Alex Bowman Too Weak a Duelist to Win at Atlanta
9 months agoAlthough Alex Bowman's streak of six consecutive Daytona 500 front row starts ended this year, he did post his best Daytona finish of second last week, falling just short of passing his teammate, William Byron, for the win before the caution on the last lap ended the race. His race did not come without controversy, though, as he had previously triggered the race's Big One after misjudging a bump draft of Byron. Although Bowman does seem to be improving on drafting tracks, he still failed to lead a single lap at Daytona, so he probably isn't a favorite at Atlanta. The best predictor of winning on a drafting track is a driver's dueling ability, and Bowman is not a great duelist, as he only has a career lead change record of 43-49. While Bowman might be a good value play in DFS contests, he still seems like a longshot to win the race.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference