Atlanta Motor Speedway president Ed Clark looks at the latest Sprint Cup Series schedule change that moves his lone race from Labor Day weekend to the first weekend in March as a chance to avoid competition from college football and the NFL and an opportunity to go after a different segment of the NASCAR fan base.
Clark said that since his race will be the second of the season and a week after the Daytona 500 in central Florida, he and his staff will try to persuade fans, especially those who camp at tracks, to stop by AMS on their way home from Daytona.
“We’re going to try to get people from the Midwest and up north that might not have had the opportunity to visit our track,” he said. “And this date allows us to bring back the [Camping World Truck Series] and the Nationwide Series for a double-header on Saturday.”
Clark said that while the month of March isn’t always known for weather favorable for outdoor events, he doesn’t believe that will be a big problem.
“The average temperature for March 1 is 62 degrees,” he said. “It might be a little brisk in the morning, but it warms up.”
Atlanta’s Labor Day date returns to Darlington Raceway, which hosted the Southern 500 on that weekend from 1950-2003. And Bristol Motor Speedway will see its first race shift back a month from mid-March to mid-April, allowing that east Tennessee track to avoid problems with unfavorable weather in early March.
The changes also group the early season West Coast races together, eliminating the logistical problems race teams have faced as they criss-crossed the continent under the old schedule. The Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series run on three consecutive weekends — at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 7-8, Phoenix International Raceway on March 14-15 and Auto Club Speedway on March 21-22.
The change in race dates for AMS also means that the race will shift back to the portion of the schedule broadcast by FOX, which former driver and FOX analyst Darrell Waltrip looks on as a plus.
“I think I can speak for the entire NASCAR on FOX team in saying we’re thrilled to get to call the Atlanta race again,” Waltrip said. “That is one of the best races of the year and usually produces one of the best finishes, and it’s one of my favorite ones to be in the booth for.
“I don’t think anyone liked going from Daytona directly to the West Coast, and we all wanted a race closer to Daytona that second week. In turn, I couldn’t be happier that NASCAR has returned tradition to the schedule by putting Darlington back on Labor Day weekend where it belongs. That one shouldn’t have ever have been moved.”
Waltrip said returning the Labor Day date to Darlington and Atlanta back to the month March date it once held should be promising signs for fans who didn’t like some of NASCAR’s changes recently.
“We have abandoned some of our NASCAR traditions over the years, and some of our fans haven’t been crazy about all those changes,” he said. “So, I think many will be comforted to see some elements of the schedule returning to ‘normal.’
“Folks especially didn’t like the Southern 500 moving away from Darlington, myself included, so I’m excited to see it return to its proper date.”
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