Fantasy NASCAR Scouting Report – Atlanta

NOTE: This post is a recap of what happened in 2015 at Atlanta

Atlanta Top Ten Starters

1. Joey Logano
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Jamie McMurray
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Carl Edwards
6. Kyle Larson
7. Ryan Newman
8. Sam Hornish Jr.
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
10. Kasey Kahne

Atlanta Full Starting Lineup

Atlanta Pre-Race Notes

Kyle Busch missed the race due to injury.

Kurt Busch missed the race due to suspension.

David Ragan drove the #18.

Regan Smith drove the #41.

Brett Moffitt drove the #55.

Joe Nemechek drove the #34.

Kevin Harvick started in the back after an engine change.

Tony Stewart started in the back because he missed driver introductions.

Michael Annett started in the back after a driver change.

Atlanta 2015 Post-Race Loop Data Box Score

Atlanta Race Notes

Joey Logano won the pole and selected the low line. He led 83 of the first 86 laps.

Kevin Harvick started in the rear of the field. He was up to 26th on lap 8.

By lap 8, lap times dropped off by a second.

Running order on lap 12: 22,11,1,42,5,19,31,88,2,17 … 47,3,78,18,20,43,27,9,48,15 … 51,4,13,24,16,10,6,41,7,55 … 38,35,14,40,95

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a great car when he ran the high-line early in the race.

Running order on lap 24: 22,11,1,42,88,19,5,2,31,78 … 18,20,48,4,47,43,15,27,24

On lap 26 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a flat tire. Fortunately for him on that very lap the competition caution came out.

Joey Logano had a four second lead at the time of the competition caution.

Running order on lap 37: 22,11,88,18,19,5,31,4,42,78 … 48,1,24,2,20,43,15,47,13,16 … 27,7,51,10,14,9,55,35,3,6 … 41

Austin Dillon was in 31st on lap 42. He had fender damage and a tire rub.

Notable Moment: Around lap 48 Austin Dillon and Regan Smith had contact. That led to Austin Dillon’s tire shredding which caused a debris caution. Fortunately he also got the free pass when this occurred.

During a restart on lap 52 Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun his tires. He was running in 2nd and it dropped him to 8th.

Running order on lap 54: 22,4,5,19,11,88,1,78,18,20 … 31,24,42,48,47,43,2,15,16,13 … 55,14,27,40,7,38,41,51,17,35 … 6,34,10,95,26,3

Brad Keselowski didn’t have a great car early. His team was down on speed. He was in 16th on lap 57.

Big Moment: On lap 60 Austin Dillon had a cut tire and spun into the grass. He was in 32nd at the time. While he was getting out of the grass it kicked up a ton of mud on his car and his team took the #3 to the garage to clean it off.

Running order on lap 73: 22,4,5,19,88,1,20,18,31,2 … 11,78,24,42,43,15,47,55,13,48 … 16,27,6,38,10,17,14,7,51,41

Matt Kenseth had a great car. He started deep in the field and was in 6th on lap 80. His team made good adjustments which got the #20 closer to his liking.

On lap 87 Kevin Harvick passed Joey Logano for the lead. He then led the next 9 laps.

Running order on lap 94: 4,22,5,20,88,19,1,11,24,18 … 31,48,78,2,15,42,43,47,13

Notable Moment: On lap 94 Landon Cassill’s engine blew up which brought out the caution. He was running in 31st at the time.

During caution on lap 97 Joey Logano reported to his team that he lost both front and rear grip.

Running order on lap 94: 4,22,20,11,88,5,19,24,31,48 … 2,1,15,78,18,47,13,42,55,43 … 6,27,16,10,41,9,51,35,7,17

Running order on lap 117: 4,11,22,88,20,24,48,5,19,2 … 31,1,15,78,18,47,42,13,43,27 … 10,55,16,41,51,6,35,17,14,9

Running order on lap 137: 4,11,88,22,20,48,19,5,2,31 … 78,24,15,47,1,42,43,27,10,13

During pit stops on lap 140 Joey Logano said his car wasn’t consistent. It was both loose and free.

During pit stops on lap 140 Kevin Harvick really liked his car.

During pit stops on lap 140 Carl Edwards said his car was good.

During pit stops on lap 140 Denny Hamlin said his car got looser over the course of a run.

Matt Kenseth got the lead around lap 143. He pitted a few laps earlier than the other front runners during that pit cycle.

Running order on lap 158: 4,11,88,48,22,20,19,5,31,78 … 2,24,15,42,47,1,43,27,13,10 … 18,16,55,41,6,17,51,14,35,7 … 38,9,34,62,33,95,26,23,32,98 … 30,3,40

Notable Moment: On lap 168 Matt Kenseth was on pit road early. He said his car was so loose he couldn’t even drive. Kenseth only ran 30 laps since his prior pit stop.

Notable Moment: On lap 175 the caution came out for debris. Casey Mears got the free pass. He was in 19th, the first car one lap down. This caution was very untimely for Kenseth who dropped down a lap not that long before the caution came out when he pitted.