Sunday’s Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will mark the first competitive test of NASCAR’s new rules package in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
The cars will be fitted with tapered spacers and a series of elements to increase downforce, all with the goal producing tighter racing – especially at 1.5-mile track like Atlanta. The package was successful and popular with both teams and fans when used at last year’s All-Star race at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Teams have been testing the package this preseason and competitors seemed to be enthusiastically looking forward to its debut at Atlanta this week.
“We tested the new package at Las Vegas and [driver] Paul [Menard] and the team
were pleased with how it went, but no one really knows what to expect when there are 40 cars on thetrack. ’’
Wood Brothers Racing team owner Eddie Wood.
It’s been a similar sentiment from last year’s Atlanta winner Kevin Harvick, who left Atlanta and embarked on a three-race winning streak. He won the All-Star race that first used this new package. And he figures it won’t take too long for teams to get a hang of it all – noting it will be real obvious whose got a handle on it early.
“It could happen in the very first race. I think as you look at the drastic change that we’ve had in horsepower and downforce and rules and all the different things that are coming into play right there, we could very well go to the first two months of the season and one organization might have an absolutely, distinct advantage and win all the races.
“. …It’s just impossible from a manufacturing standpoint and cutting bodies off and knowing whether your theory’s right or wrong. It’s only answered when we get to the racetrack and every team’s going to have a little bit of a different approach to what they think is right and wrong.”
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing
Harvick’s primary championship rival from 2018 – and fellow eight-race winner Kyle Busch – shared the wait-and-see sentiment, but was also optimistic. He’s a two-time Atlanta winner and making his 500thCup start there this weekend.
“We’re just racecar drivers. We just drive what we’re given to drive and what the rules are. Our team’s got to go to work and build around that – what they know about how to make speed in our cars in order to go out there and beat the rest of the competition. That’s how I look at it.’’
Kyle Busch, Driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing