I do not think anybody really knew what to expect once we put Daytona in the rearview mirror and turned our attention to the new reduced-downforce package in Atlanta. But I am going to go out on a limb and guess that nobody was wagering that the first 208 laps would run without a caution. I thought the cars would be more difficult to handle, making it more challenging for the less-experienced drivers, resulting in more spin-outs and crashes. It will be interesting to see if this repeats itself at upcoming races. If it does become a season-long pattern, I expect NASCAR is likely to consider the 20-minute caution clock that has just been introduced in the Truck series this season.
Once the race was over, the drivers talked enthusiastically about the fun they had driving these new cars. The most frequently heard comments referred to the old-school fun of having to work at it throughout the race. Happy drivers make for happy fans.
Carl had another good race. Other than green flag pit stop sequences, he spent the race in the top ten, and the majority of that time in the top five. Did you seem him on that last restart? Restarts have never been Carl's strong suit, but he was ducking and weaving, splitting cars to move up from 8th to 5th. But why is it always Kevin Harvick whose car gets in the way during an end-of-the-race restart?
So after the first two races, can you guess which drivers have had top-five finishes? Carl, of course. And Kyle Busch. It is good to be doing as well as the reigning Cup champion, especially when he is your teammate. When you run up front consistently, it is only a matter of time before you find yourself driving into the winner's circle.
That luck was not shared by his other teammates. Denny Hamlin ended up in 16th place 2 laps down, but at least he can think back to his glorious win last weekend in Daytona. But so far poor Matt Kenseth has not be having a good go at 2016. NASCAR tagged his gasman for handling a wrench while he was fueling the car. Apparently it has been something they have done before, but this time NASCAR noticed and called them on it. This infraction requires a pass-through penalty. Apparently they spent a bit too much time and attention arguing their case, because while nobody was paying attention NASCAR black-flagged the car. Instead of going one lap down, they found themselves two laps down. And in a race that had so few cautions, that was a death sentence. After they dominated the beginning laps of the race, they finished the race in 19th place. And all of this after his unfortunate Daytona finish.
Although it is far to early to worry about such statistics, let's take a peek at the Chase standings just for fun. Carl fell from 5th to 6th, but that is no big deal because he is sitting pretty high on the chart. And just in case those pesky points come into play in September, it is good to see that he moved up in the drivers' standings. He climbed from 5th, 9 points back, to 4th, 5 points back.
After Carl's many years with Roush, I still keep a fond eye on them. It was heartwarming to see that they finally seem to be moving out of the funk they have been in lately. They qualified 3rd, 5th, and 14th; and they finished 10th, 13th, and 22nd. Good job, Jack!
And finally, a shout out to Jimmie Johnson on his 76th victory, tying Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Considering the man's considerable skills, it is not an unexpected accomplishment. There are sure to be many more milestones in his future.
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