Atlanta Oral B USA 500 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Brian Vickers – Atlanta has been a good track for Brian Vickers. He’s a driver who thrives at tracks where running the high-line comes into play. In his last 8 Atlanta races he has a 10.0 average result and has only finished lower than 11th once. Also in his races over this stretch he has a 13.8 average running position. Last season he had a solid race. He started 22nd, had a 15th place average running position and finished 10th. His next most recent Atlanta race was in 2011 and in that event he finished 11th. His next three most recent finishes are 7th, 7th and 5th. This season on 1.5 mile tracks he’s been one of the better performers in the series. In the five races on tracks of this length he’s scored the 11th most points, has a 12.6 average finish and a 14.0 average running position. Texas and Charlotte are the most similar tracks visited and at those venues he had results of 4th and 6th this season. The one aspect I don’t like about Vickers is that he’s been mediocre at best since June. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. has been a contender for the win in recent Atlanta races. Last season he had a good performance. He ran around 8th for a large portion of the race. In the final +20 laps he ran in either 2nd or 3rd. When the checkered flag waved he finished 3rd. Also in the race he started in 7th, earned the 9th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. In the race the strength of his car was being good over long runs. Martin Truex Jr. was very good at Atlanta in 2012. A reflection of how strong he was is his #1 position in the PROS Rankings. He had the race won until there was a late caution. New tires are everything at Atlanta so he was forced to come in for tires like everyone else. On pit road he lost the lead to Denny Hamlin. Then on the final restart while he was in 2nd he spun his tires which sealed his fate. In that race he started back in 28th but he was able to work his way up through the field. In the event he finished 4th, led 40 laps, had a 6th place average running position and earned the 5th best driver rating. This season on 1.5 mile tracks he hasn’t been that great. Performance wise he’s typically performed like a high-teens driver. (Yahoo B Driver)

Recommended Reading – Atlanta Top Tier Elite Picks, Atlanta Front Runner Rankings, Yahoo C List Fantasy Preview, Who will win the Atlanta Oral B USA 500?

Tony Stewart – Will he race? I don’t know. Personally if he doesn’t race this weekend I’m writing him off until Chicagoland. 1.5 mile tracks like Atlanta haven’t been his strength this year but he’s been decent. In the last four races on tracks of this length he has three results between 10th and 13th and a 20th place result. The good news about his previous stats line is that his 20th was at Kansas and that’s probably the least similar of the 1.5 mile tracks visited this season. I view Texas as the most similar and at that venue he won the pole, led 74 laps, earned the 8th best driver rating and finished 10th. The next most similar track visited is Charlotte and he finished 13th in that night race. Last season Tony Stewart missed this race due to injury and in his place Mark Martin finished 25th. In 2012 Stewart started on the pole, but his car wasn’t very good in the race. In that event his car was only good for a few laps before his handling went away. In the race he earned the 18th best driver rating, had a 20th place average running position and finished 22nd. The stat that’s the most glaring about his performance was that he only ran in the top fifteen in 15.3% percent of the laps run. In 2011 Stewart finished 3rd. In 2010 he went to victory lane and led 176 laps. In 26 Atlanta races Stewart has 3 wins, 10 top fives and 15 top tens. (Yahoo B Driver)

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