NASCAR is back. They’ve actually been back a couple of weeks now. On May 17, NASCAR ended their 70 day COVID-19 hiatus at the Darlington Raceway for their first of seven scheduled races in a span of 11 days.

While that was Phase 1 and we recently have moved to Phase 2, where things are going to start beginning to trend back to normal. Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN) will see a lot of refreshed faces in the NASCAR garage. This is the first race since we’ve returned from the coronavirus break to where we didn’t come off of a weeknight event. The last Cup race was last Sunday in Bristol. 

See, the first phase was all about getting back going and experimenting. One day shows, no practice, no qualifying, shorter races, inverted fields, weeknight races and no fans. Some of those things will stick moving forward. I think the nine races back now show that practice could be a thing of the past. So could qualifying. One day shows should be a new norm. It saves a lot of time and money.

One thing that we could use, but maybe less of, is weeknight races. Yes, they work. Yes, it could benefit them. But, it’s also grueling for all involved too. This week, the teams get a little bit of rest. For the first time since the return, we have a week, not a couple of days, between races. When we show up to the Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, it will mark a full week between races.

“Yeah, it will be nice to have a week to actually kind of reset,” Clint Bowyer said Sunday at Bristol. “Racing two nights a week is no problem. I mean, we’ve all done that before. Usually it was Saturday and Sunday. When it’s a mix of Sunday to Wednesday, it doesn’t give you much time in between to kind of sit back and have a conversation with the guys.

“They’re digging as hard as they can, trying to play catch-up, getting cars to the racetrack. We’re doing the same thing, just trying to get to racetracks. Rules are changing left and right as we go, as everybody learns with this pandemic and everything of different states and different guidelines.”

Kyle Busch’s Crew Chief Adam Stevens agreed saying his team is exhausted for all the hours putting in.

“There’s quite a few of my crew guys who have been worn out here and spread pretty thin,” Stevens said. “They could really use a day or two off for sure, and they’re going to get that early in the week.

“We have a race in Atlanta with no practice, so the prep is down, but no midweek race … will make it a lot more palatable next week. Next week will probably be a week to get caught back up and assess where we’re at and maybe do a little bit more leg work on some of the future races so we can be a little bit more ahead. For certain there’s a large group of guys who need a day off.”

NASCAR’s President Steve Phelps said last week that midweek races would be something that could stay for the future schedules but they’d be more limited too.

Next Wednesday nights race at Martinsville may be the one of the last few midweek points paying races of the season for the Cup boys. The teams will welcome a return to some normalcy in that sense.

Also, race fans coming back may be in the plans again too. These first races back have been nice, but strange. But, as states open back up and social distancing measures being able to be met, fans in limited capacities at races could be in the cards soon as well.

“Starting to bother me,” said second place finisher Clint Bowyer. “Yeah, you’re starting to see racing going on with fans in the stands, social distancing, stuff like that. A place like Bristol, honestly it’s the first time I really felt like, man, it’s empty. Kind of felt that empty feeling where even racing out there, you can feel the vibe.

That deal with the 9 and the 22, you get out of the car right there and this place would have been standing on end. It would have erupted. Without that, it’s kind of like, Well, I guess we’ll go home. 

“I’m ready to have fans back is what I’m saying. I think it’s time.”

While Sunday’s race won’t have fans there, most drivers think a fan favorite should be among the favorites to win. Chase Elliott is from nearby Dawsonville and has scored three top 10 finishes in four Cup Series starts in Atlanta. He also should have won each of the last four Cup races, so his No. 9 Chevrolet is going to be tough to stop on Sunday afternoon. 

So will his teammate Alex Bowman. The HMS driver may not have ever scored a top 15 finish on the 1.54-mile oval before but he’s had speed in his No. 88 Chevrolet, most notably on aged surfaces like Atlanta where he won at Fontana back in early March and was runner-up to Kevin Harvick last month in Darlington. 

Jimmie Johnson even could end his 104 race winless drought as he’s looking like his oldself again. He’s confident heading to Atlanta and says that HMS will have cars to beat. 

Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski agree, saying it’s HMS’s race to basically lose. Luckily for Keselowski, HMS handed him two wins recently, so you can’t not try. Penske has won four times already in 2020, with three of them coming at the expense of a late race Hendrick blunder. 

Combined though, HMS and Penske have won six of the nine races run and look to be the favorites to get a seventh trip to victory lane on Sunday. Ford has won this race in each of the last three years while HMS has won three times as well there since 2014. Toyota’s, well they’ve been shut out of victory lane in Atlanta since 2014 and sees their pace lacking on 1.5-mile tracks in comparison to Ford and HMS. 

Unfortunately for them, 2020 hasn’t gone much like 2019 and I don’t think that changes on Sunday. Kyle Busch has led just 114 laps since Daytona, 100 of those coming last weekend in Bristol and has only led 11 laps in total in his last five combined Atlanta tries. He does have three top seven finishes in his last four tries though, but neither have seen him be all that competitive, just like this season has gone. Erik Jones has led 27 laps all year and has never earned a top five at Atlanta before in a Cup car. Martin Truex Jr. is winless so far and has never won in 21 career Atlanta starts. That leaves Denny Hamlin who may have won twice in 2020 but he’s just been pedestrian in the other races. Hamlin, hasn’t been at his best in Atlanta either. He has two top 10 finishes since 2012, albeit both being top fives. But, three of his last seven Atlanta finishes have been 38th. He’s finished 17th or worse in two of the last three weeks.

To me, the battle for the win will be between Penske, HMS and Stewart-Haas Racing. The Toyota’s will take the rest of the top spots and maybe steal a top five with a pit call or by virtue of some favorites taking themselves out, but they won’t have the speed to dominate or hang with Penske, HMS and SHR for most of the race.