Following the final restart, fans were on their toes when NASCAR’s “Rowdy” Kyle Busch pulled off a gutsy move, cutting in right to the middle to challenge Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney for the win. The scene was similar in the commentary booth as Kevin Harvick described it in his Happy Hour podcast. Calling the shots from the booth all three commentators were ecstatic to see the three-wide photo finish in Atlanta.

While the race earned critical acclaim for its fierce and competitive racing, detractors were more focused on the dark spot – the wrecks and accidents on the track. Well, 3-time Atlanta winner, Harvick even before the race, figured how things would unfold in the dual-faceted mile-and-a-half track.

Kevin Harvick details the technicalities of Atlanta, revealing the difficulties drivers had to face on Sunday

Sunday’s epic showdown was bang for the buck as the community got a stellar race that shattered all expectations, nullifying the disappointment of the Daytona 500. Despite the disastrous start when in lap 2 16 cars piled up on the track in what soon became Atlanta’s biggest pile-up, the race went down in history as one of the greatest, featuring an intense photo finish.

In the end, Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suárez reigned victorious, beating the “Rowdy” and the reigning champion to the punch in epic fashion and thus snapping his winless streak in grand fashion. Reflecting on the race finish, Harvick shared how the scene was in the booth with all three commentators holding their breaths in excitement.

Speaking on his  Kevin Harvick Happy Hour podcast, the veteran detailed the nuances of the aging dual-faceted track that got even most seasoned drivers like Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher stumbling. He said, “Before we even got to Atlanta, I said, “This is the most intense race that the drivers will have. It’s the most uncomfortable you’ll be in the car. The back of the car never wants to be on the racetrack. The cars get crazy runs.”

“The stack-ups are twice as bad as they are at Daytona because you have to lift, getting into corners because of the bumps because of somebody being in front of you because your car gets tight and front end won’t turn or it’s loose in the middle of the corner. But think about how many races I mean, and we have seen this a little bit more, but how many races lately we’ve seen cars just spin out on their own, right?” said the veteran with a question at the end to substantiate his statement. 

Name-dropping drivers, he added, “I mean, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Josh Berry, and just positioning that car was so strategic and so unique because of the fact you saw some of these guys that get the right front fender out and it kind of the cars were already edgy and it would plant that right front fender and they would just spin out.” 

2024 Ambetter 400: Daniel Suarez Locks in Career Second Playoff Spot at Atlanta as Kyle Busch Goes Winless Again

Much like the former SHR driver, Harvick, NASCAR’s golden boy Chase Elliott foresaw this when he briefed about his home track’s technicalities.

Chase Elliott explains what makes Atlanta difficult

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Even for a driver of such high caliber and well-versed driver such as Chase Elliott, the 260-lap race at Atlanta was more than what he could handle. While the driver takes pride in being a Georgia native and sought redemption after his disappointing Daytona outing by winning on his home track, even he was humbled by the mile-and-a-half speedway.

Ahead of Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400, Elliott explained the track’s dual nature, saying, ‘I think as long as it’s cold, the track is going to continue to race like a Speedway and it’s going to look a lot like a Daytona race. But when it gets hot, I can see that changing the song and eventually the track’s going to age and look at little rule tweaks here and there. At some point we’re probably going to have to lift and it’s not going to be just so comfortable before we can run wide open all the time. So I’m curious to see when that transition happens, but for now and certainly for the spring race.” 

Finishing 15th, even Elliott was caught off-guard with a pit lane bump with Michael McDowell as Kenny Wallace revealed that the track has “one of the most difficult pit roads in motorsports history.” 

HMS Legend Refuses to Throw “Rusty” Chase Elliott “Under the Bus” & Makes Huge Turnaround Prediction on Home Turf