Atlanta hosts two Cup Series races each season, making it a very popular destination for NASCAR drivers. The Folds of Honour QuikTrip 500 was the final race for NASCAR drivers. PopCulture.com was present to watch the action. William Byron, 24, took the checkered flag after the race. Although Bryon’s win was significant, it was not the main focus of the conversation. It was more about the challenges that the race presented since it was redesigned and renovated for 2022.
“Yeah, certainly a lot to learn this weekend,”Byron spoke with PopCulture.com, as well as other media at the post-race press conference. “I think that through all the things that we did to prepare like nothing came close to what practice ended up being like, so I was shocked how crazy it was, how big the runs were. My spotter, we talked overnight. It was like you couldn’t talk fast enough to get all the things you needed to say. I thought he really worked hard overnight and got a clear idea of the kind of what needed to be said so we could work on that.”
NASCAR experts consider Atlanta Motor Speedway to be the newest superspeedway, despite its smaller size than the superspeedways in Talladega or Daytona. This made the race a record-breaker, with 46 lead changes among 20 drivers. These are both track records. Byron won the third race in his Cup Series career and took the lead for Bubba Wallace, Lap 316 of 325. He has never looked back.
“Daytona and Talladega, when you get single file, can you relax,”Byron. “Today when you were single-file, you were constantly working to stay single file so you didn’t lose the lead. I think that was a lot different. I’m not used to that.”NASCAR returns to Atlanta July 10, 2010 for the Quaker State400. The race at July’s Atlanta Motor Speedway should be less chaotic with the drivers.
“It’s a little bit different, though, when you have a nice lead or you’ve got a dominant car all day, but when you come to a speedway, you really don’t know you’re going to win until you come on to the front stretch and if you are by yourself,”Byron. “So it’s just a crazy, exhilarating feeling when you win at a kind of superspeedway style race because you’re constantly working, and you never — it’s never really guaranteed. That was where the excitement I think came from. But, yeah, I think it was a lot of fun.”
