The playoff field is finally set, and we’re in the home stretch of this year’s fantasy/betting season. These next ten weeks will be just as wild and unpredictable as the previous 26, but rest assured, I’ll be here to guide you through it all.
This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to its newest drafting track, Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the spring race here, a historic three-wide finish saw Daniel Suarez overcome Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney to break his winless streak and punch Trackhouse Racing’s only ticket to the playoffs this season.
Betting and making your fantasy selections for this race will be very difficult, as luck will be a large part of whether you are successful or not. Stats and trends virtually don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, so if you find yourself stuck between a couple of selections, go with your gut.
Now, before we get into the lineup let’s look at how last week went for my picks. Spoiler alert: there’s a winner in here.
RIGHT ON THE MONEY | LICK YOUR WOUNDS |
Chase Briscoe (Race winner, 67 points scored) | William Byron (-6 points scored) |
Kyle Busch (finished second, 64 points scored) | Chris Buescher (+400) to finish top three |
Harrison Burton (+130) over Carson Hocevar (Burton finished 21st, Hocevar 33rd) | Bubba Wallace (+2000) to win |
Not too shabby of a week for me. As an added bonus, only three of my six fantasy picks finished outside the top ten at Darlington Raceway, the most I’ve had in a while. I also pocketed a few extra bucks, courtesy of Burton’s ability to survive.
I hope all of you had as good a race last weekend as I did. Now, before we get into the lineup, here’s the rules:
Drivers will be awarded points based on their finishing position, position differential, fastest laps and laps led. The driver who wins the race scores 45 fantasy points, while second gets 42 points, third gets 41 points and so on, at least through the top 10. The 11th-place finisher scores 32 points, 21st gets 21 points and 31st gets 10 points.
However many spots they lose or gain on the track are added to or subtracted from their score. Then, if the driver leads a lap, they will earn 0.25 points for each lap led and 0.45 points for each fastest lap.
DraftKings NASCAR Scoring Rules
Fantasy Forecast
1. Ryan Blaney ($10,500)
Kicking things off is the defending champion of course.
Blaney literally came within an eyelash of winning here in the spring and has won here before. Not to mention, he also is very good on this type of racetrack, with multiple wins at Talladega Superspeedway and Daytona International Speedway.
The 12 team will have to keep him up front though to avoid the chaos that tends to unfold around midpack throughout the day. If they can do this and Blaney executes, he’s well worth the hefty price tag.
2. Chase Elliott ($9,500)
While Elliott may have come up short of the regular season title, I’m sure he’s very happy to be back in the playoff hunt after a season away. Driver No. 9 has seen a pretty big dip in performance over the last two weeks, but there’s better news for the Georgia-born driver:
He’s home this week.
He has a win here back in 2022 and looked pretty decent in the spring here despite sustaining heavy damage in a very early crash. Don’t be surprised to see him up front this week as long as crew chief Alan Gustafson can find a winning combination of speed and handling for this track. They haven’t hit the mark here lately in that area, so buyer beware.
3. Daniel Suarez ($7,200)
The winner in what will go down as one of the greatest finishes in NASCAR history back in the spring, Suarez hasn’t done much from a fantasy perspective since that massive win.
However, Trackhouse will likely put full support behind this team as they embark on their playoff journey, which means Suarez will likely unload faster than he has in quite a while on Sunday.
I think that you can’t go wrong with the salary on this pick, and he’ll likely feel confident here as well.
4. Josh Berry ($6,400)
So, lost in the shock of Burton’s win at Daytona a couple of weeks ago was just how well Berry performed all night before barrel rolling down the backstretch late in that race.
He won a stage and, for all intents and purposes, looked to have the car to beat for most of the night. Wouldn’t it be something if the first car number that SHR won a championship with (No. 14) won last week and the one that won its second won it this week (No. 4)?
At $6,400, I think Berry is the steal of the week.
5. Corey LaJoie ($6,300)
Alright, so I hear a lot of you groaning and let me just say, I understand. However, I honestly think Lajoie will run fabulously at Atlanta this week.
He’s coming off of his first career non-drafting track top-10 finish, and he likely needs a huge performance to close out the year so that he can find some contract options out there.
This driver may not be on anyone’s radar at all, but I think you’d be mistaken to leave him off. He very nearly won this exact race in 2022.
6. Harrison Burton ($6,200)
Burton begins his very first Cup Series playoff run this weekend. It’s safe to say no one expects much out of the famous red and white No. 21 these next ten weeks.
However, I think you’d be crazy to count him out. Each season since this format debuted back in 2017, there has been a “Cinderella” driver come out of nowhere to bring the fight to the favorties.
I don’t know anything for sure, but my gut tells me that Burton will be a contender at Atlanta.
Prop Bets and Locks
- Austin Cindric (+2000) to win: Cindric is another driver that no one is really paying attention to entering these playoffs. I think that’s an absolute mistake. He’s proven his skill at this style of racing and is likely to be very good this week. If he can stay out of trouble, this could be a very nice payday for you.
- Toyota (+300) to win: It’s honestly different to see Toyota as the underdog manufacturer this week, considering all the drafting track talent they have in their cars. With guys like Wallace and Denny Hamlin out there, I think this bet has the best looking odds of the ones I’m playing this week.
- Justin Haley (+6000) to win: Alright, let’s really get crazy. Haley was a complete non-factor at Darlington, but at Daytona, he really put his skill on display. He was right in the thick of things. This style of racing means whoever is the last man standing can quite possibly win it. I think this a fun low risk, super high reward bet.
That’s all for this week. Good luck, and happy betting!
About the author
Garrett joined Frontstretch as a news writer in 2023, and became a fantasy racing and betting writer in 2024. Hailing from the heart of coal country in southern West Virginia, he's a married father of three and currently enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at New River Community Technical College in Beaver, WV.
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