They came, they saw, and they conquered. This is what can be asserted after the breath-taking race at Atlanta. An ending that you would expect in works of fiction materialized at the Atlanta Motor Speedway during Sunday’s race. Daniel Suarez rose to the stature of Lightning McQueen to flash past the former and defending Cup Series champions Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney to claim the victory by a fraction of a second. Amidst this photo finish that left the NASCAR world flabbergasted, what stood out the most in the second race of the season was the ability to stay three to four wide on a speedway track like Atlanta. While the ability of the cars to race three-wide on a reconfigured Atlanta track took many by surprise, Mike Wallace had the answers.

NASCAR veteran delivers his verdict on why cars could run three-wide

Would the same results have been possible if NASCAR had retained the old configuration of NASCAR? Well, after Sunday’s race, the answer undoubtedly will be a ‘no’. Although Marcus Smith faced severe backlash, the track owner transformed the traditional 1.5-mile track into a superspeedway-style track to make the racing more thrilling. It seems that Smith’s gamble paid off after the cars fanned out three-wide and drifted into the corners with ease.

Although boasting a similar configuration to that of Daytona, racing three-wide on superspeedway tracks was far removed from reality, except for the possibility of creating a wreck carnage. However, after the culmination of the Ambetter Health 400, it seems to be a possibility and is directly proportionate with the reduced horsepower of the Next-Gen cars, as claimed by Mike Wallace. The veteran NASCAR driver appeared in his brother’s podcast show, the Kenny Wallace, to provide insights into the race. When asked by his younger brother, “Why were they able to run three wide there? I mean they can only do it for a while, but it seemed they stayed three wide in Atlanta.”

To this, Mike Wallace retorted, “They did. I think it’s just the track’s newer, it’s got more grip, the cars are different and everybody wanted to win. It is a wide-open race track anymore. Everybody says what’s different in Atlanta. Well, they made it and they have taken so much horsepower away from the cars that they run wide. That’s why I think a lot of people hear that wide-open, it’s like well can’t you run at Atlanta wide-open from now on?”

Although the track was not built to support the derring-do, there is no denying the fact that the Atlanta Motor Speedway would be one such track to look forward to in the NASCAR playoffs. With a difference of 0.003 seconds between victor Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney, the race is sure to go down in the pages of history.

The Atlanta race stands third when it comes to the closest finish in NASCAR’s history

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Speaking of the closest finishes in NASCAR’s Cup Series, the Ambetter Health 400 had to settle for the third spot, being edged out by 2 races in 2003 and 2011.

The closest-recorded finish in NASCAR’s Cup Series was in the Darlington race back in 2003, and 2011’s Talladega race. Both races finished at a time difference of 0.002 seconds between the winner and the second. In the Darlington race, it was Ricky Cavern who was entangled in a fierce battle with Kurt Busch and claimed victory after leading for just one lap.

Daniel Suarez’s Atlanta Win Doesn’t Secure His Cup Future at Trackhouse Racing

In 2011, it was Jimmie Jhonson and Clint Bowyer who jockeyed against each other for the final victory. However, it was the final push from his then-teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr, that provided the impetus to Johnson to claim the victory in the race.

Nevertheless, with a victory early in the race, Daniel Suarez can breathe out in relief, but the pressure to perform better still looms over the Trackhouse Racing driver. It will be interesting to see if another victory is in store for the Mexican driver in the remaining races of the season.