“They are momentum tracks and are pretty fast. They have some interesting bumps that you need to get over and not get loose or tight. You’ve got to have your car handling and driving the right way when you cross the bumps. You lose grip over a run a good bit, especially in the front-end of the car. Understanding all of those things and making them work, we’ve been able to have a lot of success over the years at intermediate tracks – especially Atlanta and Charlotte – and I want to have a lot more.”
Kasey Kahne on intermediate tracks
“I raced a lot of legend and bandolero races there on the front straightaway, so that was one of my home tracks, so to speak, when I was short-track racing and certainly is my home track now. Atlanta will always be special to me and hopefully we can go there for a long time and try to have some good runs along the way.”
Chase Elliott on his childhood memories of Atlanta
“The racing surface, for one, and the banking. I think it’s the steepest 1.5-mile we run on. It’s always put up that short-run speed and then the age of the surface has given us the character that we all like in the track.”
Jimmie Johnson on what makes Atlanta unique
“It’s going to be a fun season and we’ve got pretty high spirits. I’m ready to get to Atlanta. The worn-out track surface with its bumps and swells makes it a real challenge. It’s pretty fun. To be successful at Atlanta takes a good setup – you’ve got to hit on everything just right. The tires wear out pretty bad, so if your car is not doing well on old tires you can really suffer there.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on racing at Atlanta