The NASCAR Cup Series will travel to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend for another Superspeedway race. The race at Atlanta produced the closest top-three finish in NASCAR history. It is going to be tough for the drivers to top last year’s finish, but we can expect some excitement in the final laps at Atlanta. The Ambetter Health 400 can be seen Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
The picks last week got off to an “OK” start. All of the drivers were running in the top-10 with only 13 laps to go. Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. decided to do what they always do and drive like idiots and they took out the front of the field. They also took out Kyle Busch from my lineup. We were still able to stack some Stage Points and outscore 55.6% of the entries. Last year my lineup only outscored 39% of the entries after the Daytona 500 and they were still able to finish 36th overall in the standings. Do not panic, we are in a good position to score well in 2025.
Here are my results from the Daytona 500…
STRATEGY FOR ATLANTA
Atlanta Motor Speedway is considered a Superspeedway but more drivers finish on the lead lap at Atlanta then they do at Daytona and Talladega. This means we can take some chances with some of the top-drivers in the Cup Series. The Team Penske cars looked the best at Daytona and they have dominated the recent races at Atlanta. Do not be afraid to use Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano Sunday. The people who “save allocations” are the people who finish in the middle of their league standings. The talent in the Cup Series is deep this year. We can easily find a replacement for Blaney or Logano later in the season if we need to. I am playing the best lineup possible. I am not worried about saving allocations at Atlanta.
Here are the picks for the Ambetter Health 400…
RYAN BLANEY (10): Stacking the Team Penske drivers seems to be the best strategy this week. Blaney has never won on the reconfigured track at Atlanta, but that does not mean he is not a good pick for your Fantasy Live team. Blaney has the best average finishing position (7.2) in the six races on the reconfigured track. He has also scored the most Stage Points. Blaney should run up front and be one of the top drivers in Fantasy Live Sunday.
JOEY LOGANO (9): Logano did his thing last week in the Daytona 500. He ran up front, led a lot of laps, scored a lot of Stage Points and crashed out while racing for the lead. Logano races the same way at Atlanta, but he does not crash as much. Logano won in the Gen-7 car at Atlanta last year and in 2023. I expect Logano to be up front drafting with his two Team Penske teammates Sunday.
AUSTIN CINDRIC (9): Is Cindric the best driver on the Superspeedways in the Cup Series. Denny Hamlin said on his “Actions Detrimental” podcast that he thinks Cindric is the best. He had a good chance to win the Daytona 500 last week and Cindric should have a good chance to win the Ambetter Health 400 Sunday. His average finishing position in his last five races at Atlanta is eighth and he had won three of the last four Stages at Atlanta. This is a great race to use another allocation with Cindric.
KYLE BUSCH (9): I had a ticket on Busch to win the Daytona 500 and he ran up front for most of the race. He was just in the wrong spot (next to Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) in the final laps. Busch was unlucky in the race at Atlanta last year too. He finished third by .007 seconds. The closest third-place finish in NASCAR history. Busch has finished the last four races at Atlanta in the top-10. I will take a chance with the No. 8 car Sunday and hope he can win so we all get free Cheddars chicken strips on MondayJ.
DANIEL SUAREZ (10): Suarez should have a little extra confidence this weekend for the Ambetter Health 400. He is the defending race winner and all of the media will want to talk to him. His win at Atlanta was not a fluke. Suarez knows his way to the front at Atlanta. He has finished 2nd, 1st and 2nd in the last three races at Atlanta. I am not worried about his starting position because his starting position in those three finishes in the top-two was 30th, 23rd and 26th. Suarez has a great chance to finish up front Sunday.
(GARAGE PICK) WILLIAM BYRON (10): I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to use Chase Elliott or William Byron as my Garage pick Sunday. Both drivers from Hendrick Motorsports have a history of running well at Atlanta. Byron will have some momentum after his Daytona 500 win last week and he won two of the races on the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No. 24 car should be a good insurance policy to have in the Garage Sunday.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.