Denny Hamlin Echoes Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hammers Down on Atlanta’s NASCAR Prospects in the Future

Discussing the recent improvements and prospects of future races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. unanimously agreed with Chase Elliott that the quality of racing there has been improving on the track with each passing year.

Ahead of the season’s second race at Atlanta, Elliott praised the track for its elevated race quality, a sentiment that Dale Jr. echoed by sharing Elliott’s Frontstretch interview on his official X handle, sharing his thoughts on the future of the track. Junior mentioned, “The racing I’ve seen there the past few years is some of the best around. Kept me on the edge of my seat.”

In the video Junior shared, Elliott was seen discussing the rejuvenated track, underlining the Atlanta track as his home venue, and how he looks forward to each opportunity to compete there. The Hendrick Motorsport driver also affirmed that the recent modifications to the track have proved beneficial, boosting fan engagement and exalting the excitement around the races.

Later on, Hamlin shared his point of view regarding the track on the latest episode of his podcast, Actions Detrimental:

“I think that if you talk to most drivers they would say, ‘Man this is this is how superspeedway racing used to be at Daytona before the repave and others… And I agree. I think that we’re still probably a couple of years actually from the prime of what Atlanta could be, I think it still got a little bit of maturity to go in the pavement.”

He added, “But it’s getting there pretty quickly. And we’ve really seen some fantastic races there over the last few years. So, a great show for the fans. I thought it put on a good race from my standpoint.”

Dale Jr.’s thoughts after the Atlanta race

The veteran NASCAR Cup driver extolled the virtues of the 2025 Ambetter Health 400 race, specifically commending the tires that Goodyear provided, which contributed to the track’s dynamics by laying down ample rubber. He pointed out that the tire performance posed a challenge in balancing the cars, which both drivers and teams had to navigate.

He also singled out Carson Hocevar, who finished second place, suggesting that simply keeping the camera on the #77 driver would provide generous entertainment for the fans.

Junior went on to celebrate the caliber of racing, especially highlighting the action mid-pack as particularly exhilarating, and he couldn’t help but marvel at the track itself, remarking,

“Man this racetrack has something special,” he said. “I’m tensed up! What these drivers are doing is so mentally tough. Feels like everything is on edge.”

While last year’s race set a high benchmark, that was tough to match, this year’s event got a lot of people’s attention because of the good racing entertainment that took place, notably due to the emergence of new competitors vying for top positions.

However, a controversial yellow caution towards the race’s closing also played a role in sparking across-the-board debate among fans.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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