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We are at Atlanta Motor Speedway! One of my personal favorites of all-time. I absolutely love the high speeds at this place. The practice schedule/ fall off is an fantasy nascar analysis dream. Especially since final practice is about the same as the race (just different days). Also the fall is huge here. Just comparing an driver total fall off from an short to an long run should tell you a lot. Expect the fastest cars to be up front. Its doesn't matter where you start.
1-JMac: JMac wasn't bad at all. He showed nice run speed. He have showed promise as an top 15 option. Unfortunately doesn't have enough upside to be a solid threat on Sunday night. I have him finishing 13th. He should be a nice start save.
2-Brad Keselowski: Folks he fast again. What a shocker , right? BK starts 2nd. Doesn't have an top 5 car based off practice. But they could be just trying different things out. His strength is long run speed. Usually those are the guys who will have best chance to win.
3-Austin Dillon: Not bad overall. I thought he would be an top 20 guy with top 15 upside. His practice results reflected that. Despite that , he will once again be overshadowed by Kyle Larson. Dillon will bring nice value , but he will be vastly overlooked.
4-Kevin Harvick: In my opinion , Harvick have the 2nd or 3rd best car overall. He struggled a bit in traffic. Fix that problem , KV is the odd on favorite. He should make an great option on Sunday. Harvick was freaky fast on the long run. He had a poor 10 lap average , but fortunately he posted his best lap average late in the run. Which is usually significantly slower then those who post their best ten lap average within the first 10 laps. Realistically he is the man to beat with the pole in hand.
5-Kasey Kahne: Meh..Kahne doesn't really excites me. I have him penciled in as an top 15 with top 10 upside. Unfortunately brings too much risk to be considered an threat. I don't like Kahne chances to make the chase at this rate.
10-Danica Patrick: Danica was about average. She wasn't great , but she wasn't horrible either. I don't expect anything better then 18th. Realistically she will likely finish from 20-25th place range. This isn't necessary an place , I would want to use her. Big reason is cars run extremely close to wall with speeds topping 180 mph.
11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin have been solid all weekend long. He look poised to be least top 10 material. His showed nice long run speed. Something which should serve him well as the race goes on.
14-Tony Stewart: Smoke was pretty solid overall. He will start just outside the top 10. Posted an strong ten lap average in final practice. My gut tells me , Smoke may surprise people with an stout run on Sunday.
16-Greg Biffle: The Biff have been solid for the last 4 weeks. In fact , RFR have been solid for 4 weeks now. Just around the time , Biff said RFR could be strong in the incoming weeks. He wasn't strong. Biff looks to be an top 10 option for Sunday race. Not sure about top 5 though.
18-Kyle Busch: Busch been good , I guess. But that's about it. Haven't shown the speed , I wanted to see. On the positive side ,I thought the 18 car was close to an top 5 car. If that the case , Busch could catch people off guard. Realistically Busch an top 10 option.
20-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth been overlooked this week. I expect great things from MK on Sunday. He posted the best lap in final practice and seems to solid on the long run. Want a dark horse? Here your man.
22-Joey Logano: JoLo had one of the best cars overall. Outside of Gordon , JoLo makes an strong case on having the best car. Logano was stout in every practice session. Most noticeably , he was blazing fast on the long run.
24-Jeff Gordon: Folks I would not be shocked , If Jeff Gordon goes to VL on Sunday night. He was fast all weekend long. Gordon posted the best 5 , 10, 15 lap average. Great , right? I thought so too. Unfortunately falls off as a run goes on. He looked top 5 though.
27-Paul Menard: Old Paul Menard is under the radar as Garry Briggs (@Gbriggs12) predicted on Tuesday. He put himself more under the radar by qualifying bad. Fortunately qualifying means almost nothing at 1.5 venues such as Atlanta. Menard posted consistent laps times in practice and an top 15 value. With top 10 upside. I expect an nice run by PM.
31-Ryan Newman: RN starts inside the top 5. I love Newman chances at an top 10. He was pretty good on a long run I would say. He posted consistent laps times. I have Newman finishing 11th on Sunday night. Even though I could see an top 10 out of him.
33-Ty Dillon: Dillon will make his first start in the Sprint Cup Series on Sunday night. Many speculated weather or not Dillon is an good option this week. Practice indicated , Dillon is nothing more then an top 25 option on Sunday night.
42-Kyle Larson: Larson been fast all weekend. I am not shocked though. Everything points to Larson having a great run on Sunday. Solid practice results , great starting position and among other things. Larson tend to excel on worn out surfaces. He definitely could end in VL.
48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson looked pretty good I must say. Team 48 now trying get into chase form its seems. Just like that , they turned it on. Just few weeks ago , Johnson could not finish in the top 10 to save his life. Johnson strength was the long run like his teammates. I expect least an top 10.
55-Brain Vickers: Vickers is questionable as an safe option. Even though Atlanta been a great place for him. Same thing was said about Bristol. BV cannot be trusted. I remembered learning the hard way at Dover. Vickers struggled a bit in practice. There are better options.
88-Dale Jr: Dale Jr was strong on the long runs no doubt. I expect him to charge to the front fairly quick. He was good in all 3 practice sessions. He least an top 10 option heading. If not more.
99-Carl Edwards: Edwards and RFR cars been looking good lately. Seems like they are catching up as the chase approaching. Edwards was good I guess. To me , he an top 15 option. I still don't trust the RFR cars. Least not to the chase comes around.
Okay that it for me. Hopefully my articles are helpful to everyone. Need help setting your lineup. Send me an tweet on Twitter : @JeffNathans.
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Thanks for reading
Jeff Nathans