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Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. It always a fan favorite for fans and drivers alike. However, I am not a fan of this date on the schedule though. It always seems to rain or something for this race. And sadly that what we are dealing with this weekend. The forecast is calling for rain and a lot of rain on Sunday afternoon. I am not saying we won't see no racing is set in stone, but it is looking more likely as we approach the race.
On Friday, we saw one practice session and qualifying. And then on Saturday, we saw another practice session. I am not sure how much it will mean after all of the rain comes through. However, we kinda have to go on the practice data since that is all we can go on right now. I am excited for this race regardless when it is ran. Sunday afternoon, Sunday night or Monday afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing how these teams do.
The question is do you need some good sleeper and dark horses to consider? Well you are luck then because have some in mind that I am going to share! Let's get started!
Sleepers -
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - I loved Ricky on Wednesday when I wrote my initial articles on sleepers. I was very high on him and thought he could have something for the top 10. Guess what? After watching practice and hearing his interview on Saturday, I am even more convinced that he will be a threat to contend for the top 10. In the past two season, he has an average running position of 9.5. In last season's race, he had the 6th-best average running position of 9.0. He was the only driver to complete all of the laps inside the top 15, too. I am not sure what else to say about him honestly. I will have him on more than few of my rosters this weekend.
Paul Menard - I wouldn't call this a Paul Menard track, but he is showing good speed in his No.21 car. The Fords in general are looking pretty damn good this weekend. Harvick, Blaney, Logano, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer all are showing some type of speeding so far this weekend. Obviously some more than others though. I think Menard heading into the race will flirt with the top 15 with enough enough to flirt close to that top 12 area. Remember, the 21 team is still associated with Penske. So they are getting help from them still, even with Menard as their driver. So that will have to help some, too.
Ryan Newman - The RCR cars were very strong at Atlanta last season. Newman was solid and Dillon was impressive. Both had the same fate at end of the day. Neither finished on the lead lap and both had similar issues happen to them. They had problems with their batteries. So what does Newman do here in 2018? He unloads with some pretty good speed in his No.31 RCR car. He nearly qualified on the pole and topped the practice session on Saturday. If there was a problem with the No.31 car, it is that he doesn't have a ton of long run speed. That where he will run into some problems during the race. I don't think he will be hurt too much though. He will have a shot at latter part of the top 10/low teens finish. So somewhere between 8th and 14th is probably where I see him most likely finishing.
Dark Horses -
Kurt Busch - When looking at past stats at Atlanta, I thought Kurt's number really stood out to me. That was one of the first things I noticed when doing my original research on Tuesday night/Wednesday night. His numbers are incredible. My fellow Timerssports' writer (Jeff Nathans) also pointed this out in his article earlier today. For good reason, too. In 11 of his last 14 races at Atlanta, he has finished 11th or better. In 3 of his last 4 races, he finished 7th or better. In fact, he has 5 top 7 finishes in his last 8 races overall. Those are stupid good numbers. Since the 2010 season, he has won twice at this racetrack. Kurt Busch was ranked 5th on the best-20 lap average in happy hour. I would have to say that his 7th place starting position is just gravy. Kurt is my top dark horse pick to win!
Clint Bowyer - Bowyer wasn't someone that I really considered this week as one of my fantasy picks, but he has a really good car for Atlanta. He showed a lot of speed on both Friday and Saturday. He qualified in the top 10 and looked solid on the longer runs in Saturday's practice. He had the 2nd-best 20 lap average in Saturday's lone practice session. All of the SHR Fords has looked pretty good on both days. Bowyer is good as any of them to consider as a solid dark horse pick for the win. Personally, I am still a little gun shy with him but I am not closed to the idea of using him here. Don't be shocked if he is near top of the board when the checkers waves!
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingSheetCheat.com
Have a question or want to chat?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule. It always a fan favorite for fans and drivers alike. However, I am not a fan of this date on the schedule though. It always seems to rain or something for this race. And sadly that what we are dealing with this weekend. The forecast is calling for rain and a lot of rain on Sunday afternoon. I am not saying we won't see no racing is set in stone, but it is looking more likely as we approach the race.
On Friday, we saw one practice session and qualifying. And then on Saturday, we saw another practice session. I am not sure how much it will mean after all of the rain comes through. However, we kinda have to go on the practice data since that is all we can go on right now. I am excited for this race regardless when it is ran. Sunday afternoon, Sunday night or Monday afternoon. I am looking forward to seeing how these teams do.
The question is do you need some good sleeper and dark horses to consider? Well you are luck then because have some in mind that I am going to share! Let's get started!
Sleepers -
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - I loved Ricky on Wednesday when I wrote my initial articles on sleepers. I was very high on him and thought he could have something for the top 10. Guess what? After watching practice and hearing his interview on Saturday, I am even more convinced that he will be a threat to contend for the top 10. In the past two season, he has an average running position of 9.5. In last season's race, he had the 6th-best average running position of 9.0. He was the only driver to complete all of the laps inside the top 15, too. I am not sure what else to say about him honestly. I will have him on more than few of my rosters this weekend.
Paul Menard - I wouldn't call this a Paul Menard track, but he is showing good speed in his No.21 car. The Fords in general are looking pretty damn good this weekend. Harvick, Blaney, Logano, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer all are showing some type of speeding so far this weekend. Obviously some more than others though. I think Menard heading into the race will flirt with the top 15 with enough enough to flirt close to that top 12 area. Remember, the 21 team is still associated with Penske. So they are getting help from them still, even with Menard as their driver. So that will have to help some, too.
Ryan Newman - The RCR cars were very strong at Atlanta last season. Newman was solid and Dillon was impressive. Both had the same fate at end of the day. Neither finished on the lead lap and both had similar issues happen to them. They had problems with their batteries. So what does Newman do here in 2018? He unloads with some pretty good speed in his No.31 RCR car. He nearly qualified on the pole and topped the practice session on Saturday. If there was a problem with the No.31 car, it is that he doesn't have a ton of long run speed. That where he will run into some problems during the race. I don't think he will be hurt too much though. He will have a shot at latter part of the top 10/low teens finish. So somewhere between 8th and 14th is probably where I see him most likely finishing.
Dark Horses -
Kurt Busch - When looking at past stats at Atlanta, I thought Kurt's number really stood out to me. That was one of the first things I noticed when doing my original research on Tuesday night/Wednesday night. His numbers are incredible. My fellow Timerssports' writer (Jeff Nathans) also pointed this out in his article earlier today. For good reason, too. In 11 of his last 14 races at Atlanta, he has finished 11th or better. In 3 of his last 4 races, he finished 7th or better. In fact, he has 5 top 7 finishes in his last 8 races overall. Those are stupid good numbers. Since the 2010 season, he has won twice at this racetrack. Kurt Busch was ranked 5th on the best-20 lap average in happy hour. I would have to say that his 7th place starting position is just gravy. Kurt is my top dark horse pick to win!
Clint Bowyer - Bowyer wasn't someone that I really considered this week as one of my fantasy picks, but he has a really good car for Atlanta. He showed a lot of speed on both Friday and Saturday. He qualified in the top 10 and looked solid on the longer runs in Saturday's practice. He had the 2nd-best 20 lap average in Saturday's lone practice session. All of the SHR Fords has looked pretty good on both days. Bowyer is good as any of them to consider as a solid dark horse pick for the win. Personally, I am still a little gun shy with him but I am not closed to the idea of using him here. Don't be shocked if he is near top of the board when the checkers waves!
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingSheetCheat.com
Have a question or want to chat?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
