Atlanta is a wide, 1.5 mile quad oval, with a straight back stretch and two small turns in the front stretch. The corners are banked at a generous 24 degrees, and they are certainly the key to winning, because nearly two-thirds of every lap is spent turning the car. You see a lot of speed at Atlanta, and handling is the key to getting as much of it as you can. If he gets through the corners well, a driver can push the envelope and get all the speed the track—and his engine—has to offer.

Crew chiefs will try to keep the car low and stuck to the track to preserve the downforce—or aerodynamic grip—that drivers need to get through the turns fast. But they’ve got to be careful: if they run the car too soft, it can bottom out when it hits the corners at those high speeds. If the car feels loose at all the driver will have to back off.

Now the really great thing about Atlanta is lots of racing grooves. That means it’s a driver’s track, and any time you’ve got multiple grooves, the racing’s bound to be good. Drivers can try the bottom for the short way around, or they can try up high to keep momentum and save their tires. Great side-by-side finishes are not unusual here.

If you're going to watch a race at an intermediate track, this is one of the ones to go to--it's wide and fast and gives a driver options, because you can race from the bottom to the top. Close finishes are definitely possible here, and we've seen our share.