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My Daytona sleepers and dark horses were all pretty spot on. For whatever weird reason, I am usually pretty good at nailing my picks at the plate races. Go figure, right? Now, we are turning our attention to the second race of the Nascar season. Oh yeah, we are heading to Atlanta! I know everyone loves different tracks for different reasons, but Atlanta is probably my favorite intermediate track. This will be the first real challenge for the drivers and crews. I think in general none of us really know what to expect out these teams. Drivers that were strong last year may not be as strong out of the gate this weekend. And some drivers that struggled a bit in 2017, may had found something since then. And this weekend's race is also important because we will have some data to look back on for next weekend's race at Las Vegas. Obviously Atlanta and Las Vegas as clear differences in them, but it is still data to study. Not to mention, they are both 1.5 mile tracks. That's something, my friends. Alright, enough of the rambling! Let's get rolling!
Sleepers -
Austin Dillon - I don't agree with how Austin Dillon won the Daytona 500, but he still won the Dayton 500. There is no taking that away from him. With that said, I think a lot of people will be overlooking him at Atlanta. And I had that mindset before the 500 was even ran. And a lot of that has to do with his numbers overall at Atlanta. In his career, he has only one top 20 finish in five career starts. Why do I think he will do better in 2018 at this track? Well, he has performed very well over the past couple seasons here. He finished 11th in 2016 (he had 13.0 ARP) and in 2017 he finished 32nd. However, he posted 10.0 average running position (ARP) and 80.1 driver rating. He had issues with under 20 to go that caused him to go to the garage. So he has been a top 12 driver in each of the past two seasons. Now, that is nothing super impressive, it is better than what a lot of drivers can say though. He might not be a difference maker, but he is capable of being a nice value. Especially, if he looks good in practice.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - Stenhouse Jr is someone that I am very interested in see this weekend in practice. He is definitely someone that I think could be a very nice surprise. He has ran very well at Atlanta over the past couple seasons, so I would not be shocked if he knocked off a top 10 finish. He has been very consistent to start off the last two seasons. And the 1.5 mile tracks has been a strong point, too. And Atlanta been no exception, either. Look at the last two seasons at Atlanta? He has finishes of 13th and 10th. He has average running position of 9.5 for those races. In 2017 event, he was very good. He was legit a top 10 driver for the entire event. He finished 13th for the race. If he based a finish off how a driver's performed, then he would had finished somewhere between 8th-10th in my opinion.
Other Sleepers - Jamie Mac, Aric Almirola and Paul Menard
Dark Horses -
Erik Jones - I was impressive with Erik Jones in 2017, especially right before the playoffs started. There was a couple races there where I thought he had it in the bag. Like any young driver out there, he just need to learn how to finish the deal. I think Erik Jones will win a race in 2018 in the No.20 car and I think it could come on one of the intermediate tracks. Anytime we go to the intermediate tracks, I would have to think that the Toyotas will have the horsepower advantage, too. A driver with the talent of Erik Jones don't need much of advantage. And that also make me believe that Jone will be a factor this weekend at Atlanta. The cream will rise to the top at Atlanta and Jones should be one of them. He may not go to victory, but we know he is certainly capable of it!
Chase Elliott - I am not a fan of Chase Elliott at all, but I won't lie about that. However, he has a great shot at going to victory lane this season and Atlanta should be considered one of his top tracks. I would say this is one of top 5 tracks where he could go to victory lane to first. In his very first start, he was impressive. He started 24th, finished 8th and posted 10.0 average running position. Those stats doesn't tell you how good he was though. On the long runs, he was inside the top during middle of that race. He was very good. In the 2017 event (last season), he was even better. He was incredible in that race. He was the 2nd-best driver, despite not leading a lap. The only drive with a better average running position or driver rating was Kevin Harvick. Elliott had an amazing 4.0 average running position and 114.1 driver rating. That a small size small of his strength on the 1.5 mile tracks in general. He was very good on them in 2017 and I expect the same at Atlanta.
Dark Horses - Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com
Have a question or want to chat?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
My Daytona sleepers and dark horses were all pretty spot on. For whatever weird reason, I am usually pretty good at nailing my picks at the plate races. Go figure, right? Now, we are turning our attention to the second race of the Nascar season. Oh yeah, we are heading to Atlanta! I know everyone loves different tracks for different reasons, but Atlanta is probably my favorite intermediate track. This will be the first real challenge for the drivers and crews. I think in general none of us really know what to expect out these teams. Drivers that were strong last year may not be as strong out of the gate this weekend. And some drivers that struggled a bit in 2017, may had found something since then. And this weekend's race is also important because we will have some data to look back on for next weekend's race at Las Vegas. Obviously Atlanta and Las Vegas as clear differences in them, but it is still data to study. Not to mention, they are both 1.5 mile tracks. That's something, my friends. Alright, enough of the rambling! Let's get rolling!
Sleepers -
Austin Dillon - I don't agree with how Austin Dillon won the Daytona 500, but he still won the Dayton 500. There is no taking that away from him. With that said, I think a lot of people will be overlooking him at Atlanta. And I had that mindset before the 500 was even ran. And a lot of that has to do with his numbers overall at Atlanta. In his career, he has only one top 20 finish in five career starts. Why do I think he will do better in 2018 at this track? Well, he has performed very well over the past couple seasons here. He finished 11th in 2016 (he had 13.0 ARP) and in 2017 he finished 32nd. However, he posted 10.0 average running position (ARP) and 80.1 driver rating. He had issues with under 20 to go that caused him to go to the garage. So he has been a top 12 driver in each of the past two seasons. Now, that is nothing super impressive, it is better than what a lot of drivers can say though. He might not be a difference maker, but he is capable of being a nice value. Especially, if he looks good in practice.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - Stenhouse Jr is someone that I am very interested in see this weekend in practice. He is definitely someone that I think could be a very nice surprise. He has ran very well at Atlanta over the past couple seasons, so I would not be shocked if he knocked off a top 10 finish. He has been very consistent to start off the last two seasons. And the 1.5 mile tracks has been a strong point, too. And Atlanta been no exception, either. Look at the last two seasons at Atlanta? He has finishes of 13th and 10th. He has average running position of 9.5 for those races. In 2017 event, he was very good. He was legit a top 10 driver for the entire event. He finished 13th for the race. If he based a finish off how a driver's performed, then he would had finished somewhere between 8th-10th in my opinion.
Other Sleepers - Jamie Mac, Aric Almirola and Paul Menard
Dark Horses -
Erik Jones - I was impressive with Erik Jones in 2017, especially right before the playoffs started. There was a couple races there where I thought he had it in the bag. Like any young driver out there, he just need to learn how to finish the deal. I think Erik Jones will win a race in 2018 in the No.20 car and I think it could come on one of the intermediate tracks. Anytime we go to the intermediate tracks, I would have to think that the Toyotas will have the horsepower advantage, too. A driver with the talent of Erik Jones don't need much of advantage. And that also make me believe that Jone will be a factor this weekend at Atlanta. The cream will rise to the top at Atlanta and Jones should be one of them. He may not go to victory, but we know he is certainly capable of it!
Chase Elliott - I am not a fan of Chase Elliott at all, but I won't lie about that. However, he has a great shot at going to victory lane this season and Atlanta should be considered one of his top tracks. I would say this is one of top 5 tracks where he could go to victory lane to first. In his very first start, he was impressive. He started 24th, finished 8th and posted 10.0 average running position. Those stats doesn't tell you how good he was though. On the long runs, he was inside the top during middle of that race. He was very good. In the 2017 event (last season), he was even better. He was incredible in that race. He was the 2nd-best driver, despite not leading a lap. The only drive with a better average running position or driver rating was Kevin Harvick. Elliott had an amazing 4.0 average running position and 114.1 driver rating. That a small size small of his strength on the 1.5 mile tracks in general. He was very good on them in 2017 and I expect the same at Atlanta.
Dark Horses - Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com
Have a question or want to chat?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12