NASCAR has abandoned practice at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Atlanta Motor Speedway is scheduled to host the second of 36 races on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, the Ambetter Health 400, this Sunday afternoon.

Daytona International Speedway hosted the season-opening Daytona 500 this past Monday afternoon/evening after rain forced a postponement from Sunday, meaning that the 2024 season is scheduled to begin with two consecutive superspeedway races.

While Atlanta Motor Speedway is not a typical superspeedway such as Daytona International Speedway (2.5 miles) or Talladega Superspeedway (2.66 miles), in that it is only 1.54 miles in length, it has raced much more like a superspeedway than it has a typical mile-and-a-half oval since its repave and reconfiguration following its two 2021 races.

For this reason, there is no practice for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race.

When it comes to superspeedway races, the majority of the emphasis is placed on drafting. As a result, there is very little benefit to practicing without being in a draft, and doing so creates the potential for more large-scale incidents.

According to Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, this is why practice has been abandoned altogether at every non-Daytona 500 superspeedway race on the schedule. There is no practice scheduled for either race at Atlanta Motor Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway, and there is no practice scheduled for the summer race at Daytona Internationa l Speedway.

All things considered, the logic makes sense, though not having practice could in turn create the potential for more incidents in the races themselves, possibly leading to the "Big One". NASCAR used to have practice at all tracks, so the reluctance in recent years to continue that trend is a bit appalling.

The 2024 season's two races at Talladega Superspeedway are scheduled to take place on Sunday, April 21 and Sunday, October 6. The second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 8 to open up the playoffs.

The second race at Daytona International Speedway, which is no longer the regular season finale, is scheduled to take place Saturday, August 24.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is scheduled to host the Ambetter Health 400 this Sunday, February 25. Fox is scheduled to provide live coverage of the race starting at 3:00 p.m. ET. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!