The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series return to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. Both series competed at Atlanta in March and now they get to do it again. Atlanta Motor Speedway used to produce some of the best racing of the season when the 1.5-mile track was worn out and the drivers had to search for grip. It was repaved following the 2021 season and now it is a hybrid between a intermediate track and a Superspeedway. The racing is not as unpredictable as the Superspeedway racing at Daytona and Talladega, but it is not as good as it was on the on previous configuration. Hopefully the two series can put on a good show this weekend in the ATL. The Trucks Series will go race road course racing Saturday at Mid Ohio.
Here is the schedule for the weekend…
The race in March at Atlanta Motor Speedway was dominated by Joey Logano. He won the pole, scored 19 Stage Points, led 140 laps and took the No. 22 car to Victory Lane. All of the Fords were fast at Atlanta because their cars have less drag in the draft and make more speed. “The big one” happened on lap 191 when Ross Chastain spun out Kevin Harvick, and took out many of the best cars in the race (that shouldn’t surprise anyone). There were only two cautions for wrecks in the race. Atlanta typically produces fewer cautions than the races at Daytona and Talladega.
You can watch the highlight of the last race at Atlanta in the Race Rewind for the Amber Health 400
NASCAR STRATEGY
The strategy for the Cup Series race at Atlanta depends on what game you are playing. You need to save your allocations with your top drivers (Kyle Larson, William Byron, Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick) for more predictable tracks in season-long games (Fantasy Live and the Driver Group Game). The strategy for Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) will be different.
The strategy at the Superspeedway tracks is to ignore the dominator points and try to score as many place differential points as possible in DFS contests. That strategy does not apply to Atlanta Motor Speedway. William Byron led 111 laps in the first Superspeedway race at Atlanta. Chase Elliott led 96 laps in the July race last year and Joey Logano led 140 laps at the track earlier this year. Passing for the lead is difficult on the new configuration with the Gen-7 car. The race Sunday will likely be a game of “follow the leader”. We need to have the top dominator in our DFS lineups if one driver is going to lead nearly 115 of the 260 laps Sunday. My strategy for DFS contests will be to pay up for one dominator and pair him with five drivers who can score place differential points.
STATS FOR SUPERSPEEDWAY
The best way to handicap the race at Atlanta is to look at the data from the three races in the Gen-7 car on the reconfigured track (two races at Atlanta last year and the one this year). I added that data to the races at Daytona and Talladega this year to see which drivers have run well on the Superspeedways, with more emphasis on the races at Atlanta.
Here are the driver rankings for the last three races at Atlanta and the Superspeedway races in 2023….
POST Similar Tracks.
EARLY WEEK PICKS FOR ATLANTA
ONE & DONE PICK: BRAD KESELOWSKI
DRIVER GROUP GAME PICKS: JOEY LOGANO, RYAN BLANEY, BRAD KESELOWSKI, AUSTIN CINDRIC, CHRIS BUESCHER, ERIK JONES, COREY LAJOIE, RICKY STENHOUSE JR.
FANTASY LIVE PICKS: JOEY LOGANO, RYAN BLANEY, BRAD KESELOWSKI, CHASE ELLIOTT, ROSS CHASTAIN (GARAGE) AUSTIN CINDRIC
* I will be watching ALEX BOWMAN, CHRISTOPHER BELL, DAIEL SUAREZ, TY GIBBS and COREY LAJOIE in qualifying. They could end up in the Fantasy Live lineup this week.
Good luck this weekend!
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