Leading up to this weekend's NASCAR Xfinity and Cup races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, NASCAR officials have announced changes to the pit-road speed limit rules.
This comes after a change officials already implemented during the spring race in March, when they extended the pit entrance to Turn 3. That was due to the 2022 reconfiguration at Atlanta, which resulted in super speedway-style racing at the 1.54-mile oval.
NASCAR will implement two separate pit-road speed limits under green-flag conditions for this weekend's races.
NEWS: Pit-road speeds at @ATLMotorSpdwy have been adjusted.
Under green, Sections 1 and 2, located in Turns 3 and 4, will be 90 mph. Sections 3 through 18 will be 45 mph.
Under yellow, all sections will be 45 mph. pic.twitter.com/I3GiXmt7Qt
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 6, 2023
During green-flag pit stops, Sections 1 and 2 of pit road will be limited at 90 mph, while Sections 3 through 18 will be policed by NASCAR at 45 mph. It won't be the same during a caution, as all sections of the pit road will be 45 mph for the full distance starting at the commitment line in Turn 3 to the Turn 1 exit.
The extended pit lane saw the steady 45 mph limit during the March race weekend, resulting in a lot of cars falling down laps during green-flag conditions. There is nothing wrong with that, but if the top contenders battling for the win are all a lap down, it wouldn't be good for this type of racing.
NASCAR's goal in implementing this change is to help minimize a team's chances of falling off the lead lap during very important pit cycles.
Check out Saturday's Alsco Uniforms 250 and Sunday's Quaker State 400 to see the new rules in place.
