{"id":1554660,"date":"2023-03-21T19:51:13","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T23:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1554660"},"modified":"2023-04-28T16:52:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T20:52:09","slug":"nascar-needs-address-mistake-made-atlanta-motor-speedway-before-too-late","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/nascar-needs-address-mistake-made-atlanta-motor-speedway-before-too-late\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR Needs to Address the Mistake That Was Made at Atlanta Motor Speedway Before It's Too Late"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One year after a massive reconfiguration changed the style of racing forever at Atlanta Motor Speedway<\/a>, the track added a new wrinkle for the 2023 season in the name of safety. But that wrinkle created several unintended challenges, including the possibility of a more severe crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Track owner Speedway Motorsports Inc. turned the 1.54-mile speedway from a traditional intermediate track in 2021 into a facility that allows for pack racing similar to superspeedways such as Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The complexion of the NASCAR<\/a> races at the track changed drastically. The entire field is now able to run in one large group, which created some potentially unsafe moments when drivers peeled off the track at the exit of Turn 4 to get to pit road. The distance between Turn 4 and pit road at Daytona and Talladega is long enough that drivers have a chance to move to the apron of the track long before they have to be at the pit road speed limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That transition space does not exist at Atlanta, which is approximately one mile shorter than the two superspeedway facilities. Drivers who slow down to enter pit road at Atlanta risked stacking up the entire pack and creating a large wreck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlanta Motor Speedway moved its entrance to pit road nearly to the backstretch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This image really puts into perspective the length of pit road at Atlanta Motor Speedway. pic.twitter.com\/92QFk4DY07<\/a><\/p>— Anthony Alfredo (@anthonyalfredo) March 18, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>