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Race Preview/Lineup Construction
Atlanta Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile track that has major tire falloff and is similar to tracks like Auto Club, Darlington, and Homestead. This race is 400 miles and 260 laps, so there are 182 dominator points available. There is some weather in the area which means they might not get in the full race depending on if the storm hits. Kyle Larson dominated the Atlanta race earlier this season, but it was Blaney who took the checkered flag at the end. I think this is a race where we’ll want to target 1-2 dominators and mix in some of the place differential plays. They’ll be running the 550 horsepower package, so I expect the Hendrick cars to run well with how dominant they’ve been in this package. With all of that out of the way, here are some of the drivers that I’ll be targeting for today’s race!
Kyle Larson (DK $12,000 FD $14,500)
Larson dominated at Atlanta earlier this season leading 269 of the 334 laps (82%) and always runs great in the 550 horsepower package. The only way I could see this play busting is if he wrecks or has an issue. It’s really hard to bet against Larson given the year he’s having right now. I think if you’re playing him today, it makes sense to pair him with most of the place differential drivers that can finish near the front. He’s a lock in cash games and looks like a tough fade in tournaments with the upside he has.
Ryan Blaney (DK $10,500 FD $10,500)
Blaney is one of the best drivers when it comes to managing his tires. He proved that by winning at Atlanta passing Kyle Larson at the end. He offers plenty of place differential starting 15th and has top 5 upside in this race. I don’t think I’ll play him in cash games with some of the other top tier options, but I think he makes for a strong tournament option.
Alex Bowman (DK $9,400 FD $11,000)
Bowman is another driver that runs great at tracks with tire falloff. He won at Auto Club in 2020 and Chicagoland back in 2019 which are similar tracks to Atlanta. Also, he finished 3rd here earlier this season and offers a ton of place differential starting 17th. I think he’s way too cheap on DraftKings and looks like a strong play on both sites given how he’s run this season. I think Bowman is a great play for cash games and tournaments today.
Daniel Suarez (DK $7,700 FD $6,500)
Suarez was running inside the top 10 at Atlanta but had a speeding penalty at the end and finished 17th. He’s ran great at the 1.5’s this season with four top 15’s in the five races at the 1.5’s this season. His price is higher than usual, but he offers a lot of place differential starting from 27th. I love the speed they’ve shown this season, so don’t be surprised if he has a strong run here.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr (DK $6,600 FD $6,000)
Stenhouse has ran well in the 550 horsepower package this season with four finishes of 13th or better over the five races at the 1.5’s. He doesn’t offer as much place differential starting 16th, but he could still score well for DFS depending on where he finishes. Stenhouse is another driver that runs well at tracks with tire falloff, so I think there’s sneaky top 10 upside here for him today.
Ryan Newman (DK $6,100 FD $5,800)
There’s no reason for Newman to be this cheap on DraftKings and FanDuel this weekend. He finished 13th at Atlanta earlier this season, 7th at Homestead, and 10th at Darlington. It’s really hard not to play him with the amount of place differential upside he has at his price. He’ll probably be one of the highest owned drivers today, so he could be a driver I’ll go underweight on given the variance in NASCAR DFS.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my free article for the Cup Series Atlanta race, and I wish you the best of luck in your DFS contests! Make sure to follow me on Twitter if you haven’t already @DFS_NASCAR_Zone, so you can see when I post NASCAR DFS content or ask any questions! If you want access to our final thoughts with all of the drivers we like today, core plays, and prop plays, make sure to sign up for the NASCAR Core Plays Package! Good luck and we hope to see those winning screenshots!
