NASCAR PREVIEW
Atlanta Motor Speedway is next up for the Monster Energy Cup series
Trey Campbell
Feb 23, 2018, 6:08 am
Chase Elliot (No. 9 car) could finally get it done this week. Jerry Markland/Getty Images
This week The Monster Energy Cup Series heads to the Peach State for the Quick trip folds of honor 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This track is a one-and-a-half-mile oval with banking of 24 degrees. These high banked corners and multiple grooves around the track usually call for fast lap times and long green flag runs. In fact, in last year's race the first caution was not displayed until lap 86 and that was for the ending of stage one. This track is known for being a relatively clean race track that doesn't have many wrecks so more than likely there will be an abundance of green flag pit stops. Look for pit stops to be pivotal in deciding who wins this race and any mistake can be the all the difference.
It will be imperative that drivers watch their speed exiting and leaving pit row. Take last year ,for example :Kevin Harvick led a race high 292 laps and swept both stage one and stage two and victory appeared to be in his grasp. However, after a late race caution came out for the stalled car of Austin Dillion on lap 311, Harvick was penalized for speeding on pit road. This ended any chances of victory for him although he was able to rebound for a respectable ninth place finish.
Weather may also be an issue this weekend. After looking at the forecast for the race it would appear as if there is an 80 percent chance of rain in the forecast for Sunday night and early Monday morning, so if you are a diehard NASCAR fan be sure to have your sick days or your tablets ready if you want to watch the race possibly on Monday. My predictions for this race are that it will be relatively uneventful early until towards the end. My winner of this week's race is Chase Elliott. As most NASCAR fans know Elliot has had a difficult time in his pursuit of his first win. I think this is the place where he gets it done. Not only has he run well at Atlanta, but it is also his home track. Elliott has finished an average of 6.50 here in both of his starts and even though he hasn't led a lap here yet, I think that this week will be different. Look for the Napa Chevrolet to be up front.
My dark horse driver for this week is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. After a disastrous conclusion at Daytona, I think that he has a good chance to have a good finish. While yes, his average at the track is 19th in the last few races he has steadily improved his results. In 2016 he finished 15th, he then backed it up the next year with a 10h-place finish the next year and this year he will get a top five and maybe in contention for a victory at the end of the race. Look for him and his teammate Trevor Bayne to have good results this weekend. Overall, I think this race will have an uneventful beginning with long green flag runs, but when it comes down to the final stage the racing will get closer and the sense of urgency will ramp up. This track is known for classic finishes such as Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson in 2005 and of course Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon in 2001. If you have the patience to sit through the long runs, you won't be disappointed with the outcome It should be an entertaining race.
(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Refrence.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).
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If you are a believer in the third time is a charm, go ahead and book the Texans for their first ever appearance in the AFC Championship game! Saturday is the Texans’ third crack at the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Of course, the Texans had a third time is the charm opportunity at advancing beyond the division round back in 2016 and came nowhere close. Charm will have nothing to do with the outcome at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs have administered the Texans’ two most humiliating postseason defeats in franchise history. They came as the bookend postseason appearances of Bill O’Brien’s tenure as head coach. In 2015, the Texans won the worst division in the AFC (that sounds familiar) but as a division champ got to play host to the Wild Card 11-5 Chiefs. The visitors were three-point favorites. They won by 30. 30-0 to be more precise. Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown. It would have been in the Texans’ best interest to have forfeited right then and there. In what was not exactly a shocking development, Texans’ quarterback Brian Hoyer wasn’t up to the task, throwing for just 112 yards and four interceptions. On the Chiefs’ side third-year tight end Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 128 yards. Taylor Swift was not in attendance.
The second Texans-Chiefs playoff get together is the most incredible game in Texans’ history. The Texans showed up in Missouri fresh off the greatest comeback win in their history, having come from down 16-0 in the third quarter to best the Buffalo Bills in overtime. In what could safely be characterized as stunning, the Texans put up three first quarter touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. *Massive bonus points if you can name the three Texans who scored those TDs, answer below. A field goal made it 24-0 Texans with 10:54 left in the second quarter. In a collapse tough to pull off, the Texans would trail before halftime. The Chiefs scored four touchdowns in nine minutes and eleven seconds of game time, with that Kelce fellow scoring the last three of them. Some will recall O’Brien calling a fake punt from his own 31-yard line with the Texans up 24-7. Too soon? Justin Reid (now pursuing his third Super Bowl ring in three seasons as a Chief) was stopped short. An even more damning O’Brien moment came later in that game when he actually had to use a timeout to change his mind and go for it with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter, the Texans down 48-31, and facing fourth and four at the K.C. 42. That was a fire-able on the spot offense! Instead it took an 0-4 start to the 2020 season for O’Brien to be ousted. 51-31 Chiefs was the final score, and they went on to win the first of their three Super Bowl titles in the ongoing Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes era.
Back to the present
Those routs were then, this is now. For a 15-2 team the Chiefs seem vulnerable. Maximum credit to them for having won an NFL record 16 consecutive games decided by eight or fewer points, 11 of them this season including their 27-19 victory over the Texans December 21. Perhaps the two-time defending champions were often bored with the regular season and often did just enough to win. The Texans would have been tied with them late in the third quarter had Ka’imi Fairbairn not botched an extra point. On the other hand, it was the play that got them within 17-16 which resulted in Tank Dell’s catastrophic season-ending knee injury. Who besides Nico Collins will do something in the passing game Saturday? Last Saturday the Texans’ pass rush harassed and flustered Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert. Mahomes is a different breed. Four weeks ago the Texans sacked Mahomes just once and did not intercept him. That seemingly must change for the Texans to pull off what be a shocker for most people. Saturday’s high temperature forecast for Kansas City is 25 degrees. Not ideal for the Texans but better than if the game had been scheduled for Sunday when the high is supposed to be 16.
Still standing
Four Texans who dressed for the debacle five years ago will suit up against the Chiefs Saturday: Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard who were in their first season with the team, Fairbairn, and long snapper Jon Weeks. Granted he’s just a long snapper (important role but not physically taxing), but Weeks is in his 15th season with the Texans and has yet to miss a game-244 regular season games (with Saturday his 14th playoff game, also without a miss). Presuming he is back next season, Weeks (who turns 39 next month) can crack the top five list of most consecutive games played in NFL history by answering the bell in the first 12 regular season games.
*The Texans’ three early TDS in the 51-31 loss at KC: 1. Kenny Stills with a 54-yard reception 2. Lonnie Johnson with a 10-yard return of a blocked punt 3. Darren Fells with a four-yard grab
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!