The Daytona 500 is in the books and now it is time for NASCAR to travel to EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway). The picks last week did not get off to a hot start and it is not going to be much easier to predict the race in Atlanta. The good news is that my picks have crashed and burned at Daytona many times before and still bounced back to win our leagues. Do not let one race get you down. This is a marathon and not a sprint. We just need some better luck at Atlanta.
Here are my picks for the Autotrader 400 ….
DRIVER GROUP GAME PICKS FOR ATLANTA
GROUP A DRIVERS
CHASE ELLIOTT (9): There is a lot to like about Elliott this week. This is a home race for the Dawsonville, Georgia native and Elliott usually performs well in front of his fans. Elliott won the last race in Atlanta and he was one lap away from winning the Daytona 500 last week. Elliott has two wins at EchoPark Speedway, so he gets a spot in my lineup this week.
RYAN BLANEY (8): I was expecting a lot more from Blaney in the Daytona 500, but I am not going to let the race last Sunday scare me away from using the No. 12 car this weekend. Blaney finished 6 of the last 7 races in Atlanta in the top-10. He has not been to Victory Lane at the reconfigured EchoPark Speedway, but he has been a member of some photo-finishes at the track. Blaney is also a good source for qualifying points Saturday. Blaney has started 6 of the last 8 races in Atlanta in the top-three. I will take the bonus points for qualifying and then decide if I want to use Chase Elliott or Blaney in my starting lineup Sunday.
GROUP B DRIVERS
KYLE BUSCH (8): I used Busch last week and he scored some bonus points for leading laps, scored some Stage Points and then finished 15th. Busch has been much better in Atlanta, so I will go back to him this week. Busch has the best average finishing position in the Gen-7 car at Atlanta. He finished 5 of the last 6 races at this track in the top-10. Busch will also have a good chance to score bonus points for qualifying if the No. 8 team brings the same speed they had at Daytona to the race in Atlanta. There is just no reason to fade Busch at his best track.
BUBBA WALLACE (9): Could 23XI Racing start the 2026 season with wins in the first two races? I think so… Tyler Reddick is really good in Atlanta in the summer and Wallace runs up front in February. Wallace finished 9th last February at Atlanta and he finished 5th in 2024. Wallace looked really good last week in the Daytona 500. He led the most laps last week and Wallace finished in the top-10. I expect the No. 23 team to have similar speed this week and Wallace should be running up front scoring points for our fantasy team.
JOEY LOGANO (9): Logano has a great chance to dominate the race Sunday and he also has a great chance to wreck and finish in the back. Logano led 140 of the 260 laps on his way to Victory Lane in the first race at Atlanta in 2023. Last year he led a race-high 83 laps. Logano leads the Cup Series in laps led and Stage Points at Atlanta. His 3.2 average starting position is second to Ryan Blaney. I am not sure if I want to use an allocation with Logano Sunday, but I at least need him on my team for qualifying points.
AUSTIN CINDRIC (9): I am loading up on the Team Penske drivers this weekend. They have a history of dominating the races at Atlanta and I see no reason why that will change Sunday. Cindric has led the second-most laps at Atlanta in the Gen-7 car (behind Joey Logano). He also scored the most Stage Points (Cindric has finished 1st or 2nd in 5 of the last 8 Stages at Atlanta). Cindric has also qualified in the top-five in the last 3 races at Atlanta. This is the best track for Cindric, so I need him in my lineup this weekend.
GROUP C DRIVERS
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (9): I am going to have many shares of Stenhouse this week and that usually scares me, but Atlanta is by far his best track. Stenhouse finished 4 of his last 5 races at Atlanta in the top-10. That includes finishes of 5th and 6th last year. He has also scored Stage Points in 5 consecutive races at Atlanta. We need to ignore his starting position though, because Stenhouse does not qualify well at this track. He typically goes straight to the front once the green flag is waived. The stats with Stenhouse at Atlanta are too good to pass up this weekend.
CARSON HOCEVAR (9): Two negatives create a positive, right? Well, I will use two of the wildest drivers in the field for my Group C picks and hope they create a positive. EchoPark Speedway was the best track for Hocevar last year. He finished 2nd in February and 10th in June. Hocevar also came one lap away from winning the Daytona 500 last week. It is checkers or wreckers for Hocevar. I will decide Saturday if I have the guts to use him in my starting lineup.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
SPEEDWAY COLLECTIVE PICKS
* The Speedway Collective game has four groups (Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D). You can look at the driver’s from the Driver Group Game if you want to know why I selected these drivers. Most of the races will have the same picks in the Speedway Collective game and the Driver Group Game. I will make my picks for this game based on 6 allocations for each driver.
** The picks for the Speedway Collective game will look similar to the picks for the Driver Group Game, but I will take a chance with Daniel Suarez in Group D. EchoPark Speedway is the best track for Suarez. He finished 1st and 2nd in 2024 and 2nd again in 2023. He is the best driver to pair with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
FANTRAX PICKS
* Each league in Fantrax is different. Some leagues have bench drivers and award qualifying points and others do not. The two leagues that I am playing in do not have bench drivers. Also, most leagues (including mine), do not require your lineup to be set until minutes before the race starts. My picks will change after practice and qualifying for most races. If you need bench drivers, you can use my picks from the Driver Group Game.
** I know some of you have Bench Drivers for Groups A, B and C. I would use Chase Elliott in Group A, Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace in Group B and AJ Allmendinger in Group C if your league uses Bench Drivers.
* Be sure to check back Saturday night for my starting lineup.
Good Luck Sunday!
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