Front Runners – 2023 Quaker State 400, Atlanta Motor Speedway

Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Front Runners highlights the drivers that lead laps, run fast laps, and run inside the top 10, 5, & 3 the most at correlated track types.

The NASCAR Cup Series makes its first return visit of 2023 when drivers will take 267 laps around the 1.5-mile quad-oval at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Although Atlanta is an intermediate sized track, the reconfiguration following the 2021 season has made Atlanta into a mini-superspeedway. Atlanta is now banked up to 28 degrees in the turns. Like at Daytona and Talladega, success at Atlanta requires drivers to successfully navigate and stay in the draft.

This week I am focusing on three data sets. First, the largest dataset includes all nine races that the Cup Series has completed at Atlanta, Daytona, and Talladega in the Gen 7 car. The second data set is just the three races at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Gen 7 car. The final data set is the three drafting races so far in 2023.

The chart below is sorted by percentage of laps led by default. There was a data corruption in a few races that eliminated finishing position and fastest laps from about half the races I am considering this week. Since that data was corrupted I have removed the columns of number of finishes and fastest laps from this weeks chart. I’m hoping to get it restored before the next drafting race at Daytona in August. The good news is that at drafting tracks, finishing position can often get misleading and fastest laps are largely random. So if there is any race where missing these stats has the least impact, its this one.

Laps run inside the Top 10, 5, 3, and led as percentage laps driver completed at Atlanta (3), Daytona (3), and Talladega (3)

wdt_ID Driver Races T10 Laps T10% T5 Laps T5% T3 Laps T3% Led LL% Laps Laps Run %
1 William Byron 9 878 54.06 570 35.10 400 24.63 192 11.82 1,624 81.98
2 Chase Elliott 8 977 60.99 514 32.08 363 22.66 183 11.42 1,602 80.87
3 Joey Logano 9 796 42.61 514 27.52 371 19.86 184 9.85 1,868 94.30
4 Ryan Blaney 9 1,142 57.85 811 41.08 606 30.70 161 8.16 1,974 99.65
5 Brad Keselowski 9 751 40.59 465 25.14 269 14.54 149 8.05 1,850 93.39
6 Ross Chastain 9 751 41.91 454 25.33 263 14.68 125 6.98 1,792 90.46
7 Erik Jones 9 822 44.08 415 22.25 204 10.94 85 4.56 1,865 94.14
8 Aric Almirola 9 729 38.25 441 23.14 239 12.54 86 4.51 1,906 96.21
9 Kyle Busch 9 758 41.53 372 20.38 238 13.04 78 4.27 1,825 92.13
10 Denny Hamlin 9 1,050 61.22 482 28.10 231 13.47 73 4.26 1,715 86.57
11 Martin Truex Jr 9 858 43.31 400 20.19 244 12.32 79 3.99 1,981 100.00
12 Bubba Wallace 9 592 30.02 392 19.88 265 13.44 70 3.55 1,972 99.55
13 Ricky Stenhouse Jr 9 474 28.99 219 13.39 137 8.38 54 3.30 1,635 82.53
14 Kyle Larson 9 686 41.55 341 20.65 212 12.84 49 2.97 1,651 83.34
15 Daniel Suarez 9 603 33.24 210 11.58 123 6.78 52 2.87 1,814 91.57
16 Tyler Reddick 9 547 36.25 326 21.60 218 14.45 43 2.85 1,509 76.17
17 Christopher Bell 9 907 50.36 401 22.27 229 12.72 50 2.78 1,801 90.91
18 Chris Buescher 9 588 36.75 282 17.63 165 10.31 39 2.44 1,600 80.77
19 Austin Cindric 9 787 42.47 385 20.78 256 13.82 45 2.43 1,853 93.54
20 Harrison Burton 9 283 19.12 117 7.91 79 5.34 33 2.23 1,480 74.71
21 Alex Bowman 8 572 33.99 210 12.48 127 7.55 31 1.84 1,683 84.96
22 Corey LaJoie 9 318 17.53 119 6.56 91 5.02 27 1.49 1,814 91.57
23 Kevin Harvick 9 689 36.69 381 20.29 165 8.79 24 1.28 1,878 94.80
24 Ryan Preece 3 159 25.90 89 14.50 52 8.47 6 0.98 614 30.99
25 Austin Dillon 9 187 12.31 60 3.95 36 2.37 13 0.86 1,519 76.68
26 Chase Briscoe 9 361 20.27 122 6.85 69 3.87 12 0.67 1,781 89.90
27 Ty Gibbs 5 143 16.92 69 8.17 42 4.97 4 0.47 845 42.66
28 Justin Haley 9 394 20.26 101 5.19 34 1.75 9 0.46 1,945 98.18
29 BJ McLeod 9 43 2.54 15 0.89 11 0.65 7 0.41 1,692 85.41
30 Cole Custer 6 170 16.39 36 3.47 6 0.58 3 0.29 1,037 52.35
31 AJ Allmendinger 3 72 10.79 14 2.10 3 0.45 1 0.15 667 33.67
32 Michael McDowell 9 362 18.99 118 6.19 19 1.00 2 0.10 1,906 96.21
33 Noah Gragson 8 178 13.69 68 5.23 41 3.15 1 0.08 1,300 65.62
34 Ty Dillon 9 122 8.91 21 1.53 8 0.58 1 0.07 1,370 69.16
35 Todd Gilliland 9 368 19.91 128 6.93 47 2.54 1 0.05 1,848 93.29
36 JJ Yeley 3 11 1.72 5 0.78 2 0.31 0 0.00 638 32.21
37 Austin Hill 1 2 1.02 1 0.51 1 0.51 0 0.00 196 9.89
Driver Races T10 Laps T10% T5 Laps T5% T3 Laps T3% Led LL% Laps Laps Run %

Laps run inside the Top 10, 5, 3, and led as percentage laps driver completed at Atlanta in 2022 and 2023

wdt_ID Driver Races T10 Fin T10 Laps T10% T5 Fin T5 Laps T5% T3 Fin T3 Laps T3% Wins Led LL% Fast Laps FL% Laps Laps Run %
1 William Byron 3 1 513 74.67 1 342 49.78 1 255 37.12 1 151 21.98 15 2.30 687 81.30
2 Chase Elliott 2 2 485 82.91 1 282 48.21 1 202 34.53 1 124 21.20 11 1.69 585 69.23
3 Joey Logano 3 2 408 48.75 1 272 32.50 1 214 25.57 1 152 18.16 19 2.92 837 99.05
4 Ross Chastain 3 2 387 45.80 2 267 31.60 2 152 17.99 0 80 9.47 33 5.07 845 100.00
5 Brad Keselowski 3 1 336 39.76 1 203 24.02 1 82 9.70 0 47 5.56 17 2.61 845 100.00
6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr 3 0 181 29.10 0 97 15.59 0 75 12.06 0 30 4.82 14 2.15 622 73.61
7 Kyle Busch 3 1 287 41.53 0 152 22.00 0 104 15.05 0 28 4.05 16 2.46 691 81.78
8 Martin Truex Jr 3 1 320 37.87 0 139 16.45 0 112 13.25 0 32 3.79 24 3.69 845 100.00
9 Aric Almirola 3 1 266 33.50 0 143 18.01 0 38 4.79 0 23 2.90 27 4.15 794 93.96
10 Tyler Reddick 3 1 348 51.56 1 250 37.04 0 168 24.89 0 19 2.81 10 1.54 675 79.88
11 Ryan Blaney 3 2 651 77.04 1 473 55.98 0 347 41.07 0 22 2.60 15 2.30 845 100.00
12 Christopher Bell 3 1 549 64.97 1 227 26.86 1 100 11.83 0 22 2.60 21 3.23 845 100.00
13 Denny Hamlin 3 1 548 74.97 0 258 35.29 0 82 11.22 0 17 2.33 13 2.00 731 86.51
14 Corey LaJoie 3 2 190 22.49 2 85 10.06 0 76 8.99 0 19 2.25 21 3.23 845 100.00
15 Austin Cindric 3 1 336 46.67 1 160 22.22 1 121 16.81 0 12 1.67 23 3.53 720 85.21
16 Daniel Suarez 3 2 347 43.48 1 71 8.90 0 46 5.76 0 13 1.63 16 2.46 798 94.44
17 Kevin Harvick 3 0 180 23.23 0 85 10.97 0 49 6.32 0 12 1.55 12 1.84 775 91.72
18 Harrison Burton 3 1 89 11.53 0 25 3.24 0 19 2.46 0 9 1.17 12 1.84 772 91.36
19 Erik Jones 3 2 296 35.03 1 114 13.49 0 28 3.31 0 9 1.07 28 4.30 845 100.00
20 Chris Buescher 3 1 207 33.33 0 74 11.92 0 7 1.13 0 5 0.81 8 1.23 621 73.49
21 Chase Briscoe 3 0 181 21.45 0 62 7.35 0 34 4.03 0 6 0.71 34 5.22 844 99.88
22 Bubba Wallace 3 0 145 17.26 0 112 13.33 0 90 10.71 0 3 0.36 12 1.84 840 99.41
23 BJ McLeod 3 0 9 1.52 0 5 0.85 0 4 0.68 0 2 0.34 10 1.54 591 69.94
24 Austin Dillon 3 0 40 8.85 0 17 3.76 0 2 0.44 0 1 0.22 15 2.30 452 53.49
25 Kyle Larson 3 0 171 25.11 0 69 10.13 0 29 4.26 0 1 0.15 19 2.92 681 80.59
26 Justin Haley 3 1 171 20.24 0 25 2.96 0 7 0.83 0 1 0.12 29 4.45 845 100.00
27 Alex Bowman 3 1 335 44.97 0 83 11.14 0 42 5.64 0 0 0.00 22 3.38 745 88.17
28 Ryan Preece 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 4 0.61 244 28.88
29 Ty Gibbs 1 1 24 9.23 0 1 0.38 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 10 1.54 260 30.77
30 Cole Custer 2 1 14 3.41 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 10 1.54 410 48.52
31 AJ Allmendinger 1 0 12 4.62 0 1 0.38 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 8 1.23 260 30.77
32 Michael McDowell 3 0 71 8.44 0 9 1.07 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 19 2.92 841 99.53
33 Noah Gragson 3 0 14 3.74 0 2 0.53 0 2 0.53 0 0 0.00 4 0.61 374 44.26
34 Ty Dillon 3 0 6 1.12 0 4 0.75 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 10 1.54 536 63.43
35 Todd Gilliland 3 0 86 10.53 0 21 2.57 0 6 0.73 0 0 0.00 15 2.30 817 96.69
36 JJ Yeley 1 0 1 0.39 0 1 0.39 0 1 0.39 0 0 0.00 3 0.46 258 30.53
37 Austin Hill 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
Driver Races T10 Fin T10 Laps T10% T5 Fin T5 Laps T5% T3 Fin T3 Laps T3% Wins Led LL% Fast Laps FL% Laps Laps Run %

Laps run inside the Top 10, 5, 3, and led as percentage laps driver completed drafting tracks in 2023

wdt_ID Driver Races T10 Laps T10% T5 Laps T5% T3 Laps T3% Led LL% Laps Laps Run %
1 Joey Logano 3 413 61.83 329 49.25 243 36.38 156 23.35 667 99.85
2 Brad Keselowski 3 391 58.53 286 42.81 161 24.10 91 13.62 667 99.85
3 Ryan Blaney 3 349 52.25 266 39.82 219 32.78 53 7.93 668 100.00
4 Aric Almirola 3 349 52.25 251 37.57 147 22.01 44 6.59 616 92.22
5 Bubba Wallace 3 186 27.84 126 18.86 69 10.33 40 5.99 661 98.95
6 Chris Buescher 3 302 45.21 150 22.46 70 10.48 37 5.54 597 89.37
7 Martin Truex Jr 3 360 53.89 126 18.86 78 11.68 32 4.79 668 100.00
8 Denny Hamlin 3 471 70.51 181 27.10 88 13.17 27 4.04 668 100.00
9 Christopher Bell 3 303 45.36 122 18.26 73 10.93 26 3.89 668 100.00
10 Harrison Burton 3 103 15.42 46 6.89 30 4.49 21 3.14 584 87.43
11 Alex Bowman 3 224 33.53 98 14.67 71 10.63 20 2.99 668 100.00
12 Kyle Busch 3 253 37.87 108 16.17 86 12.87 16 2.40 667 99.85
13 Ricky Stenhouse Jr 3 110 16.47 47 7.04 34 5.09 16 2.40 668 100.00
14 Ross Chastain 3 153 22.90 71 10.63 32 4.79 14 2.10 668 100.00
15 Kevin Harvick 3 241 36.08 137 20.51 78 11.68 13 1.95 598 89.52
16 Daniel Suarez 3 137 20.51 31 4.64 12 1.80 7 1.05 621 92.96
17 Chase Briscoe 3 71 10.63 39 5.84 34 5.09 6 0.90 637 95.36
18 Kyle Larson 3 267 39.97 133 19.91 74 11.08 6 0.90 609 91.17
19 Ryan Preece 3 159 23.80 89 13.32 52 7.78 6 0.90 614 91.92
20 Austin Cindric 3 412 61.68 176 26.35 97 14.52 5 0.75 666 99.70
21 Ty Gibbs 3 142 21.26 69 10.33 42 6.29 4 0.60 664 99.40
22 Erik Jones 3 64 9.58 22 3.29 8 1.20 3 0.45 575 86.08
23 AJ Allmendinger 3 72 10.78 14 2.10 3 0.45 1 0.15 667 99.85
24 BJ McLeod 3 3 0.45 2 0.30 2 0.30 1 0.15 589 88.17
25 Noah Gragson 3 115 17.22 57 8.53 35 5.24 1 0.15 659 98.65
26 William Byron 3 201 30.09 92 13.77 35 5.24 1 0.15 590 88.32
27 Michael McDowell 3 82 12.28 34 5.09 3 0.45 0 0.00 657 98.35
28 Austin Dillon 3 48 7.19 15 2.25 7 1.05 0 0.00 603 90.27
29 Carson Hocevar 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
30 Corey LaJoie 3 155 23.20 16 2.40 3 0.45 0 0.00 668 100.00
31 Gray Gaulding 0 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00
32 JJ Yeley 2 11 1.65 5 0.75 2 0.30 0 0.00 454 67.96
33 Justin Haley 3 85 12.72 30 4.49 8 1.20 0 0.00 659 98.65
34 Todd Gilliland 3 51 7.63 0 0.00 0 0.00 0 0.00 664 99.40
35 Ty Dillon 3 31 4.64 12 1.80 7 1.05 0 0.00 482 72.16
36 Tyler Reddick 3 158 23.65 110 16.47 59 8.83 0 0.00 573 85.78
Driver Races T10 Laps T10% T5 Laps T5% T3 Laps T3% Led LL% Laps Laps Run %

Thanks for checking out the Front Runners! Let’s WIN THE RACE!

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Greg Matherne

Director of Betting Content, WIN THE RACE. NASCAR DFS & Betting.