Kyle Busch had two harsh words for NASCAR after Atlanta

Kyle Busch was not at all pleased with the way Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the newly repaved and reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway turned out.

Sunday afternoon’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 was the first NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway since the track was repaved and reconfigured into a superspeedway.

The Hampton, Georgia oval is still 1.54 miles, making it considerably shorter than the other two superspeedways on the schedule, Daytona International Speedway (2.5 miles) and Talladega Superspeedway (2.66 miles).

But with a wider surface and steeper banking, coupled with the new package used by the cars, the racing was similar to that of the racing produced at those two other tracks.

As expected, the 325-lap race was quite chaotic.

It was every bit as chaotic as a regular superspeedway race. It produced 46 lead changes, the most in 116 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway all-time, and it also produced 11 caution flag periods, the most at the track since March 2010.

Drivers and fans had mixed feelings about the changes. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, who was involved in a lap 102 wreck and ended up dropping from second to 11th place in the point standings with his 33rd place finish, was one of those not happy with the changes, and in as few words as possible, he made that abundantly clear.

After the race, the driver of the #18 Toyota was asked whether he feels that this type of racing is making him more of an “entertainer” than a “driver”.

His one-word answer?

“Yup.”

He was also asked if he likes this version of Atlanta Motor Speedway better than the old one, the one on which he won in March 2008 and September 2013.

His one-word answer?

“Nope.”

Take a look.

The 2021 season saw the Cup Series visit Atlanta Motor Speedway twice for the first time since the 2010 season, first in March and then again in July. The plan is the same for this season.

NASCAR is set to return to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400 on Sunday, July 10. This race is only a 267-lap race as opposed to a 325-lap race, but it is sure to provide the same level of entertainment that this past Sunday’s race did.

The other three superspeedway races remaining on this year’s schedule include the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, April 24, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, August 27, and the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, October 2.