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Fantasy Nascar Preview -
1-JMac: JMac had a tough race at Daytona, a strong race but a tough one no doubt. He was someone I was concerned about after the duels on Thursday. As he was just too aggressive and it costed him in the Daytona 500. He got into Chase Elliott and well you can figure out the rest, I think. How will he do at Altanta? Well that is a very good question because I could see it going either way. He has proven he can run well here, but Ganassi cars has struggled the past two seasons here. Over his past two races at Atlanta, he has compiled 30.5 average finish with 18.5 average running position and 71.5 driver rating. It does not take a statistician to figure out that JMac been better than his 30.5 average finish since 2015. Yes, he has been better but his other numbers suggests he been at best a high-teen driver. 71.5 driver rating is garbage, even for him. To be fair, he did finish 40th in 2015. Still, even in last season's race he was bad. In 2016, he started 2nd, finished 21st, posted 19.0 average running position and 69.9 driver rating. The fact that his numbers went down, after you took out a DNF's race, should speak volumes right there. He does have some good finishes at Atalanta though. In his past 7 races, he has posted 4 finishes between 12th-16th. Problem is? 3 of his last 5 races at Atlanta ended in 21st or worse. I am not really sure what to make out of JMac for Altanta or the CGR cars honestly. It will be a wait and see kind of thing, I guess.
2-Brad Keselowski: I had higher hopes for Keselowski at Daytona, but that's okay. He had a good race up until the wreck. I like him at Atlanta, he been decent in recent years here, too. However, I wouldn't call this a really good or great track for him. Over his past 6 races here, he has finished 4 times inside the top 10. While in 8 career starts, he has compiled just 4 Top 10 finishes. Not terrible as he is batting half. Could be better though. More recently, he has posted good top 10 numbers overall. Over the past two seasons, he has compiled 9.0 average finish with 10.0 average running position and 93.3 driver rating. Not bad at all, but those aren't the usual top 5 numbers we want from him though. I do like Keselowski this week, but we have no data on the table to look back on. Problem with that? We have to depend on recent season's data and it says Keselowski will be just a top 10 driver. Will that be the case? I don't know, could be or could not. At this point it is anyone guess. He will be one of the drivers that I will be watching this weekend!
3-Austin Dillon: I was disappointed with Dillon at Daytona, honestly. He wasn't as much of a factor as I was expecting. He ended up in 19th place, while finishing one lap down. Not that good! And now, we turn our attention to Atlanta. This is track that I don't really have much faith in him at, like I would at other tracks. At Atlanta, his numbers are pretty limited and lackluster. Even though, he has only a few starts here now. In 4 career starts, Dillon only managed 2 Top 20 finishes and one of those were last year. His finishes look like this: 11th (2016), 39th, 24th and 19th. In last season's event, he had 11th place finish with 13.0 average running position and 82.9 driver rating. Not bad numbers at all, but I am hoping for more though. What to expect from him this weekend is hard to say. I need to see him on the track first. However, I would guess somewhere around a low-teen driver with enough upside to be a player for a top 10.
4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick is one of the biggest questions headed into the Atlanta's race. On one side, SHR moved from Chevy to Ford in the offseason. This would be their first real test of the season! On the other side, Harvick has amazing stats at Atlanta, so it is hard to overlook him. As of right now, I do have concerns but they will be answered once we get to practice. He has been great over the past couple seasons here though. In his past three races here, he has compiled 9.0 average finish with 3.0 average running position and 130.7 driver rating. While leading 116 or more laps in each of those three races. His numbers just get better as I look more into his numbers. His been awesome in 4 of his past 5 races at Atlanta. As he has led over 100 laps in 4 of those 5 races, while posting a driver rating of 120+ in each of those events as well. I am very interested in seeing how he does this weekend, starting with practice and qualifying.
5-Kasey Kahne: Kahne is always pretty good at Atlanta, I would call this one of his personal favorite tracks. For good reason, too. In 20 career starts, he has posted 7 Top 5 finishes and a total of 10 Top 10 finishes. Those are pretty good numbers overall, while being a 3-time winner at this place as well. Recently his numbers been down though. He won back in 2013 (the last summer race here). In his past 7 races, he has compiled 5 finishes of 23rd or worse. He finished 14th back in 2015, he was strong in that race, too. Was a top 5 contender in early portion of the race, until he faded late in the event. While that race is encouraging, he's posted a driver rating below 62.0 in 4 of his last 6 races here overall. That's pathetic! While that is not good at all, he did run well on the 1.5 mile tracks at end of last season. If you know what to expect from Kahne, then props to you. Because I am getting mixed signals here. Like most drivers, there's still a lot of unknowns heading into Atlanta!
11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin was a disappointment at the Daytona 500 but he will now look to rebound at Atlanta. Based on his career numbers, it may not end so well for him in race #2 either. In 17 career starts, Hamlin has only finished inside the top 15 in 8 races. While only posting 6 Top 10 finishes. Overall, he has compiled 18.0 average finish over 17 races. Not very good, I would say. He has ran well at Atlanta lately though. In his past three races here, he has compiled 19.0 average finish with 10.3 average running position and 92.2 driver rating. Of course, I am referring to his performance in-race numbers. Not his actual finishing position. 10.3 average running position and 92.2 driver rating is good. With all of that said, he had started off slow the past two seasons before getting it going in the 2nd half of the year. Will that be the case, again? Guess we could have some answers at Atlanta!
18-Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch was looking strong in the 500 (for most of his race) until he had a flat tire in front of a group of cars. He should bounce back nicely at Atlanta though. In his past four Atlanta races, he has compiled 6.5 average finish with 9.5 average running position and 101.1 driver rating. In last season's race, he had to start from 39th but still finish 3rd in that event. His in-race numbers weren't as good as they could had been. Considering he started basically dead last for the race. It took him a good while to get back to the front of the field. Let's look more into the data pool. In his last three races (he missed 2015 race), he has compiled two finishes of 3rd and 1st. He's won back in 2013. In fact, since joining JGR, he has posted 6 Top 5 finishes at this track. Overall, he had 11 starts with JGR. So little over half of the time, he has finished inside the top 5. I love Kyle Busch at Atlanta this weekend!
19-Daniel Suarez: Suarez had a tough race at Daytona for his cup debut. I didn't really expect much from him, so I am not too shocked by how it ended for him though. I really do expect him to be at his best on the intermediate tracks. I don't know how he will do at Atlanta this weekend, but I would say that he is a top 20 driver headed into the weekend. I don't think he will come close to what Edwards accomplished over the years here, but I do believe he should be good for a quality run in the top 20 or maybe mid-teens. Guess, we will find out by Saturday.
20-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth was involved in the Kyle Busch's wreck at Daytona and posted his first DNF of the season. Now, he will look to have a bounce back race at Atlanta. He had the car to beat in last season's race, but was black flagged after dominating the race early. Over the past three seasons here, he has compiled 8.7 average finish with 10.3 average running position and 107.5 driver rating. He finished 19th in last season's race but still posted 106.4 driver rating for the event. Despite, finishing 2 laps down. In the past 15 races, he has compiled 14 finishes of 12th or better. If he didn't get black flagged last season, his top 12 streak likely would had been intact still. Kenseth is just amazing here. For his career, he has posted an average finish of 12.2. He has ran well here for a long time and I expect nothing to change this weekend!
21-Ryan Blaney: Blaney was awesome at the Daytona 500 and impressed a lot of people, including myself as well. I was fairly high o him in my preview last week and he made me look good. Now onto Atlanta. On pure stats there is not a lot to look with Blaney. He doesn't have anything to really go on. The races he has ran in, they just aren't that good. The 21 team showed in 2016 that they are capable of running well on the 1.5 mile tracks. Like most every other driver, there are a lot of questions headed into the weekend. I expect Blaney to be a low-teen to middle teen driver with obvious upside.
22-Joey Logano: Logano had a good race at Daytona and finished 6th. He will now look to build on his solid start to the season. He has been very good at Atlanta with the #22 team so far in his career. In 4 starts, he has compiled 8.0 average finish with 7.0 average running position and 113.8 driver rating. While posting the 2nd-most laps led (162), 2nd-most fast laps (114), 2nd-best average running position (7.0), 2nd-best driver rating (113.8) in the last 4 Atlanta races. That says a lot about how strong the #22 car been in that span. His finishes in that span: 12th, 4th, 14th and 2nd. What does the trends say? He will finish inside the top 5. He finished inside the top 5 in 2015 and 2013. Great performances in both of those races. Led 75+ laps both times, while posting driver rating above 128.0 both races. I think Logano is one of the drivers that will benefit from this season's package, so I been pretty high on him. I think he is due for a big-race at Atlanta this weekend. I like him a lot, folks.
24-Chase Elliott: Elliott was ever so close to winning the Daytona 500 but ran out of fuel with just a few laps to go. He will turn his attention to Atlanta Motor Speedway. The site of his home racetrack. A place many people in the offseason predicted that Elliott would win his first race. It would be fitting, right? Elliott winning at the track that is located in his homestate? He ran very well here last season and showcased why he was the real deal. He was impressive with tire management in that race, it was the first race (at the cup level) where I said, ''wow this kid is something special''. On top of that, he ran very well on the 1.5 mile tracks all year in 2016 and was stout during the chase, too. He should had a couple wins actually. It is only a matter of time before he busts into victory lane! Could it be this weekend? I definitely wouldn't rule it out.
41-Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch won the biggest race of his life last Sunday, after making a late race pass on Kyle Larson. The 42 car was about out of fuel, so I don't think it would had matter much though. Kurt was so close, so many times! It was pretty cool to see him get it done at Daytona finally. He should be able to keep the momentum at Atlanta. In the past 13 races here, he has compiled 12 Top 13 finishes. More recently, he also has found a lot of success. In his past 5 races at Atlanta, he has compiled 3 top 5 finishes. That's great, but there is a problem. Listen to his last 7 races: 4th, 13th, 4th, 13th, 4th, 6th, 1st, 38th and 1st. Do you see a trend? Every other race he has finished inside the top 5 since the 2009 season. Problem is? He finished 4th in last season race. That's not a good sign for him, but it is not a death sentence either though. Trends can easily breaks at any given time. I have him penciled in as a solid top 10 driver for Sunday's race.
42-Kyle Larson: I thought Kyle Larson was going to win the 500 on Sunday after Elliott ran out of fuel, after that big-move around Truex. But of course then he ran out of fuel. That's just ironic, folks. Now, he will turn his attention to Atlatna. The CGR cars has struggled the past two seasons at Atlanta and haven't gotten good finishes. The 42 car struggled in both 2015 and 2016 at Atlanta on the long-run. That where he really fell through the running order in both races. In the past two races, he has compiled 26.0 average finish with 20.5 average running position and 63.7 driver rating. He finished 26th, posted 15.0 average running position and 76.3 driver rating in 2015. He wasn't terrible in that race, but was average at best, in my opinion. In last season's race, he was straight up bad! He posted 26.0 average running position and 51.1 driver rating. He's completed 1% of the laps inside the top 15. Do I need to say more? With all of that said, this was Larson and Johnston's first race together. I think that duo are on the same page right now. They hit their stride in 2nd half of last season. Question is will the CGR cars be slow to start the season again or will they come out swinging? Something I will be interested to see!
48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson is coming off a bad week/weekend at Daytona. Let's just say that Johnson is so ready to be at Atlanta. For more than one good reason, too. He been amazing at Atlanta in the past and is this event's defending winner! He been unstoppable the past couple seasons here and pretty much his entire career. In his past three races at Atlanta, he has compiled 2.0 average finish with 6.0 average running position and 118.5 driver rating. In those three races, he is the only driver in the series to sweep the top 5. He's posted two wins in that span as well. Overall, 5 of last 7 races for Johnson has ended in 4th or better. He has won the past two races at Atlanta and could easily make it three straight. I will take a shot with Johnson any time we come here.
77-Erik Jones: Erik Jones like fellow rookies Ty Dillon and Daniel Suarez had tough finishes to the Daytona 500 last weekend. He will look to have a good race at Atlanta. Hard to say what to expect (I think I said this with many drivers - I really mean that too), but I am very high on him though. I think Jones will have a special rookie season and I believe the 1.5 mile tracks will be where he is his strongest. I am really looking forward to seeing what Jones has to offer this weekend at this place. We will get the first taste of Jones at the highest level. If he lives up to the hype, I think he will least be a top 15 driver. Anything under that would be a disappointment honestly.
78-Martin Truex Jr: Truex Jr was in a great position with 3 to go and then Kyle Larson made his big move with two to go. That pretty much ended him and then he ran out of fuel, so guess it didn't really matter. Anyhow, he will look to keep up the good start to the season with a strong showing at Atlanta. He was very strong in last season's race, too. He's led 34 laps on his way to 7th place finish, but he had a top 3 car for that event. In his past 5 races at Atlanta, he has compiled 4 top 7 finishes. While finishing 12th or better in 5 of the last 7 races here. In his past 5 races, he has compiled 8.6 average finish with 9.0 average running position and 100.9 driver rating. He's ranked inside the top 5 in average finish and average running position in that span. Truex should be a top 5 driver, but to be safe I would pin him somewhere inside the top 10 with clear upside.
88-Dale Jr: Dale Jr had a tough race at Daytona, leading the race and get inovlved in a wreck. I am still trying to process that, crazy right? Onto Atlanta for Dale and the 88 team! He has been great here for a long time. More recently, he has been very strong. In his past 5 races here, he has compiled 6.2 average finish with 10.6 average running position and 97.0 driver rating. Fun fact about Dale Jr in the past 5 races? No driver (whose raced in all 5 races) has a better average finish. Yeah, that's pretty good! Currently, Dale Jr is on a 5-race top 11 streak at Atlanta and have back-to-back top 5 finishes in the last two seasons.
***All stats are from FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com and DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Preview -
1-JMac: JMac had a tough race at Daytona, a strong race but a tough one no doubt. He was someone I was concerned about after the duels on Thursday. As he was just too aggressive and it costed him in the Daytona 500. He got into Chase Elliott and well you can figure out the rest, I think. How will he do at Altanta? Well that is a very good question because I could see it going either way. He has proven he can run well here, but Ganassi cars has struggled the past two seasons here. Over his past two races at Atlanta, he has compiled 30.5 average finish with 18.5 average running position and 71.5 driver rating. It does not take a statistician to figure out that JMac been better than his 30.5 average finish since 2015. Yes, he has been better but his other numbers suggests he been at best a high-teen driver. 71.5 driver rating is garbage, even for him. To be fair, he did finish 40th in 2015. Still, even in last season's race he was bad. In 2016, he started 2nd, finished 21st, posted 19.0 average running position and 69.9 driver rating. The fact that his numbers went down, after you took out a DNF's race, should speak volumes right there. He does have some good finishes at Atalanta though. In his past 7 races, he has posted 4 finishes between 12th-16th. Problem is? 3 of his last 5 races at Atlanta ended in 21st or worse. I am not really sure what to make out of JMac for Altanta or the CGR cars honestly. It will be a wait and see kind of thing, I guess.
2-Brad Keselowski: I had higher hopes for Keselowski at Daytona, but that's okay. He had a good race up until the wreck. I like him at Atlanta, he been decent in recent years here, too. However, I wouldn't call this a really good or great track for him. Over his past 6 races here, he has finished 4 times inside the top 10. While in 8 career starts, he has compiled just 4 Top 10 finishes. Not terrible as he is batting half. Could be better though. More recently, he has posted good top 10 numbers overall. Over the past two seasons, he has compiled 9.0 average finish with 10.0 average running position and 93.3 driver rating. Not bad at all, but those aren't the usual top 5 numbers we want from him though. I do like Keselowski this week, but we have no data on the table to look back on. Problem with that? We have to depend on recent season's data and it says Keselowski will be just a top 10 driver. Will that be the case? I don't know, could be or could not. At this point it is anyone guess. He will be one of the drivers that I will be watching this weekend!
3-Austin Dillon: I was disappointed with Dillon at Daytona, honestly. He wasn't as much of a factor as I was expecting. He ended up in 19th place, while finishing one lap down. Not that good! And now, we turn our attention to Atlanta. This is track that I don't really have much faith in him at, like I would at other tracks. At Atlanta, his numbers are pretty limited and lackluster. Even though, he has only a few starts here now. In 4 career starts, Dillon only managed 2 Top 20 finishes and one of those were last year. His finishes look like this: 11th (2016), 39th, 24th and 19th. In last season's event, he had 11th place finish with 13.0 average running position and 82.9 driver rating. Not bad numbers at all, but I am hoping for more though. What to expect from him this weekend is hard to say. I need to see him on the track first. However, I would guess somewhere around a low-teen driver with enough upside to be a player for a top 10.
4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick is one of the biggest questions headed into the Atlanta's race. On one side, SHR moved from Chevy to Ford in the offseason. This would be their first real test of the season! On the other side, Harvick has amazing stats at Atlanta, so it is hard to overlook him. As of right now, I do have concerns but they will be answered once we get to practice. He has been great over the past couple seasons here though. In his past three races here, he has compiled 9.0 average finish with 3.0 average running position and 130.7 driver rating. While leading 116 or more laps in each of those three races. His numbers just get better as I look more into his numbers. His been awesome in 4 of his past 5 races at Atlanta. As he has led over 100 laps in 4 of those 5 races, while posting a driver rating of 120+ in each of those events as well. I am very interested in seeing how he does this weekend, starting with practice and qualifying.
5-Kasey Kahne: Kahne is always pretty good at Atlanta, I would call this one of his personal favorite tracks. For good reason, too. In 20 career starts, he has posted 7 Top 5 finishes and a total of 10 Top 10 finishes. Those are pretty good numbers overall, while being a 3-time winner at this place as well. Recently his numbers been down though. He won back in 2013 (the last summer race here). In his past 7 races, he has compiled 5 finishes of 23rd or worse. He finished 14th back in 2015, he was strong in that race, too. Was a top 5 contender in early portion of the race, until he faded late in the event. While that race is encouraging, he's posted a driver rating below 62.0 in 4 of his last 6 races here overall. That's pathetic! While that is not good at all, he did run well on the 1.5 mile tracks at end of last season. If you know what to expect from Kahne, then props to you. Because I am getting mixed signals here. Like most drivers, there's still a lot of unknowns heading into Atlanta!
11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin was a disappointment at the Daytona 500 but he will now look to rebound at Atlanta. Based on his career numbers, it may not end so well for him in race #2 either. In 17 career starts, Hamlin has only finished inside the top 15 in 8 races. While only posting 6 Top 10 finishes. Overall, he has compiled 18.0 average finish over 17 races. Not very good, I would say. He has ran well at Atlanta lately though. In his past three races here, he has compiled 19.0 average finish with 10.3 average running position and 92.2 driver rating. Of course, I am referring to his performance in-race numbers. Not his actual finishing position. 10.3 average running position and 92.2 driver rating is good. With all of that said, he had started off slow the past two seasons before getting it going in the 2nd half of the year. Will that be the case, again? Guess we could have some answers at Atlanta!
18-Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch was looking strong in the 500 (for most of his race) until he had a flat tire in front of a group of cars. He should bounce back nicely at Atlanta though. In his past four Atlanta races, he has compiled 6.5 average finish with 9.5 average running position and 101.1 driver rating. In last season's race, he had to start from 39th but still finish 3rd in that event. His in-race numbers weren't as good as they could had been. Considering he started basically dead last for the race. It took him a good while to get back to the front of the field. Let's look more into the data pool. In his last three races (he missed 2015 race), he has compiled two finishes of 3rd and 1st. He's won back in 2013. In fact, since joining JGR, he has posted 6 Top 5 finishes at this track. Overall, he had 11 starts with JGR. So little over half of the time, he has finished inside the top 5. I love Kyle Busch at Atlanta this weekend!
19-Daniel Suarez: Suarez had a tough race at Daytona for his cup debut. I didn't really expect much from him, so I am not too shocked by how it ended for him though. I really do expect him to be at his best on the intermediate tracks. I don't know how he will do at Atlanta this weekend, but I would say that he is a top 20 driver headed into the weekend. I don't think he will come close to what Edwards accomplished over the years here, but I do believe he should be good for a quality run in the top 20 or maybe mid-teens. Guess, we will find out by Saturday.
20-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth was involved in the Kyle Busch's wreck at Daytona and posted his first DNF of the season. Now, he will look to have a bounce back race at Atlanta. He had the car to beat in last season's race, but was black flagged after dominating the race early. Over the past three seasons here, he has compiled 8.7 average finish with 10.3 average running position and 107.5 driver rating. He finished 19th in last season's race but still posted 106.4 driver rating for the event. Despite, finishing 2 laps down. In the past 15 races, he has compiled 14 finishes of 12th or better. If he didn't get black flagged last season, his top 12 streak likely would had been intact still. Kenseth is just amazing here. For his career, he has posted an average finish of 12.2. He has ran well here for a long time and I expect nothing to change this weekend!
21-Ryan Blaney: Blaney was awesome at the Daytona 500 and impressed a lot of people, including myself as well. I was fairly high o him in my preview last week and he made me look good. Now onto Atlanta. On pure stats there is not a lot to look with Blaney. He doesn't have anything to really go on. The races he has ran in, they just aren't that good. The 21 team showed in 2016 that they are capable of running well on the 1.5 mile tracks. Like most every other driver, there are a lot of questions headed into the weekend. I expect Blaney to be a low-teen to middle teen driver with obvious upside.
22-Joey Logano: Logano had a good race at Daytona and finished 6th. He will now look to build on his solid start to the season. He has been very good at Atlanta with the #22 team so far in his career. In 4 starts, he has compiled 8.0 average finish with 7.0 average running position and 113.8 driver rating. While posting the 2nd-most laps led (162), 2nd-most fast laps (114), 2nd-best average running position (7.0), 2nd-best driver rating (113.8) in the last 4 Atlanta races. That says a lot about how strong the #22 car been in that span. His finishes in that span: 12th, 4th, 14th and 2nd. What does the trends say? He will finish inside the top 5. He finished inside the top 5 in 2015 and 2013. Great performances in both of those races. Led 75+ laps both times, while posting driver rating above 128.0 both races. I think Logano is one of the drivers that will benefit from this season's package, so I been pretty high on him. I think he is due for a big-race at Atlanta this weekend. I like him a lot, folks.
24-Chase Elliott: Elliott was ever so close to winning the Daytona 500 but ran out of fuel with just a few laps to go. He will turn his attention to Atlanta Motor Speedway. The site of his home racetrack. A place many people in the offseason predicted that Elliott would win his first race. It would be fitting, right? Elliott winning at the track that is located in his homestate? He ran very well here last season and showcased why he was the real deal. He was impressive with tire management in that race, it was the first race (at the cup level) where I said, ''wow this kid is something special''. On top of that, he ran very well on the 1.5 mile tracks all year in 2016 and was stout during the chase, too. He should had a couple wins actually. It is only a matter of time before he busts into victory lane! Could it be this weekend? I definitely wouldn't rule it out.
41-Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch won the biggest race of his life last Sunday, after making a late race pass on Kyle Larson. The 42 car was about out of fuel, so I don't think it would had matter much though. Kurt was so close, so many times! It was pretty cool to see him get it done at Daytona finally. He should be able to keep the momentum at Atlanta. In the past 13 races here, he has compiled 12 Top 13 finishes. More recently, he also has found a lot of success. In his past 5 races at Atlanta, he has compiled 3 top 5 finishes. That's great, but there is a problem. Listen to his last 7 races: 4th, 13th, 4th, 13th, 4th, 6th, 1st, 38th and 1st. Do you see a trend? Every other race he has finished inside the top 5 since the 2009 season. Problem is? He finished 4th in last season race. That's not a good sign for him, but it is not a death sentence either though. Trends can easily breaks at any given time. I have him penciled in as a solid top 10 driver for Sunday's race.
42-Kyle Larson: I thought Kyle Larson was going to win the 500 on Sunday after Elliott ran out of fuel, after that big-move around Truex. But of course then he ran out of fuel. That's just ironic, folks. Now, he will turn his attention to Atlatna. The CGR cars has struggled the past two seasons at Atlanta and haven't gotten good finishes. The 42 car struggled in both 2015 and 2016 at Atlanta on the long-run. That where he really fell through the running order in both races. In the past two races, he has compiled 26.0 average finish with 20.5 average running position and 63.7 driver rating. He finished 26th, posted 15.0 average running position and 76.3 driver rating in 2015. He wasn't terrible in that race, but was average at best, in my opinion. In last season's race, he was straight up bad! He posted 26.0 average running position and 51.1 driver rating. He's completed 1% of the laps inside the top 15. Do I need to say more? With all of that said, this was Larson and Johnston's first race together. I think that duo are on the same page right now. They hit their stride in 2nd half of last season. Question is will the CGR cars be slow to start the season again or will they come out swinging? Something I will be interested to see!
48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson is coming off a bad week/weekend at Daytona. Let's just say that Johnson is so ready to be at Atlanta. For more than one good reason, too. He been amazing at Atlanta in the past and is this event's defending winner! He been unstoppable the past couple seasons here and pretty much his entire career. In his past three races at Atlanta, he has compiled 2.0 average finish with 6.0 average running position and 118.5 driver rating. In those three races, he is the only driver in the series to sweep the top 5. He's posted two wins in that span as well. Overall, 5 of last 7 races for Johnson has ended in 4th or better. He has won the past two races at Atlanta and could easily make it three straight. I will take a shot with Johnson any time we come here.
77-Erik Jones: Erik Jones like fellow rookies Ty Dillon and Daniel Suarez had tough finishes to the Daytona 500 last weekend. He will look to have a good race at Atlanta. Hard to say what to expect (I think I said this with many drivers - I really mean that too), but I am very high on him though. I think Jones will have a special rookie season and I believe the 1.5 mile tracks will be where he is his strongest. I am really looking forward to seeing what Jones has to offer this weekend at this place. We will get the first taste of Jones at the highest level. If he lives up to the hype, I think he will least be a top 15 driver. Anything under that would be a disappointment honestly.
78-Martin Truex Jr: Truex Jr was in a great position with 3 to go and then Kyle Larson made his big move with two to go. That pretty much ended him and then he ran out of fuel, so guess it didn't really matter. Anyhow, he will look to keep up the good start to the season with a strong showing at Atlanta. He was very strong in last season's race, too. He's led 34 laps on his way to 7th place finish, but he had a top 3 car for that event. In his past 5 races at Atlanta, he has compiled 4 top 7 finishes. While finishing 12th or better in 5 of the last 7 races here. In his past 5 races, he has compiled 8.6 average finish with 9.0 average running position and 100.9 driver rating. He's ranked inside the top 5 in average finish and average running position in that span. Truex should be a top 5 driver, but to be safe I would pin him somewhere inside the top 10 with clear upside.
88-Dale Jr: Dale Jr had a tough race at Daytona, leading the race and get inovlved in a wreck. I am still trying to process that, crazy right? Onto Atlanta for Dale and the 88 team! He has been great here for a long time. More recently, he has been very strong. In his past 5 races here, he has compiled 6.2 average finish with 10.6 average running position and 97.0 driver rating. Fun fact about Dale Jr in the past 5 races? No driver (whose raced in all 5 races) has a better average finish. Yeah, that's pretty good! Currently, Dale Jr is on a 5-race top 11 streak at Atlanta and have back-to-back top 5 finishes in the last two seasons.
***All stats are from FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com and DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
