2017 NASCAR Week 2: Atlanta

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

Atlanta Motor Speedway

By Richard Tix

Week two of the NASCAR season is where the real season starts. The jitters to get the season started are over with and the hopes of winning the 2017 Daytona 500 are now gone for everyone but Kurt Busch. The season grind is about to start and for the next 25 races we will figure out who is strong enough to make the 2017 Playoffs.

Daytona is fun and all, but it really doesn't give us a ton of information on how teams will attack the new season. It's hard to see which teams have an early season advantage on others and which teams are still fast. It's tough to see if a manufacturing change will effect SHR, its hard to see if JGR focusing on last years package and not the new one late in the season will mean anything. Its almost impossible to see if RCR or RFR may make strides in 2017 and none of those things are even mentioning how the young guns might fair in the new season.

However, some of those answers will start to take shape this week at AMS. Not only will some team storylines start taking shape but we can get a better grasp on how the new stages and 5 min rule will work on NASCAR's typical track (meaning, not a plate track). 1.5 mile tracks rule the NASCAR schedule so this weekend will be a good test to seeing how the rules were thought to actually play out on a typical week.

The real season will dip into full swing this week, so strap in folks, it's going to be a fun and wild ride.

**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 has come away the victory at ATL the last two season's after starting 19th and 37th. If that doesn't say it all, I am not sure what does. Even though Atlanta is a place you can make moves early, it is still impressive what he has done here lately.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr- Junior's last five starts here include four top ten's and five finishes inside the top 11. He also has back to back top fives coming into this weekend (2016 and 2015).
• Kevin Harvick- Harvick's first career win came at Atlanta which most die hard NASCAR fans know and remember clearly. But in the middle of then and now he really fell off at Atlanta production wise. Since 2008 he has started to flip the script again with nine top ten's in twelve races, but he is still looking for win number two here.

The Middle

• Kyle Busch- It's tough to put a finger on Kyle at Atlanta. He has two career wins here (2008 and 2013), but in between it has been a rollercoaster. Last year he finished third after starting 39th so I tend to think he is heading up right now, hoping their is no fall this time.

The Bad

• Clint Bowyer- Six straight finishes of 24th or worse for Bowyer at Atlanta. Maybe the changing of teams to SHR will help him correct what's been going on at AMS?
• Jamie McMurray- Four top ten's in 23 career starts and an average finish of 20.6 are not stat's you want following your name around. His last top 10 came in 2008 and since then only has four top 15's in ten races.
• Kasey Kahne- Back to back weeks on the "Bad" list is concerning to me -- sorry Kahne fans, sorry PETM. The bright side? Kahne maybe the first driver on my "Bad" list to have three wins at a specific track which means he has the potential to turn it around and in a big way. However, sandwiching his 2014 win are finishes including 32nd, 34th, 23rd, 36th, 14th, and 23rd. 

About the Track: Atlanta

Track Stats

• Fireball Roberts won the first Cup race at Atlanta in 1960 after starting on the Pole.
• An 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
• An 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.

Track Info

• Length - 1.54 miles
• Banking
• Turns: 24 degrees
• Straights: 5 degrees