NASCAR Jul 10, 2022; Hampton, Georgia, USA; during the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

When NASCAR goes to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, it’ll be the third race weekend on Atlanta’s reconfigured track. Speedway Motorsports changed the 1.5 mile track to make it a smaller version of Daytona and Talladega.

Atlanta got their intended result of pack racing, but some tweaks needed to be made when NASCAR returned. One change was the entrance to pit road. In order to avoid a potential pileup as cars slow up on the Turn 4 banking and turn left on pit road, the commitment line for pit road is now on the apron at the start of Turn 3.

NASCAR Xfinity Series and part-time Cup driver Anthony Alfredo previewed the change on Twitter.

Instead of entering pit road off Turn 4, cars will head to the apron from the backstretch and into Turn 3. Cars will slow to 45 mph from Turn 3, drive all the way around Turn 4, and into pit road.

This was a necessary step to decrease the risk of a massive crash, but that’s a very long stretch where a car will be at pit road speed. That’s almost half a lap from the commitment line to the end of pit road near Turn 1. If someone has an unscheduled green flag pit stop, or tries to pit early, there’s a good chance they’ll lose multiple laps. It’s a great improvement, but it might take away some strategy.

[Anthony Alfredo]

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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