HAMPTON, Ga. – The curtain fell twice on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With construction set to begin next week on the repaving and reconfiguration of the 1.54-mile paved oval just south of Atlanta, the final Xfinity Series played out on the current layout today.

It turns out it was also the swan song for the series’ all-time winner, Kyle Busch, who dominated and won today’s Credit Karma Money 250, despite a testy battle with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Daniel Hemric during the closing laps.

Busch confirmed in victory lane what many had suspected; his 102^nd career Xfinity Series win today was also his final start in NASCAR’s junior circuit.

“Rowdy Nation will have to find something else to do on Saturdays,” said Busch, who wound up winning all five Xfinity Series races he entered this season.

After Busch started on the pole and led with relative ease during the first half of the 164-lap race, Hemric managed to forge his way to the lead following a pit stop sequence, which would prove to be a thorn for Busch.

But Hemric’s half-second lead over Busch with 17 laps remaining was wiped out when the caution waved. Busch would go onto say during his post-race press briefing that he had doubts if he could have run down Hemric if the race had stayed green.

The next-to-last caution set up a dramatic dash to the checkered flag. On the restart with three laps to go and Busch lined up behind him, Hemric got sideways entering Turn 1 after the No. 54 Camry tagged his rear bumper.

Hemric, who led 45 laps, had to settle for a disappointing 30-place finish. He also fell from first to third in the series driver standings.

“It’s what could have been, I guess,” said Hemric, who continues to seek his first Xfinity victory. “I know (being hit by Busch) was unintentional. But I couldn’t hang on to it. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

When asked to reflect on winning the final Xfinity race on this layout before construction commences here, Busch was unfiltered in his response.

Busch was particularly unnerved about this week’s announcement on the increase in banking, narrowing of the track and predicted pack racing that will follow.

“Barring getting into Hemric and him crashing, I’m sure damn glad to win the final Xfinity Series race on a real Atlanta racetrack,” Busch said. “Because the next one is just going to be a showpiece and it’s going to be shit.”

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For decades, the late “Captain” Herb Emory was a fixture each time the gates opened at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Best known in Atlanta as a traffic copter reporter, Emory was also a huge advocate for motorsports through his weekly racing show on WSB Radio, which provided updates on AMS, NASCAR and short track racing throughout the southeast.

After Emory passed away unexpectedly in 2014, his pupil-in-waiting, Doug “Fireball” Turnbull stepped forward.

A familiar voice to motorists today on Atlanta traffic updates to WSB Radio listeners, Turnbull’s passion for racing rivals his legendary predecessor.

Turnbull and Chase Elliott’s famous uncle, Dan Elliott, host a popular racing podcast each week known as Five to Go.

Turnbull’s big break came five years ago when he convinced Performance Racing Network boss Doug Rice to give him a shot as a pit reporter during a NASCAR event in Atlanta.

Turbull managed to impress and his role on pit road for PRN continues to grow, including working this weekend’s Cup and Xfinity races at his home track in Atlanta. He has also worked a handful of races for PRN as a turn announcer.

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One of the oddest national anthems in the history of the Xfinity Series occurred during the pre-race for today’s Credit Karma Money 250.

Megan Danielle’s version of the Star Spangled Banner coincided with a power failure in the control tower that resulted in the track’s entire Public Address system going silent.

As teams assembled in formation up-and-down pit road, there was confusion over when the national anthem would begin.

In reality, it was already underway.

Near the exit of pit road, pole sitter Kyle Busch stood alongside his No. 54 still wearing his hat as a very vocal fan in the grandstands begin singing the anthem.

Busch quickly removed his hat and smiled as other fans cranked up their vocal chords to honor America.

The power outage also knocked out the air conditioning in many of the suites, including the NBC and PRN broadcast booths.

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With construction to repave and reconfigure Atlanta Motor Speedway set on Monday, the track’s popular Summer Legends Series known as Thursday Thunder has been forced to find a new home.

For two decades, fans flocked to AMS on Thursday nights during the summer to watch drivers battle on the front stretch and pit road quarter-mile bullrings in Legends, Thunder Roadsters and Bandoleros.

After six rounds of the series at its home base, the final four races will trek about 50 miles to the northeast to compete on the .375-mile paved oval formerly known as Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, Ga.

Former Cup Series driver Ken Ragan oversees the series.

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