After an opening weekend that put up some big TV ratings, NASCAR makes their second trip of the year to another drafting track in Atlanta Motor Speedway. However, Atlanta is not like most drafting tracks. It is only 1.5 miles long and much narrower than Daytona or Talladega. So, what is the intrigue of the (relatively) new Atlanta? Is NASCAR growing again? Can the Cup Series repeat the finish from here a year ago? Let’s answer these questions and much more.
DAYTONA 500 RATINGS
According to Adam Stern of the Sport Business Journal, the 2025 Daytona 500 peaked at nearly 8 million viewers Sunday. The Great American Race garnered 6.7 million viewers and was up from 13% from 2024. For Stern’s Tweet, click here.
I am sure someone recently that used to watch NASCAR has told you that the sport is “dying.” Well, I am so glad that these ratings have come back to prove those “ex-fans” wrong. The sport is in what I can only describe a “re-growth” period. Fans are beginning to flock back in recent years. Instead of years of regression that NASCAR endured during the 2010s, the sport is entering the next great era of progression. I believe NASCAR is about to re-enter into a similar light of the late 1990s. They have plenty of young stars to cheer for, villains to hate, and great racing to watch. If you have been one of those fans who have been wearied to rejoin the bandwagon, I encourage you to tune back in and watch Atlanta this Sunday at 3pm.
“NEW” ATLANTA
NASCAR has known three different types of Atlanta Motor Speedway: oval (1960-’96), first quad-oval (1997-2021), and the second quad-oval (’22-present). The repave in 1997 was just a brand surface being put down. However, the second repave in 2022 brought a steeper banking and a “drafting” type of racing to the Peach State. The first few races in 2022 looked much like Daytona and Talladega. However, since the second race in 2023 forward, the racing has improved a great deal because of the surface aging.
If you tune on Sunday, you will see a similar product to the Daytona 500. However, you will notice that it won’t just one big pack, but instead the best 10-15 cars will separate themselves from the next 10 cars, and then probably another group that will bring up the back. The racing will not be bumper to bumper the entire 400 miles. Atlanta still has a few of its old intermediate track characteristics with a little Daytona mixed in now.
LAST YEAR’S FINISH
The NASCAR Cup Series had one of closest finishes in the history of the sport during the 2024 Ambetter Health 400. Daniel Suárez, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Busch came to the checkered flag three-wide at the line. In a finish that looked more like the movie “Cars,” Suárez won by .003 seconds. This finish obviously went viral on social media. It generated so much buzz around the sport that Fox Sports made a documentary about this race entitled “So Damn Close.”
It is going to be almost impossible to ever see a finish like this be replicated on Sunday. However, with the racing that Atlanta has created since the latest repave, I would not be surprised. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 3:19pm ET Sunday afternoon.
