozer to a beloved oval in favor of a redesigned configuration that reduced their capacity.
To them it felt like impurity. This was not what NASCAR was supposed to represent. The rivalry grew stronger last fall with the announcement that Atlanta’s second date would be moved to the playoffs, thereby moving NASCAR’s championship race.
Sunday’s win was also a much-needed win for Trackhouse’s Daniel Suarez, his second career Cup Series victory in 254 races. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
If anything, drivers have come to almost hate Atlanta. Both for what it demanded of them and what it represented in the constantly changing balance between entertainment versus sports, the former is considered more important to NASCAR’s development. no surprise then when athletic In an anonymous poll conducted last week asking people in the garage which race they were least curious about, the two Atlanta races topped the survey.
One cannot help but wonder how those surveyed will react now. Atlanta certainly wouldn’t rank among the worst tracks. Hey, it might not get a single vote.
“I don’t know if you want anything more from a NASCAR race than what we saw tonight,” said Justin Marks, Suarez’s team owner at Trackhouse Racing. “Tonight I was a thorough race fan. I was just hanging on every lap. Then you have the three-wide finish, and just from the entertainment value alone, it was an incredible race.
“I think it’s one of the most compelling races you could want for a sport.”
High praise, but well-deserved. Because Atlanta may have been disliked before Sunday, but now it’s the track that has hosted one of the all-time races in NASCAR history.
go deeper
Anonymous NASCAR Garage Poll: Who won the Cup crown? Biggest disappointment?
(Photo of a tight finish to Sunday’s race, in which Daniel Suarez’s car overtook Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
