Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
By Richard Tix
What to Watch For?
This is Where the Season Starts
- The Daytona 500 is great. I mean, come on, its "the great American race" after all. The season technically kicks off with the Daytona 500, but we don't learn a ton at superspeedways, especially the first one of the season. This Sunday, story lines will start to form that we will see play out into mid season. Things such as which drivers look fast and which teams/manufacturers have the early season edge.
- Speaking of the season getting started, AMS will give us our first real look at which teams and manufacturers have an early season jump on speed at 1.5 mile tracks. Last year Ford started out fast, but Toyota wasn't far behind and by mid season we saw Toyota take off. This year all the talk has been around ALL of the manufacturers. The talk about Toyota is how fast they were in 2017 and if anyone will catch them in 2018? The talk with Chevy is the all new Camaro and if it will push them to the top? The talk with Ford is that they could be trailing behind because the Ford Fusion hasn't got a redesign as recent as Toyota and Chevy. So, what will come true? Our first sign will be at AMS, but the story lines change throughout the season so what is true now may not be true by the ASR.
Driver (current and past) Reactions to the Track Surface
- After the success of the AMS race last year, the track decided to put off the track resurfacing they were planning to be in place for this season. Drivers from current to past chimed in saying how great it was to have a surface that wore tires out and have cars fall off (basically, most of the drivers loved it). It was such a positive response that the resurface never happened. The question is, could it get put off another year? I will be interested to hear what drivers and fans alike have to say all weekend long. One thing in certain, the track does eventually need the resurface before it starts falling apart mid race, but balancing that with how many races they can get out of it before doing it is worth the watch.
Tire Watch 2018
- We have a 100% chance tires will be a story line this weekend at AMS. Why? Well read the above section if you haven't yet and then come back to this one. Back yet? Ok here we go. This track surface is going to eat these Goodyears up and tire strategy will play a large role in Sundays drama. How drivers and teams manage tire ware on Sunday could have a huge effect on where they finish and who takes a trip to victory lane.
**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 - New Camaro, five career AMS wins, two wins in his last three starts here, yeah I have JJ as a favorite this weekend.
- Kurt Busch - Will Ford hold him back? Last year in his first year with Ford at SHR he finished 7th but didn't have winning speed. He has nine top tens (two wins) in his last 13 starts at AMS.
- Kevin Harvick - Another Ford driver which will make the early season manufacturer story lines even more interesting, Harvick has nine top tens in his last eleven AMS races including two runner ups and two pole awards.
- Kasey Kahne - Kasey has three AMS wins, including his clutch win in 2014 that got him into the then Chase (AMS was towards the end of the regular season then. However, he is with a new team and also has five finishes of 23rd or worse in his last eight starts.
The Bad
- Clint Bowyer - 17 career starts with just five top tens with his last one being in 2010. On the bright side he did finish 11th here last season.
- Austin Dillon - AD's best finish is 11th at AMS. His other four finishes are 19th or worse here.
- Paul Menard - New team, new number, and new manufacturer, maybe it means new results at AMS? If not, his past track record isn't great. Three top tens in his 16 career starts which his last being in 2012.
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