Track Modification Could Lead to a Dramatic 2022 NASCAR Race in Atlanta

The Atlanta track is one of the most legendary for NASCAR, and it was responsible for some of the greatest moments and important races. As a statistic, Dale Earnhardt (one of the best racing drivers in the history of NASCAR) is the most successful driver at this track, having won for nine times here, with 26 top-five finishes.

After the last reconfiguration in 1997, managers upgraded the Atlanta Speedway again with new asphalt and configuration. The banking in the corners has been increased from 24 degrees to 28 degrees, and the width of the turns has been narrowed from 55 feet (16.7 meters) to 40 feet (12.1 meters).

These modifications are supposed to turn the racing at the track similar to restrictor-plate superspeedways. The width of the backstretch racing surface has also been narrowed from 55 to 42 feet (12.8 meters), while the front straightaway has had its racing surface expanded from 55 to 61 feet (18.5 meters) and six inches wide.

It should be a super crazy and close race because racing veterans don't have much of an edge over rookie drivers when it comes to observing and evaluating new modifications on a track. It might seem like a minor modification in the banking angle, but that could throw every strategy away.NASCAR fans are incredibly excited about superspeedway racing, but drivers know this means more pack racing, leading to big wrecks.

As a fun fact about this race, the last nine Atlanta races were won by a Ford or Chevrolet driver, and the last ten races were won by drivers under 30 years old. It is the longest streak in NASCAR history at the Cup Series level.

It's hard to make some predictions about who do we think will win this race. Big teams like Hendrick Motorsport, Stewart-Haas Racing and Penske Racing have kept things up and constant, but the most impressive team this year are Trackhouse Racing Team. However, I don't believe the winner will come from Trackhouse.

For me, one of the four drivers of Hendrick Motorsport will win. Joey Logano is another favorite to take the top spot. Logano's aggressive driving style on superspeedways, doing everything he can to get and stay at the front, should help him a lot in Atlanta.

A combination of new track changes and these "New Era" cars will lead to some fantastic moments. "We've kind of been starting over all year," Ryan Blaney told the media. "You know, you haven't really been able to take many notes from last year's car and apply it this year and into these tracks. So that's been a little different. But at the same time, I think it's neat to kind of rechallenge yourself and try to learn it faster than everybody else."

The weather is another element that could add to the drama and craziness. The forecast weather for Friday is saying that it will be rain, so that means the officials could abandon the Cup Series practice for this weekend's race. Saturday's qualifying session will be turned into a practice session if that is the case.

Until now, this has been one of the most exciting NASCAR seasons. Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe are the guys who got their first-ever wins this season, and we expect guys like Tyler Reddick or Ty Dillon to be in that category as soon as possible.