John Amis/Associated Press
The NASCAR Cup Series’ Sunday trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway comes with more questions than usual.
The 1.5-mile track was reconfigured after last season. Four inches of banking were added to the track, which led to the Cup Series calling on the superspeedway engine package for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
Atlanta’s new look brings some uncertainty to how Sunday’s race will go down, but the one thing that seems guaranteed is new faces at the top of the race standings.
Chase Briscoe won his first Cup Series race at Phoenix last week, and he sits on the pole for Atlanta after qualifying was rained out on Friday.
Briscoe and Austin Cindric earned their first victories in two of the first four races, while veterans like Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin are still searching for their first top-five finishes of the season.
Harvick and Keselowski may be in better positions to succeed on Sunday since the Ford and Chevrolet cars have had more success at Atlanta than Toyota.
Chevrolet and Ford combined to win the last nine races at Atlanta. The two manufacturers have also split the first four victories of the 2022 campaign.
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Info
Date: Sunday, March 19
Start Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app
Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Ryan Blaney (+950; bet $100 to win $950)
Kyle Larson (+950)
Joey Logano (+1200)
Denny Hamlin (+1200)
Kyle Busch (+1300)
Chase Elliott (+1300)
William Byron (+1500)
Kevin Harvick (+1500)
Alex Bowman (+1500)
Tyler Reddick (+1600)
Martin Truex Jr. (+1600)
Chase Briscoe (+1800)
Starting Lineup
Top Storylines to Watch
How Different Will Atlanta Run?
Atlanta’s reconfiguration and the lack of time on the track for the Cup Series drivers before Sunday puts a lot of intrigue into how the race will go.
The four-inch increase in banking should give Atlanta more of a superspeedway look, like Daytona or Talladega. The Cup Series teams adjusted to the track move by bringing the engine package typically reserved for Daytona or Talladega to Atlanta.
That could open the possibility for drivers that are strong at those two tracks to succeed at Atlanta.
Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Briscoe, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola were the top five finishers from February’s Daytona 500.
If the changes are not that significant, we could see the Ford cars control the race, like they have in previous seasons at Atlanta. Ford won five of the last six Cup Series races at Atlanta. Chevrolet earned four wins at Atlanta dating back to 2014.
There could also be a mix of the two styles of racing on display over the 500 miles on Sunday, but no one will know until the cars get out on track on Sunday.
Can Toyota End Atlanta Drought?
The Toyota cars came close to ending their Atlanta drought last July.
Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. finished second and third behind Kurt Busch in the last Cup Series trip to Atlanta.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch took fourth and fifth in the March race at Atlanta last season.
Hamlin and Busch both have victories in their careers at Atlanta from 2012 and 2013, and the change in banking could help them end the Toyota drought.
Hamlin is a three-time Daytona 500 winner and the superspeedway package may help him more than other racers.
Toyota should also get a boost that Kurt Busch, who was the last driver to win at Atlanta, is now in its stable at 23XI Racing alongside Wallace.
The combination of previous victories at Atlanta and success with the superspeedway engine package could help Toyota end its long drought in Georgia.
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