Inside the Halls of Petty: Racing and testing at AMS

We're in for a big weekend in the state of Georgia. Everybody loves the racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. And why wouldn't they. It's usually the fastest track that we go to. It's also as wide as an interstate highway, meaning lots of passing and less wrecking. This time, though, we have more going on that just winning a race.

There are only four more races left before we crown our 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion. Anything can happen over those next four races, but it looks like it will come down to a two-, possibly three-car race. But, as I said, it's not over. There are some guys in the middle of the Chase standings that run really well at Atlanta. If you ask me it is still going to take something happening to the top two to bring everybody else back into contention.

The fight to see who will remain inside the top 35 in owner points looks to be just as exciting as what is going on at the top of the standings. There are five or six drivers that could be shuffled up or down before the end of the year. Kyle [Petty] and the No. 45 team have really had some good cars over the last several races and he has had some strong runs at Atlanta. Billy Wilburn has made some great calls to get Kyle some bonus points and track position. All of that adds up to more points and some breathing room for the No. 45 team. Kyle is as focused as I have seen him all year so I expect everything to be OK.

There is another important event at Atlanta this weekend. If there was ever a time when a test session could be as important as a race itself, this is it. The Dodge Avenger gets its first real test at Atlanta on the following Monday. We brought the new cars out to Atlanta almost two years ago for what amounted to a shakedown session to see what, exactly, we were working with. A lot has changed since that day.

We all looked at the Talladega test as one of the most important tests of the year with the Dodge Avenger. And don't get me wrong, it was the biggest test up to that point. But 1.5-mile tracks like Atlanta make up almost half of our schedule. So when we pull out of the track after the test we better have a good idea of what these cars need to keep our quality of racing at the level that made it so popular.

These intermediate tracks are part of the reason the COT was drawn up in the first place. Our current car has become so dependent on the aerodynamic qualities that you heard more about the dreaded aero push than you did about anything else.

So NASCAR took a long look at the Craftsman Truck Series and the great side-by-side racing that they put on at places like Atlanta, Las Vegas and Lowe's. They incorporated the boxy construction and front-air splitter to the Nextel Cup Series to try to get rid of this aero-dependency.

Mission accomplished.

The Dodge Avenger punches a huge hole in the air. We saw that at Talladega. While the draft does not come into play at intermediate tracks the way it does at restrictor-plate tracks, aerodynamic downforce is every bit as important.

If this dependency can be reduced, then the costs will be reduced as well. This was another goal of the COT. Lower costs means, potentially, more owners coming into the sport and more parity among the teams.

See you in Victory Lane,
Robbie Loomis