This weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway is 500 miles long, which means we’re going to run 325 laps on this old, worn out race track. That means there’s going to be quite a few FPTS up for grabs for fastest laps and laps led, therefore it is incredibly important to have one or two dominators in your DraftKings lineup if you plan on doing very well. Fortunately there are a couple of drivers that look to be the clear favorites heading into Sunday’s race, so now we just have to figure out how the rest of the drivers will shake out to make up that perfect roster for Atlanta.
Also check out: DraftKings Drivers to Avoid at Atlanta
High-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Atlanta (over $9,000)
Brad Keselowski ($10,000) – As far as the high-dollar drivers this weekend, Kevin Harvick ($10,200) is the clear favorite to dominate the race here in Atlanta on Sunday. However, if anyone is going to spoil the #4 team’s party, it’s going to be Brad Keselowski. Now, Kez has never won here at Atlanta, and the most laps he’s ever led in one race here is 31, but he stated on Saturday that this is the best car he’s ever had here, and drivers typically don’t say something so definite like that without it being true. Looking at Happy Hour on Saturday, the #2 Ford posted some nice lap times, including the 7th-best ten-lap average despite making that run later in the session (that’s a good thing). The #2 crew chief, Paul Wolfe, said he thinks Keselowski is “right there” in terms of being competitive, and I have to agree. It’s him and Harvick above everyone else (by a wide margin) going into Sunday’s race.
Chase Elliott ($9,300) – The #24 Chevrolet was on top of the Happy Hour speed chart Saturday, and while posting one fast lap doesn’t really mean anything here at Atlanta, there’s still plenty of things to like about Chase Elliott this weekend. For one, Chase had the 2nd-best 20-lap average during that practice session, which says the #24 Chevrolet is very good on the long run–something we should see plenty of on Sunday. Additionally, Elliott ended up finishing 8th here last year (after starting 24th), which is a very impressive result for a rookie to post. This #24 team was one of the best on the intermediate tracks towards the end of the season last year and should be again this year. Chase has a legitimate shot at a top 5 finish on Sunday, which makes him a great DraftKings option considering he qualified 11th.
Kyle Larson ($9,100) – As I stated in the opening of this post, capitalizing on fastest lap and laps led FPTS is going to be key to having a great weekend here at Atlanta. And when you think about fastest laps, you have to think of Kyle Larson. The #42 Chevrolet will be up on the high side of the track rim riding all day long, and while this is a bit of a risky strategy for some drivers, those that can pull it off have a pretty nice advantage–especially late in the runs. Larson is coming off of that disappointing near-victory in the Daytona 500 last weekend but looks poised for a solid showing here at Atlanta on Sunday. He’ll start from 8th when the QuikTrip Folds of Honor 500 goes green and should be a solid top 10 threat all day long. The #42 Chevrolet ranked 10th-fastest during the Happy Hour practice session on Saturday and had the 11th-best ten-lap average as well. Larson’s career-best finish at this track is 8th but he has a chance to come home higher than there here on Sunday.
Mid-Range DraftKings Drivers to Target at Atlanta (between $7,500 and $9,000)
Kurt Busch ($8,800) – When it comes to point-per-dollar, Kurt Busch could be inside the top 3 when it’s all said and done at Atlanta. He qualified 13th for Sunday’s QuikTrip Folds of Honor 500, which means even a 7th-place finish is going to net DraftKings owners 43 base FPTS. However, after that (somewhat) surprising win at Daytona last weekend the #41 Ford is once again hooked up this weekend, and it looks like Kurt might be able to legitimately battle for a top 5 on Sunday. He may not be the first driver you think of when the Cup Series stops at Atlanta, but Kurt is a three-time winner at this racetrack and has led the most laps of all active drivers here (749 in 25 career starts). Additionally, Busch has finished 6th or better in five of his last seven starts here, and he was 3rd-fastest during the Happy Hour practice session this weekend. The #41 Ford also came in 6th on the 20-lap average chart that practice. If you can fit that $8,800 salary into your lineup on Sunday, don’t even hesitate.
Matt Kenseth ($8,600) – The #20 Toyota didn’t blow any car out of the water during practice on Saturday afternoon, but Matt Kenseth is simply one of those guys you can count on when the series stops at Atlanta. There’s a reason he sixteen finishes of 13th or better in his last seventeen starts here: Kenseth knows how to take care of his equipment and be there at the end, which is one of the most important attributes to have at a track like Atlanta. Matt will start from back in 16th when this year’s QuikTrip Folds of Honor 500 goes green, which means there’s some room there for place differential FPTS. He was 14th on the overall speed chart during Happy Hour and ranked 17th in ten-lap average during that session. Salary-wise, Kenseth is very under-priced for the track, and the fact that he starts outside of the top 15 makes him an even better option on Sunday.
Kasey Kahne ($8,000) – Atlanta is a track where the cream rises to the top, so when you get into this mid-range pricing, it’s hard to find a great pick. Kasey Kahne is going to be in a whole bunch of lineups this weekend, and it’s because he qualified 29th. Typically it’s not a very good move to consider Kahne when he doesn’t start inside the top 15, but this weekend might be different because he stated the reason for the poor qualifying effort was because the car was too loose on Friday evening, not because the car is slow–and it looks like he may be right. The #5 Chevrolet was 7th-fastest in Happy Hour on Saturday afternoon and was middle-of-the-road when it came to ten-lap average. As far as Kasey’s track record here at Atlanta, he’s actually a three-time winner here, but has had his share of struggles as of late, with five finishes outside of the top 20 in the last seven races in the ATL. It’s a risky pick to go with Kasey Kahne on Sunday, but the potential reward is huge; a 15th-place finish out of him will net DraftKings owners 43 base FPTS.
Low-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Atlanta (under $7,500)
A.J. Allmendinger ($6,500) – When you take out Watkins Glen, Atlanta is A.J. Allmendinger’s best track on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. And while a career average finish of 17.2 isn’t that great, for a guy like Allmendinger, it’s actually pretty good. He wound up finishing 27th in this race one year ago, but in A.J.’s previous six starts here at Atlanta, his worst finish was just 18th while he posted three top 10 finishes, the most recent coming in 2015 (a 7th-place effort). This weekend, Allmendinger will roll off the grid from 20th when the QuikTrip Folds of Honors 500 goes green, so a top 15 finish will net DraftKings owners at least 34 base FPTS–a pretty good value for a driver priced at $6,500.
Danica Patrick ($6,300) – Believe it or not, Atlanta is also Danica’s best track on the circuit. Over the course of five career starts here, she has an average finish of 18.4 with a best result of 6th, which came back in 2014. And if you remember back to that race, Danica legitimately raced her way up to 6th, it wasn’t due to luck or anything. She’s currently on a three-race streak of top 20 finishes here at Atlanta and should have a decent chance at grabbing a fourth straight here on Sunday–which would make her a very good options in DraftKings considering she qualified back in 24th for this year’s QuikTrip Folds of Honor 400. Danica isn’t going to be super-high-owned among DraftKings teams this weekend but she could very well be on the highest-scoring lineup.
David Ragan ($5,900) – For the record, Michael McDowell ($5,700) is the best super-low-dollar option in DraftKings this weekend, and because of that, he is also going to be in a whole lot of lineups on Sunday. So, if you want to fade McDowell and take a chance on something happening to him during the race, your next best bet is going to be David Ragan, who qualified 34th for Sunday’s QuikTrip Folds of Honor 500. Ragan doesn’t have a terribly good record here at Atlanta (career average finish of 26.3), but he should still be good for a finish between 25th and 30th, and if he can end up inside the top 25, we’re looking at 28+ base FPTS out of him–which is a very good value for someone priced this low.
