,NASCAR heads to Atlanta this weekend which was the first race to be postponed due to Covid-19. We got to enjoy some trucks and xfinity racing in a doubleheader but now we get ready watch the Cup drivers compete. Atlanta is a 1.5 mile high tire wear track that compares to tracks like Charlotte, Texas and Darlington(tire wear). When we get a competition caution on Sunday, expect everyone to pit because tires make that much of a difference as you saw in both trucks and Xfinity today. This is a little different then the previous races where we saw a lot of teams stay out during the competition caution and needs to be accounted for when looking at early dominators. The strategy for cash and gpps this week will be 2-3 dominators mixed in with some place differential and high upside drivers.
Kevin Harvick (DK $11,700 FD $14,000)
When the Cup drivers come to Atlanta, Harvick is typically going to be the class of the field. Harvick has led over 100 laps in 5 of the last 6 races here. He hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 since 2014. Harvick has shown speed this season so far especially since they have come back from the layoff and especially at the tracks that compare to Atlanta. He will be popular on both sites in cash and gpps and hes chalk that you should eat.
Chase Elliott (DK $9,900 FD $12,300)
The point of Draftkings waiting to put out pricing after the lineup draw was to try to price correctly with the starting order. However Chase starts from the pole and has been one of, if not the best driver this season and he is priced as the 6th highest driver on Draftkings. Expect Chase to lead laps early here on Sunday. He has three top 4 finishes in the four races at Charlotte and Darlington after the lay off. Chase, like Harvick will be popular and is good chalk.
Brad Keselowski (DK $8,900 FD $13,200)
Another example of where Draftkings got the pricing wrong. All Brad has done is win two of the last three races this season and won two of the last three races here. Those wins also sandwiched a second place finish here. Some might say that Brad has lucked into his wins since racing came back however he has shown some speed as well and has four straight top 10 finishes. Brad has to be considered a dominator and will need some dom points to hit value but I like his upside.
Christopher Bell (DK $7,400 FD $6,000)
Christopher Bell starts 27th on Sunday and is a great place differential option. Last season in the Xfinity series he led 142 laps and won the race. Well those expectations will certainly not be met on Sunday, Bell has shown vast improvement coming off the layoff. Some of that improvement is him not wrecking the car. He has three top 11 finishes and coming off a 9th place finish last weekend at Bristol. This 7k range on DK, like every week is full of good options.
Erik Jones (DK $6,600 FD $9,000)
Erik has four top 12 finishes since the layoff and has finishes of 7th, 11th and 14th at Atlanta in his Cup career. If you look at all those stats, you would expect him to be more of a mid $8k guy on DK. However he becomes one of the top value upside drivers for Sunday. He finished 5th last weekend and they dropped his price $400. The upside is there for Erik again this weekend for a finish inside the top 10.
Matt Kenseth (DK $8,100 FD $7,000)
When Matt was a full time driver, Atlanta was one of his better tracks. He was a constant fixture inside the top 12 in almost every race. Being a high tire wear track and where there is an edge on how the driver handles his car, I like to look towards veterans. Kenseth is now going into his sixth race with this team and the cobwebs should be swept away now. He starts 19th and I don’t think a top 10 is out of reach if all the chips fall right. Matt is also at the top of a price range that I really love and will have exposure to many of them in GPPs.
Any questions message me on twitter @davidjr831. If you want access to my cores and prop plays subscribe to the NASCAR package below. Also don’t forget we have PGA starting up this week and @sscherman will have all your PGA needs covered from cores to props as well! Good luck this week and hope to see us all in the green like last week with multiple takedowns!!!
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