NASCAR: Tire test set for reconstructed Atlanta Speedway

The first NASCAR test session of the new year is set for the newly reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway this week, with all three national series tackling the freshly paved and revised banking 1.54-mile track.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series will share the circuit Tuesday in Goodyear tire testing. The tire-test sessions will continue Wednesday and Thursday with the Next Gen car for the 2022 Cup Series.

Atlanta officials announced the reprofiling for the intermediate-sized layout on July 6, just five days before the last Cup Series race on the aging asphalt surface. Track representatives indicated Dec. 22 that the renovation project was complete.

“Certainly a lot of hard work’s gone into the reconfiguration of the track,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “We got a little bit behind with some of the paving issues, but luckily the weather’s been really, really good for us in terms of getting the track ready for this next test. So, all three series will be there. We’ll spend one day where you’ll have Xfinity and Trucks on the track, same day, and then Cup, we’ll look at multiple days of testing as well.

“So really with any new configuration, it’s making sure that the tire matches the car in terms of the aero package we put together and the engine’s also obviously part of that. So, making sure all those three are dialed in for the package that we want for Atlanta and then we’ll go race.”

Atlanta officials increased the banking through the track’s sweeping turns from 24 to 28 degrees, all while narrowing the racing surface and improving the drainage systems. It’s the first major reconfiguration of the track since 1997, when the front and back straightaways were switched, with a double dogleg added to the frontstretch.

O’Donnell indicated that the track’s characteristics and the expected increase in speeds are likely to prompt competition officials to use the superspeedway rules package reserved for the series’ fastest ovals, a short list that includes Daytona (2.5 miles) and Talladega (2.66 miles).