With the 2017 Daytona 500 in the record books, our next stop in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Can Kurt Busch Make It 2 In A Row?
So last weekend’s race…or should I say smash um up derby, was just what we had expected from Daytona…Excitement and wrecks!
…and I don’t know about you, but I feel that now that Daytona is behind us, the season can actually begin. Strategy will now become more important, rather than simply catching the right draft at the right time.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Daytona and the excitement that comes with it…but when you’re involved in picking drivers for a fantasy pool and you begin the season with Daytona…you might as well throw a bunch of names in a hat because it’s really just a crap shoot anyway.
NASCAR’s second race brings us to Atlanta Motor Speedway and in my opinion, will be the first race which will give us a glimpse into how the rest of the season may unfold for both the drivers and their teams as well as for those of us involved in choosing drivers in fantasy leagues.
This weekend we’ll get the opportunity to witness how the drivers strategize with their teams to race the new 3 stage format. Pit strategy, tire maintenance, and fuel will all be factors, but when it comes right down to it we all know that late cautions could throw a wrench in the best of plans.
As some of you know this will be the last race at Atlanta before the repave, which should make for a pretty exciting race. With NASCAR’s new tires rule in place and considering drivers will be bumping and sliding all over the track, It should be real interesting to see how the teams handle the Atlanta track with 2 fewer sets of tires during the race and having to start the race on the tires they qualified on.
Managing their Goodyear tires to ensure you’ve got fresh tires on at the right time should be a critical factor in determining who rolls into victory lane this weekend!
The new 3 stage format will also mix things up this weekend as the 1st 2 stages are each 85 laps, however, the fuel window for Atlanta is usually around 50 to 55 laps. So when they pit, and whether or not they’ll take 4 or 2 or any tires at all during pit stops will be something crew chief’s will definitely be taking into their overall strategy!
So who do I think will be rolling into victory lane this week? I’m gonna have to go with my main pick Martin Truex Jr.
Last year Truex Jr was a monster at 1.5-mile tracks finishing seventh or better in four of his last five starts. I believe he’ll continue to tear up these tracks again this year!
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