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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

2015 Week 2 Preview: Atlanta

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500

By Richard Tix

In 2015 we move from the Daytona 500 right into Atlanta Motor Speedway after NASCAR moved a few dated around on the schedule. In 2014 Atlanta's only stop on the schedule was race 25 which is one race (Richmond) before the Chase starts. 

In 2014 Kasey Kahne picked up a late season win to lock himself into the Chase making him the fourth and final Hendrick car to do so. This year drivers will be looking for an early season victory to ease there minds when thinking about their Chase chances.

At the Daytona 500 Joey Logano came away as the first driver to pretty much lock his spot in the Chase. In 2014 we saw what that did for Dale Earnhardt's confidence and after the year JoLo just came off there is no reason not to expect the same for him.

Atlanta will be a huge test for teams as we will get to see the new car package and how teams will adjust to it. Who will be NASCAR's early season adapters? Will 2014's top teams adjust and stay on top? And the most interesting, will some small teams figure it out early and push the "big boys" to adjust quicker and widen the gap? 


(A look back at recent driver results and where they place)

The Good
  • Jeff Gordon- Could this be Gordons last stop at Atlanta Motor Speedway? We will be asking that a lot this season, but its fun to look at his career 41 starts here. He has 5 career ATL wins which is most of any full time driver (Bobby Labonte has 6, but wont run full time). He has 11 top 10's, 6 top 5's, and a win (2011) in his last 15 ATL starts. 
  • Jimmie Johnson- Over half the time in JJ's career he has finished in the top five at ATL. He has 12 top 5's in 23 starts (14 top 10's). He also has 3 career wins here. After starting 16th last year JJ finished fourth but didn't lead a single lap. He is still a front runner when NASCAR heads to ATL, though.
  • Carl Edwards- His career at Atlanta has been top 10 or bust. He literally has either finished top 10 or outside the top 30 in every race (except one, 18th). He still has 3 wins, 9 top 5's, and 11 top 10's in 17 starts.
  • Extra Credit- Kyle Larson (Only one career start at Cup level. 8th)
The Middle
  • Greg Biffle- The Biff never seems to blow people away at Atlanta, but it is a style of driving he is comfortable with. Most of his career finishes at ATL have been between 7-16th (12 finishes in 20 career starts). He only has four career finishes better than 7th, but you can expect him to find a quality finish in the middle.
The Bad
  • Brad Keselowski- What is it about Atlanta that brings out the bad luck in BK? In his last two starts at ATL he has lead in both races, but been affected by an engine issue and been in a wreck. If he stays clean he may end up like Kasey Kahne did last season (I had him in the bad category due to bad luck, but said he might turn it around).
  • Casey Mears- 19 career starts and zero top 10's for Mears. ATL hasn't been one of his best tracks, but he does hang around the mid 20's at the end of every race. So, it isn't that he is horrible here, but I wouldn't expect many top 10 performances. 
  • Clint Bowyer- Just like BK, Bowyer has had some rough luck here lately. In his last four races, two were effected by an engine and a wreck. He doesn't have a top 5 in in 14 attempts, but he could pull of a top 10 from time to time. 
Track Stats
  • Fireball Roberts won the first Cup race at Atlanta in 1960 after starting on the Pole.
  • An Cup Atlanta 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
  • Since 2011 NASCAR has only ran one race at ATL each season. 
  • In the last 18 races the race has been won from someone starting in the top 11. 16 of those were in the top 10. 
  • 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).

Atlanta Motor Speedway
Race
Date
Cars
Winner(s)
St
Car
1960-27
7/31/1960
45
Fireball Roberts
1
'60 Pontiac
1960-44
10/30/1960
45
Bobby Johns
5
'60 Pontiac
1961-09
3/26/1961
46
Bob Burdick
7
'61 Pontiac
1961-33
7/9/1961
42
Fred Lorenzen
5
'61 Ford
1961-46
9/17/1961
42
David Pearson
5
'61 Pontiac
1962-24
6/10/1962
46
Fred Lorenzen
7
'62 Ford
1962-53
10/28/1962
44
Rex White
5
'62 Chevrolet
1963-11
3/17/1963
46
Fred Lorenzen
2
'63 Ford
1963-28
6/30/1963
36
Junior Johnson
2
'63 Chevrolet
1964-13
4/5/1964
39
Fred Lorenzen
1
'64 Ford
1964-28
6/7/1964
35
Ned Jarrett
17
'64 Ford
1965-09
4/11/1965
44
Marvin Panch
1
'65 Ford
1965-25
6/13/1965
42
Marvin Panch
2
'65 Ford
1966-08
3/27/1966
44
Jim Hurtubise
5
'66 Plymouth
1966-37
8/7/1966
42
Richard Petty
5
'66 Plymouth
1967-10
4/2/1967
44
Cale Yarborough
1
'67 Ford
1967-36
8/6/1967
44
Dick Hutcherson
8
'67 Ford
1968-07
3/31/1968
44
Cale Yarborough
4
'68 Mercury
1968-33
8/4/1968
40
LeeRoy Yarbrough
5
'68 Mercury
1969-10
3/30/1969
40
Cale Yarborough
5
'69 Mercury
1969-36
8/10/1969
40
LeeRoy Yarbrough
2
'69 Ford
1970-08
3/29/1970
40
Bobby Allison
9
'69 Dodge
1970-31
8/2/1970
40
Richard Petty
6
'70 Plymouth
1971-10
4/4/1971
40
A.J. Foyt
1
'69 Mercury
1971-33
8/1/1971
40
Richard Petty
3
'71 Plymouth
1972-06
3/26/1972
40
Bobby Allison
1
'72 Chevrolet
1972-20
7/23/1972
40
Bobby Allison
3
'72 Chevrolet
1973-06
4/1/1973
40
David Pearson
9
'71 Mercury
1973-19
7/22/1973
40
David Pearson
5
'71 Mercury
1974-06
3/24/1974
36
Cale Yarborough
9
'74 Chevrolet
1974-19
7/28/1974
36
Richard Petty
2
'74 Dodge
1975-06
3/23/1975
36
Richard Petty
1
'74 Dodge
1975-29
11/9/1975
36
Buddy Baker
3
'75 Ford
1976-06
3/21/1976
36
David Pearson
2
Mercury
1976-29
11/7/1976
36
Dave Marcis
2
Dodge
1977-05
3/20/1977
42
Richard Petty
1
Dodge
1977-29
11/6/1977
40
Darrell Waltrip
8
Chevrolet
1978-05
3/19/1978
40
Bobby Allison
4
Ford
1978-29
11/5/1978
39
Donnie Allison
13
Chevrolet
1979-05
3/18/1979
40
Buddy Baker
1
Oldsmobile
1979-30
11/4/1979
41
Neil Bonnett
4
Mercury
1980-05
3/16/1980
41
Dale Earnhardt
31
Chevrolet
1980-30
11/2/1980
40
Cale Yarborough
12
Chevrolet
1981-05
3/15/1981
42
Cale Yarborough
17
Buick
1981-30
11/8/1981
40
Neil Bonnett
5
Ford
1982-04
3/21/1982
40
Darrell Waltrip
14
Buick
1982-29
11/7/1982
40
Bobby Allison
9
Buick
1983-04
3/27/1983
41
Cale Yarborough
22
Chevrolet
1983-29
11/6/1983
39
Neil Bonnett
15
Chevrolet
1984-04
3/18/1984
40
Benny Parsons
8
Chevrolet
1984-29
11/11/1984
41
Dale Earnhardt
10
Chevrolet
1985-04
3/17/1985
41
Bill Elliott
3
Ford
1985-27
11/3/1985
42
Bill Elliott
3
Ford
1986-04
3/16/1986
42
Morgan Shepherd
3
Buick
1986-28
11/2/1986
42
Dale Earnhardt
4
Chevrolet
1987-04
3/15/1987
41
Ricky Rudd
6
Ford
1987-29
11/22/1987
42
Bill Elliott
1
Ford
1988-04
3/20/1988
42
Dale Earnhardt
2
Chevrolet
1988-29
11/20/1988
42
Rusty Wallace
1
Pontiac
1989-03
3/19/1989
42
Darrell Waltrip
4
Chevrolet
1989-29
11/19/1989
42
Dale Earnhardt
3
Chevrolet
1990-04
3/18/1990
40
Dale Earnhardt
1
Chevrolet
1990-29
11/18/1990
41
Morgan Shepherd
20
Ford
1991-04
3/18/1991
40
Ken Schrader
5
Chevrolet
1991-29
11/17/1991
40
Mark Martin
4
Ford
1992-04
3/15/1992
42
Bill Elliott
4
Ford
1992-29
11/15/1992
41
Bill Elliott
11
Ford
1993-04
3/20/1993
40
Morgan Shepherd
7
Ford
1993-30
11/14/1993
42
Rusty Wallace
20
Pontiac
1994-04
3/13/1994
42
Ernie Irvan
7
Ford
1994-31
11/13/1994
43
Mark Martin
5
Ford
1995-04
3/12/1995
42
Jeff Gordon
3
Chevrolet
1995-31
11/12/1995
42
Dale Earnhardt
11
Chevrolet
1996-04
3/10/1996
41
Dale Earnhardt
18
Chevrolet
1996-31
11/10/1996
42
Bobby Labonte
1
Chevrolet
1997-04
3/9/1997
42
Dale Jarrett
9
Ford
1997-32
11/16/1997
43
Bobby Labonte
21
Pontiac
1998-04
3/9/1998
43
Bobby Labonte
14
Pontiac
1998-33
11/8/1998
43
Jeff Gordon
21
Chevrolet
1999-04
3/14/1999
43
Jeff Gordon
8
Chevrolet
1999-34
11/21/1999
43
Bobby Labonte
37
Pontiac
2000-04
3/12/2000
43
Dale Earnhardt
35
Chevrolet
2000-34
11/20/2000
43
Jerry Nadeau
2
Chevrolet
2001-04
3/11/2001
43
Kevin Harvick
5
Chevrolet
2001-35
11/18/2001
43
Bobby Labonte
39
Pontiac
2002-04
3/10/2002
43
Tony Stewart
9
Pontiac
2002-33
10/27/2002
43
Kurt Busch
8
Ford
2003-04
3/9/2003
43
Bobby Labonte
4
Chevrolet
2003-33
10/27/2003
43
Jeff Gordon
19
Chevrolet
2004-04
3/14/2004
43
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
7
Chevrolet
2004-33
10/31/2004
43
Jimmie Johnson
8
Chevrolet
2005-04
3/20/2005
43
Carl Edwards
4
Ford
2005-33
10/30/2005
43
Carl Edwards
2
Ford
2006-04
3/20/2006
43
Kasey Kahne
1
Dodge
2006-33
10/29/2006
43
Tony Stewart
11
Chevrolet
2007-04
3/18/2007
43
Jimmie Johnson
3
Chevrolet
2007-33
10/28/2007
43
Jimmie Johnson
6
Chevrolet
2008-04
3/9/2008
43
Kyle Busch
6
Toyota
2008-33
10/26/2008
43
Carl Edwards
4
Ford
2009-04
3/8/2009
43
Kurt Busch
2
Dodge
2009-25
9/6/2009
43
Kasey Kahne
2
Dodge
2010-04
3/7/2010
43
Kurt Busch
11
Dodge
2010-25
9/5/2010
43
Tony Stewart
5
Chevrolet
2011-25
9/6/2011
43
Jeff Gordon
5
Chevrolet
2012-25
9/2/2012
43
Denny Hamlin
7
Toyota
2013-25
9/1/2013
43
Kyle Busch
9
Toyota
2014-25
8/31/2014
43
Kasey Kahne
10
Chevrolet


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