Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick is a super-elite performer at Atlanta who’ll be the driver to beat. He’s the defending champion and over the last five races he’s led the most laps and has been the class of the field. Since 2014 he has the best driver rating by a wide margin, he’s led the most laps by a huge margin (915 laps led), has a series best 2.8 average running position and a misleading 7.4 average finish. Last year at Atlanta, his car was in a zip code of its own. He put on a display of domination even though his race wasn’t incident free. When the checkered flag waved he finished first, earned the best driver rating, led 181 laps, won Stage #1 and finished 5th in Stage #2. During the Stage #1 caution, after he just won the segment he made a second pit stop which dropped him down to 19th. In 2017, he had a phenomenal car but finished a misleading 9th after getting a late pit road speeding penalty while leading. In the race his car was in a league of its own and if he didn’t get that late penalty there’s no doubt he would’ve won. In the race he won Stage #1, won Stage #2, earned the best driver rating and led an impressive 292 laps. In 2016 he also should’ve won, but Jimmie Johnson used superior pit strategy that got him the win. At the very end there was a caution and that dropped him from 2nd to his 6th place finish. Additionally, he earned the best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led a race high 131 laps. In 2015 he finished 2nd. Last year at 1.5 mile tracks he was arguably the best driver in the series. He won 4 races and finished in the top five in 8 of the 11 races.

[themify_box]Don’t be a pretender, become a contender and get the ifantasyrace advantage. Join Now![/themify_box]

Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch is a strong performer at Atlanta who’ll be a factor to win. A new rules package is coming into play and he’s won many races when rules are drastically changed. He won the first COT race, the first race at Indy with the high-down force package and he won at Kentucky in 2015 when the “Lowest Down Force” package made its debut. With the new rules package that is being used I’m confident he’ll once again be a quick adapter. At Atlanta, Busch has been a strong performer and in 4 of the last 6 races he’s finished in the top 7. Last year at Atlanta he had a strong showing. He started on the pole, finished 6th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2, had a 5th place average running position and finished 7th when the checkered flag waved. In 2017 he had a “clunker” performance and finished 16th. I wouldn’t read into it too much because teams can often miss the setup in big ways early in the season. In 2016 he won the pole but started in 39th because his qualifying time was disallowed. He drove up through the field at a steady pace and that setback wasn’t an issue. By his own merit he managed to drive all the way up to 3rd. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 3rd. In 2013, Busch got his second of two wins at Atlanta. Last year at intermediate tracks where tire wear is extreme (Atlanta, Auto Club, Chicagoland Homestead) he had a 3.8 average finish.

Joey Logano – Defending series champion, Joey Logano will be tough to beat at Atlanta. It’s been a great track for him and venues where tire wear is extreme have been strong venues for him. Last year at intermediate tracks that have the highest level of tire wear (Atlanta, Auto Club, Chicagoland Homestead) his 5.0 average finish was tied for the 3rd best. At Atlanta, Logano’s performed at a very high-level and in 4 of the last 6 races he’s finished in the top 6. Currently he has back to back 6th’s. Last year at Atlanta he had a strong showing. He finished 10th in Stage #1, 4th in Stage #2, had an 8th place average running position and finished 6th when the checkered flag waved. In 2017, Logano had a solid showing. He finished 6th and earned the 6th best driver rating. That’s impressive when you take into account he had to overcome a pit penalty. In 2016 Logano was a top five contender but finished a misleading 12th. Around lap 150 during green flag pit stops while running in 7th he got a pit cone violation and later he made an unexpected pit stop for a loose wheel. In 2015 Logano had a great car. He started on the pole, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position, finished 4th and led 84 laps.

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier