Track Smack: Intrigue of quick inclines, declines (cont'd)

3. Atlanta looms this weekend, and with it come the usual concerns about empty seats. Why doesn't that track draw better?

David Caraviello: Strange, indeed. Top television market, home to so many car sponsors, home state to many drivers, great city -- you'd think they have all the angles covered.

Raygan Swan: Too early in the season, no fan zone, newness of the season is settling in. I have no idea, but tickets these days are not cheap.

Joe Menzer: It's a mystery to me. Except for one thing. Atlanta is a bad sports town. Always has been. What professional sport have they ever consistently drawn well for -- with the possible exception of the pre-dog days of Michael Vick.

Raygan Swan: Oh Michael Vick! Good one, Joe.

Oh so close

One thing that's never a concern when Atlanta pops up on the schedule is finishes. Good ones. Mark Aumann says that's becoming a trademark.

• Complete story, click here

David Caraviello: And don't forget the Braves of the early 1990s.

Joe Menzer: Listen, you Braves fan, they weren't even selling out playoff games just a few years ago, and they were still very good. That's indicative of a bad sports town. That would NEVER happen in Cincinnati with the Reds!

David Caraviello: I agree, as a sports town it has its issues. But aren't NASCAR fans supposed to be the most passionate of fans? And aren't tickets expensive at every racetrack, even those sold out?

Joe Menzer: Despite some of the greatest close finishes in NASCAR history, fans that have a choice of coming to one or two racetracks a year in the Southeast appear to have more appealing choices. Like Bristol or Lowe's Motor Speedway, maybe Darlington if you're in the mood to get real nostalgic.

Raygan Swan: The city of Atlanta can be daunting for fans used to navigating tracks in wide-open spaces.

David Caraviello: Raygan, the track is in a wide-open space. It's in Hampton.

Raygan Swan: True but what about the fans that have to go through or around the city?

David Caraviello: You people think every race fan sits on a wooden porch out in the sticks? Please.

Raygan Swan: Well that's getting "back to the basics" for sure David! Maybe they need the all-you-can-eat grandstands like at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

David Caraviello: Maybe they need to remember that Reds NLDS in the early 2000s where nobody showed up.

Joe Menzer: I'm going to have to go back and look at the tape of the Reds in the NLDS in the early 2000s. I have no recollection of that.

David Caraviello: I am certain there was a Reds NLDS in the not-so-distant past that was an attendance disaster. I believe it led to the mayor's ouster. And referring to the Braves, I said EARLY 1990s, Joe -- '91, '92, when you couldn't find a ticket.

Joe Menzer: You Braves fans are SO defensive. Wait until we get good again (meaning the Reds).

David Caraviello: Yeah, Menzer. See you in 2015.

Raygan Swan: This is painful.

Joe Menzer: Sorry, Raygs, you grew up where there was only AAA baseball. That had to be painful, too.

Raygan Swan: The Indianapolis Indians rock! I think.

David Caraviello: Enough baseball. Back to racing. Atlanta, like a lot of tracks, seems to have too many seats. It's gotten a reputation for bad weather. Maybe people get scared off.

Joe Menzer: Ahem, what about the weather? Looks like it's going to be bad again this weekend.

Raygan Swan: Cold, cold, cold!

David Caraviello: I'm sure Ed Clark and the folks at AMS are loving you guys right now. Just pile on, people.

Joe Menzer: I think the weather is on Bruton Smith's mind. That's why he is proposing to switch dates with California -- giving up a date in the Chase for Labor Day weekend. I would like to see NASCAR go for that, and see what happens. That could end up being a decent draw for Atlanta, and start a whole new Southern tradition.

David Caraviello: Atlanta is one of those tracks that's always been saddled with unfortunate weekends from a weather perspective. But you also don't want to be there when it's 100 degrees and the humidity is 102 percent.

Joe Menzer: The weather in Atlanta on Labor Day surely is going to be better than the weather in California. Last year you could have fried an egg on Ryan Newman's forehead ... or maybe a dozen of 'em.

David Caraviello: And unfortunately, you tried to do just that. Those Taser scars healed up yet, Joe?

Joe Menzer: Well, I was hungry. And Rodman was nowhere to be found, so I had no one to lead me to the food.

David Caraviello: Enough of all this weather talk. I think we know the real reason for Atlanta's issues: Buckhead is gone!

Joe Menzer: Yeah, what's up with that? Went to find it last fall and thought I had gone mad.

David Caraviello: It's been completely leveled. They're going to build condos and high-end shopping. What Sherman didn't do, development did.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the participants.