Kevin Harvick believes EchoPark Speedway has become one of NASCAR’s most demanding and entertaining venues, but his latest suggestion has sparked a wave of disagreement among fans.
Speaking on the latest episode of SPEED With Harvick & Buxton, the 2014 Cup Series champion floated that he thought the idea of pairing NASCAR and IndyCar at the Georgia oval was a “phenomenal” idea, insisting that IndyCars would put on an incredible show despite the circuit’s notoriously tricky characteristics.
While Harvick’s comments highlighted just how unique the track has become since its 2022 reconfiguration, many fans were far less convinced that IndyCar should follow NASCAR onto the high-speed oval.
Harvick began by explaining why Atlanta has evolved into a completely different challenge for stock car drivers. Since its reconfiguration, the 1.54-mile oval races much more like a superspeedway than a traditional intermediate track.
The tighter racing, constant drafting, and pack-style battles leave drivers with almost no time to react to developing situations.
“It’s turned into this superspeedway race that you have to handle because of the size of the racetrack,” Harvick explained. “Things happen so fast. We see cars spin out, we see cars get tight, wash up the racetrack and cause wrecks.”
According to Harvick, the challenge goes well beyond simply finding speed. Drivers are forced to strike an almost impossible balance between building a fast race car and one that remains controllable while surrounded by traffic.
That combination, he believes, makes Atlanta one of the least comfortable places to drive in the Cup Series.
“It’s just this unique balance of how to make the car handle, run fast,” Harvick said, before adding from a driver’s perspective, “you’re aggravated the whole time because it is a very, very, very uncomfortable drive.”
Harvick then shifted the conversation toward an idea that immediately grabbed attention. After NASCAR and IndyCar previously shared a race weekend at Phoenix Raceway, he wondered whether the same concept could work at EchoPark Speedway.
Harvick’s co-host, FOX Sports Will Buxton, then asked, “Could we do an IndyCar-NASCAR weekend like we did in Phoenix?”
Harvick quickly responded, “Oh my gosh, the IndyCars would be phenomenal there.” The future NASCAR Hall of Famer’s enthusiasm continued, adding, “It would be just an absolutely phenomenal IndyCar race as well.”
However, not everyone shared that optimism. Harvick’s proposal quickly generated debate among NASCAR fans, many of whom questioned whether such an event would be exciting or unnecessarily dangerous.
While some appreciated the prospect of two premier American motorsport series sharing the same weekend, as one fan said, “Now hear me out. If it were possible, I would love to see IndyCar on the road course on Saturday night, followed by cup on the oval on Sunday night.”
The idea of significantly lighter, faster IndyCars racing inches apart on a bumpy drafting oval left many fans skeptical.
For example, another fan commented, “We all agree that IndyCar at Atlanta would be an unmitigated disaster, right?”
Furthermore, Cup drivers already describe the circuit as physically demanding and mentally exhausting, and many fans wonder whether IndyCars would amplify those risks.
While IndyCar has not announced any plans to race at the track anytime soon, fan support wouldn’t be in the series corner if they chose to do so.
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