The NASCAR world remains in the south this week as the second race of the 2019 season will take place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. For the fifth straight year, the annual trip to the 1.54-mile Georgia race track will take place the week following the Daytona 500.

That’s one storyline in itself. But, there are plenty more including the debut of the new racing package.

Here are the top storylines for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (2 p.m. ET/FOX/PRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Racing Package

The chapter has now been closed on the old aero package in NASCAR’s premiere series. With that being said, the dawn of a new era in NASCAR is upon us. Last week’s race at Daytona was the official end of any past aero configuration for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. While it was a restrictor plate race, the Daytona 500 was run with a similar aero package of that we’ve seen in 2018 and prior.

This weekend in Atlanta, the Cup Series will officially hit the track with the new aero configuration that will run for the 2019 season and beyond. Some call it the drafting package. Others call it the restrictor plate package. Whatever you want to call it, they’re right in theory, but there aren’t any “restrictor plates” being used.

Instead, we’ll see tapered spacers on all Cup cars this weekend moving forward. Without getting all technical, the basis is that they’re being used to increase the drag of a car (slow them down) and also allow for cars to run closer together (suck up behind a car in front easier).

That in turn will create a completely different race than what we’ve seen in the past.

The cars will produce 550 horsepower this weekend, down from 750 that was used last year.

Also, Atlanta will be a bit different compared to most of the other races due to there not being any aeroducts being used. The aeroducts transfers air to the sides of the car, virtually moving it away from the front tire.

Only Atlanta, both races at Pocono, Darlington and Homestead will use this package.

How Will New Package Affect Tire Wear?

Atlanta is a popular track on the schedule due to the aged surface. See, when the track was reconfigured for 1997 and beyond, they also repaved it. That’s the last time the asphalt has been replaced.

In turn, it’s created a bumpy and aged track that produces high tire wear and multiple lanes to race in. Because of that, Atlanta has become one of the drivers’ favorites.

The track was supposed to go through a repave a few years ago, but due to the drivers’ input, they decided to patch some of the cracks and holes instead of fully repave it.

With a new package though, how much tire wear will take place? Goodyear has said that at most tracks, tire wear will be minimal. Due to lower horsepower and more downforce, there’s less of a load on the tires.

Will teams have to be creative with pit stops and pit strategy this year like they have in the past or will teams be able to run a full fuel stint on the same set of tires?

Practice? We’re Talking About Practice?

With a new rules package in place starting this weekend, this whole thing will be new. You would think that the teams would get more practice time to adapt. Instead, they’ll actually get less.

This weekend in Atlanta will see only two Cup practice sessions all weekend. In total, there will be just 160 minutes of on track activity. That’s 2 hours and 40 minutes. Where that’s different is, NASCAR usually gives teams one practice session on Friday and two on Saturday to get their cars dialed in. During the two Saturday sessions, they’re typically spaced out around qualifying for XFINITY or Trucks. That gives teams some time between sessions to add changes to their cars.

Well, with XFINITY and Trucks racing on the same day on Saturday, they’ll actually qualify first on Saturday morning preceding Cup practice. That gives teams just one session to make their cars right on Saturday.

Busch Brothers Head For Milestone Starts

When the green flag drops on Sunday, the Busch brothers will gain milestone starts. 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch will make his 650th series start. He will join 23 other drivers to accomplish that feat. His younger brother and 2015 series champion Kyle Busch will become the 41st driver to make 500 or more starts.

Both are more than capable of winning in Atlanta too.

Kurt, is a two-time winner (2009, 2010) and has four top eight finishes in his last five starts. Furthermore, since 2008, Busch has nine top eight finishes in his last 12 tries.

Kyle, has four top seven finishes in his last six starts including a win in 2013.

Will New Racing Package Affect Past Favorites?

Nothing in the past matters. How can it? This racing isn’t going to be remotely the same as its been or what we’ve witnessed before. It’s not going to be in the same zip code.

So, does that hurt a driver like Kevin Harvick? In 28 career Cup starts at Atlanta, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has two wins, two poles, seven top five finishes and 13 top 10’s. He’s led an astounding 1,152 laps during his Cup career there.

To further this point, as an example, last year Harvick started third and won. He led 191 laps. The year prior, he started on the pole and led 292 laps but finished ninth. He only finished there because of a pit road penalty with 25 laps-to-go while leading. He’s led at least 116 laps in five straight years on the 1.5-mile Georgia track. If you go back to 2012, he’s led 100 or more laps six times in seven tries.

Since 2009, he’s finished in the top 10 10 times in a 12 starts including five top five finishes. Also, in his last 12 NASCAR XFINITY Series starts, Harvick has five wins, two runner-ups and three fourth place runs. His worst finish in that time frame is 12th. He’s also led 100+ laps in six of his last 10 XFINITY Series starts too.

So, how will a new racing package affect this past dominance from Harvick at Atlanta?

While we don’t know the answer to that just yet, we do know that with what little we’ve seen of this new package so far, I highly doubt Harvick, or anyone else for that nature, leads more than 100 laps by themselves in Sunday’s race.

What about Brad Keselowski? He hasn’t finished worse than ninth since 2014. He won in 2017 and finished runner-up last year. Going back to 2011, his Atlanta finishes are – 6th, 3rd, 35th, 39th, 9th, 9th, 1st and 2nd respectively.

How does this rules package affect him?

What about some other drivers?

Kyle Larson – 2nd in 2017, 9th in 2018 in Cup, 5th, 3rd, 10th, 2nd, 3rd in five XFINITY Series starts.

Chase Elliott – 8th, 5th, 10th in Cup. Two fifth place runs in XFINITY and a fifth place run in Trucks too.

Kurt Busch – Nine top eight finishes in his last 12 Atlanta starts. He led 129 laps in a win in 2010.

Kyle Busch – Four top seven finishes in his last five starts including a win in 2013. He has eighth straight top seven finishes in the XFINITY Series including two consecutive wins and four runner-ups (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013).

Joey Logano – Four top six finishes in his last six Atlanta starts. Was runner-up in 2013 (led 78 laps) and fourth in 2015 (led 84 Laps). Has six top six finishes in as many tries in the XFINITY Series (6th, 6th, 6th, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd respectively).

Martin Truex Jr. – Four straight top eight finishes and six in his last seven starts.

Daytona 500 Hangover For Hamlin?

It’s pretty common for the Daytona 500 champion to have a rough time in the second race of the season. See, with winning the ‘500 comes more attention and media obligations. It’s a mentally and physically exhausting week without much sleep.

That’s why the winners are so excited to be back in their domain the next race. They like the attention, don’t get me wrong, but to be back in their own environment and behind the steering wheel of a race car is in their comfort zone.

In saying that, there’s a trend lately that Daytona 500 winners don’t do well the next week.

Since the series moved the second race of the season to Atlanta in 2015, the Daytona 500 champion has one top five finish in four tries. Joey Logano finished fourth in 2015, that’s the best. Hamlin, came home 16th after his first Daytona 500 win in 2016, while Kurt Busch was seventh in 2017 and Austin Dillon 14th last year.

The last time the Daytona 500 winner won the second race of the season too was Matt Kenseth back in 2009. That’s the only time a driver has gone back-to-back to start a season off with in the last 21 years.

Furthermore, since the Daytona 500 became the first race on the schedule each year in 1981, just twice has a driver won the first and second races of the season. Jeff Gordon (1997) is the other.

In eight of the last 14 years, the winner has finished 10th or worse the next week.

Will Hamlin have another Daytona 500 hangover?