Drivers had plenty of adjectives to describe the opening round of the 2024 NASCAR Cup playoffs, and most were just synonyms for chaos.
For the first time, the Round of 16 will feature a drafting track and a road course, just as in the Round of 12. That will likely factor into this being the most unpredictable playoffs yet, and the drivers are weary of what lies ahead.
In the spring, a whopping 16 cars were involved in a crash at the end of the first lap at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which opens the 2024 playoffs this weekend. By the end of the race, 75% of the field had been in a wreck. This weekend's race will take place in the heat of the day, adding to the difficulty as the entire field races close together.
“The first round definitely needs to be respected because it’s not a cakewalk by any means," said Chase Elliott, who won the title in 2020. "That is what you get when you have these short rounds and every year, we put another speedway in there and you are going to get craziness. You keep fabricating this stuff and that is what you are going to get.”
His Hendrick Motorsports team-mate and fellow Cup champion Kyle Larson wasn't too thrilled at seeing Atlanta as the first race of the first Round. Larson has crashed out in four of the last five races at the track, but sits atop the points heap after the reset, so does have a cushion.
“I don’t love seeing Atlanta in the playoffs at all," admitted Larson. But he added that he "would rather them be in the first Round than the second or third Round.
"Having the bonus points and playoff points that we’ve earned throughout the regular season is nice. But it still doesn’t guarantee anything. You still have to not run into any trouble, especially in back-to-back weeks, and hopefully you can just make it through.”
Atlanta isn't the only wildcard
Larson is also weary of the track that follows Atlanta, Watkins Glen. Displaced by the Olympic break, the road course track that previously hosted the US Grand Prix is now part of the playoffs too.
“They’re just sketchy places," said Larson. “You could totally blow a corner and fall back into the 20’s or worse and never recover from it. But we have been good there.
“From what I’ve heard, going back, I think our tyres are going to be way softer, so the falloff is supposed to be a lot more. So I don’t think you can totally rely on results from the past either.
“I don’t know, we might not be as dominate as we’ve been there either. It’s just a little bit of unknowns going into Watkins Glen.”
Unknowns seem to be a theme of the opening round. Bristol Motor Speedway is the elimination race in the Round of 16 and while always a wildcard, that is expected to be exacerbated by the tyre wear that caused mayhem in the spring race - which was celebrated by NASCAR officials. The degradation factored into a record number of lead changes for any short track with 54 in total.
“The Bristol thing in the spring was just such a weird deal, and it sounds like they really want to recreate that too, from everything that I have heard,” explained Elliott.
“I don’t know that we knew why that happened in the spring, but if they successfully fabricate craziness, then yeah, it's going to be wild. But I don’t know that you are really going to know that until you get there, and you are kind of in the moment.
“In the scenarios you are asking about, you just have to be there and get in there and try to figure it out. Because some of those things are going to be hard to plan for.”
Another Hendrick driver who is unsure about what to expect at Bristol is William Byron. He damaged his car just 20 laps into the 500-lap race earlier this year.
“I don’t know what to expect yet,” he remarked. “We have some things to dissect and learn but haven’t really thought much about it.
“It really depends on how the resin interacts with the track and how the tires wear, or if they rubber in the track and it’s like how it’s been in the past. I’m not sure really. We’ll see.”
One driver who might actually be excited for this round is Daniel Suarez. Trackhouse Racing's lone bullet in the playoffs punched his ticket with a dramatic three-wide victory at Atlanta earlier this year, rebounding from being part of the crash at the start of the race, to win by 0.003s.
“You never know,” said Suarez when asked what to expect. “It’s going to be around 20 degrees warmer than last time so we’re going to have less grip. So, if you were seeing cars moving around you will see it even more.
“We had a great car last time there and we’re hoping we have even a better one there this time. We just have to continue to push, continue to work hard and focus on one race at a time.”
Martin Truex Jr. sits last in the playoff standings after the reset, and he believes Atlanta “is going to be tough” for all drivers.
“Daytime race there, track’s getting older, cars won’t handle as well,” he explained. “It's going to be a lot tougher than the spring. And the potential for chaos is higher.”
He added: “As crazy as it can be certain places and has been in the past, whatever you do, just race one at a time. Take one at a time and hopefully, you have a good race and go home and say you made it through one and let’s focus on the next one. That's all you can really do.”
