Wednesday, February 24, 2016

2016 NASCAR Week 2 Preview: Atlanta

Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500

Atlanta Motor Speedway


By Richard Tix

One race down and thirty five to go. The official start to the NASCAR season has now come and gone and we get to settle into the normal week to week. Preseason testing and adjusting to new rules and packages is over. All the work put it will now be tested during a long season with up's and downs.

No matter the style, pack racing or tandem, Daytona is Daytona. It is a great way to start the year but we learn the most after we leave Florida. Atlanta will be the first test for teams and for us to gauge where everyone is at. Will Roush Fenway Racing get it turned around in 2016? Will JGR keep their hot streak going? Will Team Penske be the team to keep up with JGR? Will Hendrick turn it back around an dominate?

All of these questions are hard to know 100% after Daytona, but we will start learning more about them after Atlanta. So, make sure to tune in this week and come back to Behind the Wall for the review as I am sure we will know a lot more.


**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good
  • Jimmie Johnson- JJ won last season at Atlanta and was the second driver locked into the 2015 Chase because of it. In the last 7 races here JJ has only once ran on average outside of 11th (2013) and finished top 5 in four of those. He has four career wins, 13 top 5's, and 15 top 10's in 24 Atlanta starts.
  • Matt Kenseth- Kenseth has probably the best career numbers of current drivers at Atlanta without a win. Last year he actually didn't run all that great (only ran 67% of the race in the top 15) but he had a strong finish to notch a top 5 (5th).
  • Kevin Harvick- Career long, ATL hasn't been "Happy's" best track, but lately he has been very good at this 1.5. He has eight top 10's in his last eleven starts here including runner up to JJ in 2015. He only has one win at AMS which was his first ever race here which many still remember. His five straight races of 100+ driver rating is nice and it includes three of the at 123+.
The Middle
  • Paul Menard- Atlanta sure isn't one of Menards best tracks, but lately he has been finishing fairly well here. He will most likely be good for a top 20 finish but is a guy you can normally count out of the top 10. 
The Bad
  • Clint Bowyer- 15 career starts and just five top 10's (zero top 5's). 2011 was the last time Bowyer ran 70% or more of a race in the top 15. 2010 was the last time he finished in the top 10 or even better then 24th (7th). Atlanta just hasn't been a good stop for Bowyer.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr- After starting on the pole in 2013, everything has been downhill for Ricky at Atlanta. He finished that 2013 race 16th (which is still his best finish). The last two years he finished 20th and 36th (2015). The worst thing is his drivers rating has gone down from the 70's in 2013, 60's in 2014, and 50's just last season. 
  • Jamie McMurray- JMac maybe the best of this bunch, but that still isn't anything to be happy about. His last top to was 2008, however he does have five top 15's in that time (10 races). He has never (since 2005) posted a driver rating of 99 or above. 


About the Track
Track Stats
  • Fireball Roberts won the first Cup race at Atlanta in 1960 after starting on the Pole.
  • A Atlanta Cup race has been won 11 times from the Pole. Only twice since 1991.
  • Last time the race was won from the Pole was 2006 when Kasey Kahne won.
  • Bobby Labonte won after starting 39th in 2001. The furthest back anyone has started and won at ATL
  • A Atlanta race has been won five times from 30+ starting position including 2015 when Jimmie Johnson won from 37th.
  • Since 2011 NASCAR has only ran one race at ATL each season. For the 2015 season ATL was moved from towards the end of the regular season to the beginning of the season.
  • Fords last win was in 2008 (Carl Edwards). Carl also won in 2005 (twice). The last Ford driver not named Carl Edwards to win was Kurt Busch in 2002 (Carl now drives Toyota).
Track Info
  • Length
    • 1.54 miles
  • Banking
    • Turns: 24 degrees
    • Straights: 5 degrees
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race
Cars
Winner(s)
St
Make / Model
1960-27
45
Fireball Roberts
1
'60 Pontiac
1960-44
45
Bobby Johns
5
'60 Pontiac
1961-09
46
Bob Burdick
7
'61 Pontiac
1961-33
42
Fred Lorenzen
5
'61 Ford
1961-46
42
David Pearson
5
'61 Pontiac
1962-24
46
Fred Lorenzen
7
'62 Ford
1962-53
44
Rex White
5
'62 Chevrolet
1963-11
46
Fred Lorenzen
2
'63 Ford
1963-28
36
Junior Johnson
2
'63 Chevrolet
1964-13
39
Fred Lorenzen
1
'64 Ford
1964-28
35
Ned Jarrett
17
'64 Ford
1965-09
44
Marvin Panch
1
'65 Ford
1965-25
42
Marvin Panch
2
'65 Ford
1966-08
44
Jim Hurtubise
5
'66 Plymouth
1966-37
44
Richard Petty
5
'66 Plymouth
1967-10
44
Cale Yarborough
1
'67 Ford
1967-36
44
Dick Hutcherson
8
'67 Ford
1968-07
44
Cale Yarborough
4
'68 Mercury
1968-33
40
LeeRoy Yarbrough
5
'68 Mercury
1969-10
40
Cale Yarborough
5
'69 Mercury
1969-36
40
LeeRoy Yarbrough
2
'69 Ford
1970-08
40
Bobby Allison
9
'69 Dodge
1970-31
40
Richard Petty
6
'70 Plymouth
1971-10
40
A.J. Foyt
1
'69 Mercury
1971-33
40
Richard Petty
3
'71 Plymouth
1972-06
40
Bobby Allison
1
'72 Chevrolet
1972-20
40
Bobby Allison
3
'72 Chevrolet
1973-06
40
David Pearson
9
'71 Mercury
1973-19
40
David Pearson
5
'71 Mercury
1974-06
36
Cale Yarborough
9
'74 Chevrolet
1974-19
36
Richard Petty
2
'74 Dodge
1975-06
36
Richard Petty
1
'74 Dodge
1975-29
36
Buddy Baker
3
'75 Ford
1976-06
36
David Pearson
2
Mercury
1976-29
36
Dave Marcis
2
Dodge
1977-05
42
Richard Petty
1
Dodge
1977-29
40
Darrell Waltrip
8
Chevrolet
1978-05
40
Bobby Allison
4
Ford
1978-29
39
Donnie Allison
13
Chevrolet
1979-05
40
Buddy Baker
1
Oldsmobile
1979-30
41
Neil Bonnett
4
Mercury
1980-05
41
Dale Earnhardt
31
Chevrolet
1980-30
40
Cale Yarborough
12
Chevrolet
1981-05
42
Cale Yarborough
17
Buick
1981-30
40
Neil Bonnett
5
Ford
1982-04
40
Darrell Waltrip
14
Buick
1982-29
40
Bobby Allison
9
Buick
1983-04
41
Cale Yarborough
22
Chevrolet
1983-29
39
Neil Bonnett
15
Chevrolet
1984-04
40
Benny Parsons
8
Chevrolet
1984-29
41
Dale Earnhardt
10
Chevrolet
1985-04
41
Bill Elliott
3
Ford
1985-27
42
Bill Elliott
3
Ford
1986-04
42
Morgan Shepherd
3
Buick
1986-28
42
Dale Earnhardt
4
Chevrolet
1987-04
41
Ricky Rudd
6
Ford
1987-29
42
Bill Elliott
1
Ford
1988-04
42
Dale Earnhardt
2
Chevrolet
1988-29
42
Rusty Wallace
1
Pontiac
1989-03
42
Darrell Waltrip
4
Chevrolet
1989-29
42
Dale Earnhardt
3
Chevrolet
1990-04
40
Dale Earnhardt
1
Chevrolet
1990-29
41
Morgan Shepherd
20
Ford
1991-04
40
Ken Schrader
5
Chevrolet
1991-29
40
Mark Martin
4
Ford
1992-04
42
Bill Elliott
4
Ford
1992-29
41
Bill Elliott
11
Ford
1993-04
40
Morgan Shepherd
7
Ford
1993-30
42
Rusty Wallace
20
Pontiac
1994-04
42
Ernie Irvan
7
Ford
1994-31
43
Mark Martin
5
Ford
1995-04
42
Jeff Gordon
3
Chevrolet
1995-31
42
Dale Earnhardt
11
Chevrolet
1996-04
41
Dale Earnhardt
18
Chevrolet
1996-31
42
Bobby Labonte
1
Chevrolet
1997-04
42
Dale Jarrett
9
Ford
1997-32
43
Bobby Labonte
21
Pontiac
1998-04
43
Bobby Labonte
14
Pontiac
1998-33
43
Jeff Gordon
21
Chevrolet
1999-04
43
Jeff Gordon
8
Chevrolet
1999-34
43
Bobby Labonte
37
Pontiac
2000-04
43
Dale Earnhardt
35
Chevrolet
2000-34
43
Jerry Nadeau
2
Chevrolet
2001-04
43
Kevin Harvick
5
Chevrolet
2001-35
43
Bobby Labonte
39
Pontiac
2002-04
43
Tony Stewart
9
Pontiac
2002-33
43
Kurt Busch
8
Ford
2003-04
43
Bobby Labonte
4
Chevrolet
2003-33
43
Jeff Gordon
19
Chevrolet
2004-04
43
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
7
Chevrolet
2004-33
43
Jimmie Johnson
8
Chevrolet
2005-04
43
Carl Edwards
4
Ford
2005-33
43
Carl Edwards
2
Ford
2006-04
43
Kasey Kahne
1
Dodge
2006-33
43
Tony Stewart
11
Chevrolet
2007-04
43
Jimmie Johnson
3
Chevrolet
2007-33
43
Jimmie Johnson
6
Chevrolet
2008-04
43
Kyle Busch
6
Toyota
2008-33
43
Carl Edwards
4
Ford
2009-04
43
Kurt Busch
2
Dodge
2009-25
43
Kasey Kahne
2
Dodge
2010-04
43
Kurt Busch
11
Dodge
2010-25
43
Tony Stewart
5
Chevrolet
2011-25
43
Jeff Gordon
5
Chevrolet
2012-25
43
Denny Hamlin
7
Toyota
2013-25
43
Kyle Busch
9
Toyota
2014-25
43
Kasey Kahne
10
Chevrolet
2015-02
43
Jimmie Johnson
37
Chevrolet



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