Thoughts & Notes ~ ATLANTA

Im going to start a thread every week leading up to the next race .... Anyone that has any info/stats/thoughts can put them in here. Not official plays, but info that may be essential towards betting the next weeks' race...

Sound good ?

Weather could be a factor. Cooler temps no matter what, so we are going to have some huge speeds. Initial thoughts are to wait through the practices to see which cars adapt to the new rules packages.

I'll most likely still take the guys who are notorious for riding up top. 4, 88, 15, and 5 are definitely on my short list.

For example,,,,,  Im keeping an eye on the 24 again this week. In 41 career races, he has an average finish of 11.88 at Atlanta.
He has 5 wins, 15 top 5's and 26 top 10's in those 41 races...

The 24 has also led the most laps of any ACTIVE driver, 1,297 laps to Tony Stewart's 974 ....

So he's on my radar, esp after Daytona

Thats what im talking about Greedy..... Great info

I'd also keep an eye on the 20 .... Last 4 years at Atlanta (last 2 in the 20, 2 before in the 17) .....

Started in order: 5,6,4,6
Finished in order:  2,12,9,9         Led:117

Gordon's average of 11.88 at Atlanta is 3rd ... 

-Kyle Larson in the 42 started 3rd and finished 8th last year,,, his only start on the track, giving him an avg of 8 obviously ..

-Jimmie Johnson has an avg of 11.53 through 23 races ... 3 wins, 12 top 5's, & 14 top 10's

Greedy also brings up a great point,,,, normally we would be headed to Phoenix,,,, instead the 2nd race is Atlanta this year, it will be def be colder .....

Thoughts?

I will b going to races Sat & Sun.  will keep u updated if I hear anything worth noting.. Weather is looking bad for Sunday rain and cold 

Is this track repaved? I thought it ground up tires like crazy last race.

 the past 5 or 6 races here have been Labor Day night races, so it will b interesting to c them back to racing during the day n Atlanta....  weather looks a little iffy   I was at race last year when Kahne won and I don't remember any tire issues  

New rules, look for 48 and 4 to be upfront.   

4 to the back due to engine change ....

That means the 24, 48, 20, 41, 14 and 4 all taking green from 35th back .... it will be fun watching them move up

Chassis selections for this weeks race: see the list of many teams [that report or post them] and what chassis were selected by the team to run in Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
If a driver/team is not listed, the team doe NOT report chassis information on pre-race PR, website or social media:

#3-Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 481 in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is the same DOW Chevy that Dillon raced in 2014 to a 25th-place finish at Homestead in November, a 13th-place finish at Charlotte in October, a 16th-place finish at Chicago in September, a 22nd-place finish at Michigan in August and a 10th-place finish at Indianapolis in July.
#4-Kevin Harvick: will pilot Chassis No. 4-843 in the Folds of Honor 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race Sunday at Atlanta. Built in 2014, Chassis No. 4-843 is the most successful chassis in the #4 lineup, having won two Sprint Cup races and two pole positions, as well as leading 748 laps last season. Chassis No. 4-843 started 16th, led 23 laps and finished 41st in its debut at Las Vegas. In its next outing, Harvick won the pole and led 238 laps en route to winning the Southern 500 at Darlington. Chassis No. 4-843 started fourth and finished 14th at Pocono in June. At Dover, Harvick won the pole, led 223 laps and finished 13th. The final race of 2014 for Chassis No. 4-843 was perhaps the most impressive as it started third and led 264 laps in a must-win performance that kept Harvick's slim Sprint Cup championship hopes alive at Phoenix.
#5-Kasey Kahne: Crew chief Keith Rodden has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-911 for Sunday's race. Kahne last drove the car to a 10th-place finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2014.
#10-Danica Patrick: will pilot Chassis No. 908 in the Folds of Honor 500. Patrick raced this car to an 18th-place finish in the 2014 season finale at Homestead. Formerly a #41 chassis for Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kurt Busch, Chassis No. 908 made its on-track debut at Charlotte in October 2014. That weekend, Busch set a track qualifying record with a speed of 198.771 mph and went on to score an 11th-place finish in the race.
#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-898 debuted in August 2014 at Michigan with veteran NASCAR driver Jeff Burton at the wheel. Burton qualified 27th and felt the car was capable of advancing to the front, but a cracked tailpipe caught the heat shields underneath the car on fire around lap 65. It took 24 laps in the garage to make repairs, and Burton finished a disappointing 37th. Chassis No. 14-898 returned to action Labor Day weekend at Atlanta with Tony Stewart. After starting 12th and passing five cars on the first lap, Stewart continued to show strength, climbing all the way to fourth place by lap 15. Changing track conditions saw Stewart drop to 12th by lap 100, but in working the low line around the track's corners, Stewart made the racecar work for him. Unfortunately, a flat right-front tire on lap 171 sent Stewart into the turn-two wall. The right side of Chassis No. 14-898 scraped along the SAFER Barrier and then moments later, the tire shredded, ripping apart sheet metal and suspension components. Too damaged to repair, the car suffered a DNF (Did Not Finish). The car was busy afterward, testing at Charlotte Sept. 29-30 and at Homestead Oct. 28-29 before competing in the season finale at Homestead Nov. 16 where an overheating engine left Chassis No. 14-898 with a 43rd-place finish. With new Chevrolet SS sheet metal honed in the wind tunnel this offseason, the car returns to Atlanta for its fourth career start and second at Atlanta.
#15-Clint Bowyer: Chassis No. 815 serves as the primary chassis for Bowyer at Atlanta, is is a brand new chassis. Chassis No. 816 serves as the back-up chassis and is new.
#24-Jeff Gordon: Crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-914 for Sunday's race. The chassis has been raced once, with Gordon leading 161 laps from the pole position en route to a 10th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2014.
#27-Paul Menard will utilize chassis No. 487 during the 325-lap event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This #27 Duracell / Menards Chevy saw action twice in 2014, once at Kansas in October where Menard started 19th and finished 16th and a second time at Texas in November where he started 15th and finished 17th.
#31-Ryan Newman will pilot chassis No. 486 in the second event on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This #31 Caterpillar Chevy is a new car and will be utilized for the first time during Thursday's test session.
#32-Mike Bliss Crew Chief Clinton Cram will be bringing chassis 784 to serve as the primary car. This chassis previously ran at Homestead in 2014 with Blake Koch behind the wheel. Chassis 289 will serve as the backup car.
#41-Regan Smith will pilot Chassis No. 894 at Atlanta Motor. It was previously a #10 chassis for Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Danica Patrick. It made its debut at Charlotte in October 2014, when Patrick qualified 14th and appeared to be on her way to a top-10 finish before her solid run was derailed when she was involved in an on-track incident at lap 247. Since then, Chassis No. 894 has been outfitted with a new body and will see its first laps of the season this weekend at Atlanta.
#48-Jimmie Johnson: For the race in Atlanta, Knaus selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 48-910, which is the Chevrolet SS Johnson raced to victory at Texas in November 2014. The backup car is No. 48-824, which last saw action at Pocono in June.
#55-Brett Moffitt: will drive primary chassis 814 which finished 16th at Indy with Clint Bowyer, Vickers finished 13th at Richmond in September & 37th at Charlotte in October. The backup chassis is 813 which Bowyer drove chassis to 17th at Charlotte in May, 10th and sixth at Michigan races and ninth at Dover in September.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: This weekend, crew chief Greg Ives and the #88 team will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-920. This is a brand new chassis that has not been raced.
(from numerous team PR's/sites)