Stunning Three-Wide Photo Finish Doesn’t Redeem NASCAR’s Atlanta Revamp

Photo: Todd Kirkland (Getty Images)

Daniel Suárez narrowly beat Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch across the finish line to win the Ambetter Health 400 by 0.003 seconds, the third-closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history. The incredible finale overshadowed the unnecessary pile-ups and multi-car wrecks that filled the 400-mile race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It’s Monday, February 26, 2024 and this is Racing Recap, your summary of last weekend’s motorsports action.

Racing Tech 5 | Nascar Garage 56

Atlanta Pack Racing’s Double-Edged Sword

Daniel Suárez captures win by a .003-second margin at Atlanta | NASCAR

Yesterday’s NASCAR Cup Series race ended with an unbelievable five-lap sprint. Unbelievable because of how close the finish was and that no one crashed to send the race to overtime. One could guess that Suárez’s momentum on the outside carried his No. 99 Chevy Camaro ahead, but there’s no way to prove it definitively. It wasn’t only a close fight for the win but across the entire field. Roughly a second covers the top 20 drivers across the line, something that wasn’t possible at Atlanta until a few years ago.

The 1.5-mile track was reconfigured ahead of the 2022 season to increase the banking to 28 degrees. NASCAR also mandated that cars race at Atlanta under the rules package used at Daytona and Talladega, bringing superspeedway pack racing to a third track despite being a mile shorter than the other two.

Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon spin early in Cup Series race at Atlanta | NASCAR

While pack racing is inherently close, it also makes massive pile-ups inevitable. Yesterday’s first multi-car wreck happened after only a single lap. Yes, Lap 2. The sheer amount of incidents can be frustrating for the drivers collected in them and the fans who have to watch lap-after-lap of pacing under the yellow flag. Fox eventually started listing the drivers who hadn’t been involved in a crash because it was easier to show on screen.

I understand NASCAR wants more pack racing because people simply can’t look away. However, attempting to manufacture dramatic moments just makes thrilling racing dull over time. If every race is special, then none of them are.

Race Results

1. – Daniel Suárez (Trackhouse)
2. – Ryan Blaney (Penske) – +0.003 seconds
3. – Kyle Busch (Childress) – +0.007 seconds
4. – Austin Cindric (Penske) – +0.077 seconds
5. – Bubba Wallace (23XI) – +0.112 seconds