Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Bubba Wallace
Atlanta Fantasy Spin – At Atlanta, look for Bubba Wallace to be fast and be a factor. Wallace is a strong superspeedway performer, and there’s no denying his knack for the draft. I think this race is circled on the #23’s schedule, and I have no doubt he’ll perform at a high-level if he can avoid trouble. One attribute you have to love about Wallace is how well the #23 team is performing on a weekly basis. Since Dover minus the road courses and Gateway, Wallace has an 8th place average finish.
Atlanta Track History – At Atlanta, Bubba Wallace has shown potential, but I’ll note you can’t really read into any of his results, since he’s yet to have an incident free race. This spring on lap 10 while running in 19th, Bubba Wallace spun and hit the inside wall which dropped him two laps down which is what ultimately doomed him to a 27th. Last year, Wallace was strong in the spring but a dud in the summer. That said, Wallace did have a solid 13.5 average finish between the combined events. Last summer, Wallace struggled. On lap 53, Wallace was way back in 31st and radioed his team that he thought something broke in the rear of his car. Later in the race early in the final Stage around lap 170, Wallace was involved in a “Big One”, but he kept on motoring along. With 18 to go Wallace was running in 20th, but thanks to all the attrition and the wild ending, Wallace escaped with a 14th. Last spring, Wallace had a great car and over the final Stage, he consistently ran in the top five. In the race, Wallace finished 8th in Stage #2, led 3 laps, had a 10.6 average running position but finished an asterisk mark 13th. At the start of the final lap, Wallace was running in 2nd but then he got loose which caused him to slip up the track and lose a handful of positions, and then coming to the finish line he wrecked.

Aric Almirola
Atlanta Fantasy Spin – Aric Almirola is a solid superspeedway performer who you don’t want to overlook at Atlanta. He’s been great on the new layout in terms of “Performance”, just not so much in terms of the results column. That said he’s 3 for 3 at running well and being a top ten contender and on Sunday night, I’m sure he has another good performance in him. The key question is can he avoid trouble, because in 2 of the 3 races he’s had problems while running in the top 3.
Atlanta Track History –Aric Almirola has performed at a high-level at Atlanta and in terms of “Performance”, he’s been one of the best. This spring, Almirola looked great but finished an asterisk mark 30th. In the race, Almirola led 17 laps but on lap 208 while leading, Almirola had a flat tire and crashed which marked the end of his race. Last summer, Almirola finished 8th and had a 14.1 average running position. It was a quiet afternoon, but avoiding trouble was half the battle. In the spring, Almirola had a strong showing but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his 22nd. In the race, Almirola was at his best late, and in the race he finished 4th in Stage #2, but then late in the final Stage on lap 307 while he was running in 3rd, he was spun which led to his 22nd. For the afternoon, Almirola’s average running position was 12.7.

Alex Bowman
Atlanta Fantasy Spin – At Atlanta, look for Alex Bowman to have a solid showing, if he can avoid trouble. The #48 is fast at superspeedways, and Bowman is 3 for 3 at running well on the new Atlanta surface. This year at superspeedways over the combined events, Bowman’s 11.0 average finish is tied for being the 5th best. At Atlanta, I would view Bowman as a low double-digit to mid-teens driver based largely off his recent form.
Atlanta Track History – Alex Bowman has been solid at Atlanta and over all three races, he’s run well and been a top ten contender. This spring, Bowman had a solid showing and when the checkered flag waved, he finished 14th and had an 11.1 average running position. I will note, with 5 to go he was running in 9th, so he lost a handful of positions over the closing laps. Last summer, Bowman was a top five contender, but finished an asterisk mark 32nd. In the race, Bowman finished 2nd in Stage #1 but then on the last lap of Stage #2 while running in 5th, Bowman had a flat tire and got into the wall hard which marked the end of his race. Last spring, Bowman finished 7th in Stage #1, had a 16.8 average running position and then finished 10th when the checkered flag waved. His result is a little more impressive when you take into account on lap 145, he was involved in a multi-car wreck. When it was closing time, Bowman ran well and over the last 50 laps he typically ran within a few deviations of 10th.

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