The second race of the 2016 NASCAR season will take place this Sunday (2/28) in Atlanta when the Sprint Cup drivers battle in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
Last week the season kicked off in Daytona with the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota teaming up to not only dominate the race, but also propel Denny Hamlin to his first Daytona 500 win. The teammates were able to claim four of the top five positions in the results of the Daytona. The question is will they be able to work together again this week in Atlanta to duplicate their team performance?
This week’s race will run 325 laps around the 1.54 mile Atlanta Motor Speedway track for a grand total of 500.5 miles. This track is one that falls under the intermediate size designation for NASCAR. That allows the drivers to run wide open as on the super-speedways like Daytona, but the handling comes into play a little more often. Should a driver lose control by over-driving their car it can end their day as well as the day of any driver that has the misfortune of being around that car when it happens.
Last year Jimmie Johnson was able to score his first win of the season in this race to ensure his place on Chase Grid for 2015. Which NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers have a record of performing well at Atlanta? Let’s take a look.
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Atlanta
Jimmie Johnson – 106.2
Carl Edwards – 100.4
Matt Kenseth – 97.9
Denny Hamlin – 97.2
Kurt Busch – 94.3
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 94.3
Kyle Busch – 92.8
Martin Truex Jr. – 90.9
Greg Biffle – 89.0
(NOTE: Driver ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (17 total) among active drivers at Atlanta Motor Speedway)
There are nine active drivers that have won in the Sprint Cup series during their NASCAR career. The active drivers with Atlanta wins are: Bobby Labonte (6), Jimmie Johnson (4), Carl Edwards (3), Kurt Busch (3), Kasey Kahne (2), Denny Hamlin (1), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1), Kyle Busch (1) and Kevin Harvick (1).
Now you have some basic stats for the NASCAR race this week to draw your own conclusions as to which driver will win. Just remember that at Atlanta the picture can change in an instant with a mistake in the pits or on the track. That is what makes Sprint Cup racing at the track exciting from start to finish.
The NASCAR action will get started from Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday, February 28th starting at 1:00 PM ET/12 Noon CT when the 40 Sprint Cup drivers battle it out in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
By: Buck Stevens
