Kyle Busch Rips Atlanta Track Reconfiguration, Driver Input

In the moments after winning the final NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway before the track undergoes a polarizing reprofiling over the summer, and just before beginning a scorching news conference targeting Speedway Motorsports Inc. for its recent decision-making process, Kyle Busch wanted a memento.

The two-time Cup Series champion asked SMI executive Donald Hawk to send him a chunk of pavement after the bulldozers arrive next week.

"Other than getting into my teammate Daniel Hemric and him crashing, I sure am glad to win the final Xfinity Series race on a real Atlanta racetrack," Busch said. "Because the next one is just going to be a showpiece, and it’s going to be shit."

For the next 15 minutes, Busch didn’t lift or hold back, the latest Cup Series personality to express reservations about the general direction of the sport and a lack of driver involvement in the decision to reimagine Atlanta as a track that aims to produce something similar to Daytona or Talladega pack races.

To accomplish this goal, SMI will give Atlanta Motor Speedway four extra degrees of banking from 24 to 28 while also narrowing the width of the turns by 14’ in its first reconfiguration and repaving since 1997.

Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Rodney have each taken turns expressing concern over how the intended layout will race.

Busch publicly joined them on Saturday.

"If they’re going to narrow it up 15 feet, whatever it is, that’s the whole bottom groove," Busch said. "We’re not going to be able to run around here three-wide. You’re going to be stuck at two-wide. It’s going to be as wide as Darlington. So, trying to run around here at 210 mph because if they don’t put plates on it, you’re going to be going way too fast.

"Just think about it. Everybody needs to just think. There ain’t nobody thinking. Brains for sale: Never used, operating racetracks."

The case could be made that SMI and NASCAR are thinking … about creating pack racing.

Since the 2019 season, NASCAR has considerably restricted horsepower in the pursuit of creating pack races at intermediate tracks like Atlanta with the Next-Gen car designed with aero ducts intended to off-set the turbulence generated by the current car.

"The Xfinity cars will still be fast; it’s going to be close to wide open," Busch said. "But the Cup cars, they still don’t even know what aero package they’re bringing for the new Cup car. Are we coming here with the 550-type package? You might as well put the bigger blade on it that we have at the speedways and slow it down because you know you’re going to need to."

The bigger blade is a reference to the spoilers used at Daytona and Talladega, which are 9” with a 1” wicker. The intermediate tracks currently use the 550-horsepower tapered spacer with a 8” spoiler.

Busch said he first found out about the changes when it was made public to fans and the media. Echoing his peers, he expressed frustration that drivers are not being heard or consulted.

"I feel that our side doesn’t get looked at whatsoever from our vantage point," he said. "You’re going to come here with fresh pavement with four degrees more banking when they were here in 1997, they went around here wide open and set a track record of 197 mph.

"You’re going to tell me that the (Next Gen) cars that we’re going to have with more tire, wider tire, we’re not going to go faster? So, we’re the ones that need to be consulted as well, too, a little bit."