Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Contender or Pretender
[picapp align=”left” wrap=”true” link=”term=kurt+busch+atlanta&iid=8192287″ src=”http://view4.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/8192287/kobalt-tools-500/kobalt-tools-500.jpg?size=500&imageId=8192287″ width=”380″ height=”253″ /]Kurt Busch (Contender) – Kurt Busch has won the last two Atlanta spring races and in the COT era he’s been phenomenal. In the five Atlanta COT races he has the second best driver rating (109.6), and he’s led an average of 75 laps per race.
Kurt Busch has also proven himself on other similar tracks this season (Charlotte and Texas). His average finish on quad oval tracks for the year is second. In 2002 Kurt Busch won a rain delayed race at Atlanta that ended under the lights.
Jimmie Johnson (Pretender) – Besides Jimmie Johnson’s lack of luck and momentum at the moment Atlanta really hasn’t been a good place for Johnson in the COT. Almost all of Jimmie Johnson’s success at Atlanta came in the old car. In the five COT races Jimmie has only finished in the top ten twice. In 2008 Johnson finished second but that was largely the product of fresh tires at the end of the race, not because his car was that good.
Carl Edwards (Contender) – With the continued reemergence of Roush Racing Carl Edwards will certainly play into the mix for the win. He’s always been very successful at this track and knows his way to victory lane. Edwards has had some bad recent finishes at Atlanta but don’t let that scare you off.
Mark Martin (Pretender) – Where can you trust Mark Martin now? My answer would be nowhere until he gets a streak of good finishes going. In the last three Atlanta races Martin has an average start of fourth but don’t get suckered in just because of that. His average running position in these races is 14th and his average finish is 23rd.
Kasey Kahne (Contender) – Kasey Kahne is the defending champion of this race. Last year he started second and ran in the top five for almost the entire race. Even though Kasey Kahne didn’t win the spring race this year he still managed to have the best driver rating (138.1). His quad oval average finish for the year is seventh.
Ryan Newman (Pretender) – If you like qualifying you’ll like Ryan Newman. At one point in his career he won six straight poles at Atlanta. Last year Ryan Newman finished 9th, but to find his next Atlanta top ten you have to look all the way back to 2004.
