Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Kevin Harvick (Starting 9th) Kevin Harvick is a super-elite performer at Atlanta who should be on your short list of favorites. He’s a recent Atlanta winner who performs at an extremely high-level, year in and year out. Since 2015 at Atlanta, Harvick has the best driver rating by a wide margin, a 4.4 average finish, a 3.2 average running position and he’s averaged leading 153 laps per race. Last year, Harvick had a strong showing. He finished 4th, had a 4th place average running position, earned the 2nd best driver rating and led 45 laps. Additionally, he finished 2nd in Stage #1 and won Stage #2. Speed Analytics wise, he ranked as the Fastest Driver Late In A Run and his Green Flag Average Speed was the 2nd best. In 2018, Harvick put on a display of domination and raced his way to victory lane. In addition to finishing first he 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 back to 19th. In 2017, Harvick 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. This year at intermediate tracks, Harvick is 6 for 6 in terms of finishing in the top ten and his average finish is tied for a series best 6.2. At Darlington where tire wear is high like Atlanta he had results of 1st and 3rd. The first Darlington win is extra impressive because it shows the #4 team shows up with good speed off the track. On Sunday, look for Harvick to finish in the top five and be a serious threat to win. (DraftKings $11,700 / FanDuel $14,000 )

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

2) Chase Elliott (Starting 1st) Atlanta is Chase Elliott’s home track and on Sunday he’ll be a factor from the pole. It’s been a good track for him, and you have to love how strong he’s been at intermediate tracks this year. This year at intermediate tracks minus Darlington #2 where he was wrecked while running in 2nd and Las Vegas where he likely had the best car, Elliott has a 3.0 average finish. At Charlotte, the most recent intermediate track visited he should’ve pulled off the week sweep! Last year at Atlanta, Elliott had a clunker performance and finished 19th. It just wasn’t a good afternoon, and personally I wouldn’t read into it too much since at that point in the 2019 season Hendrick wasn’t running well company wide. In the three Atlanta races prior to that he had a 7.6 average finish and had a result between 5th to 10th every race. In 2018, Elliott started back in 27th, but raced his way to a 10th place finish. Also in the race he earned the 14th best driver rating and had a 14th place average running position. In 2017, Elliott had a very strong showing. He earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position, finished 5th and led 19 laps. Additionally, he finished 3rd in Stage #1 and 2nd in Stage #2. If there wasn’t late cautions he was likely poised to finish in 2nd. In 2016 when he made his Atlanta debut he finished 8th, earned the 9th best driver rating and had a 10th place average running position. (DraftKings $9,900 / FanDuel $12,300 )

3) Kyle Busch (Starting 4th) Kyle Busch is a strong performer at Atlanta who’ll be tough to beat. He’s a two-time winner who’s finished in the top 7 in 5 of the last 7 races. Last year at Atlanta, Busch had a stellar showing, but finished an asterisk mark 6th. “Performance Wise”, I think he clearly had one of the best cars. In the race he started in the rear of the field, but marched up through the pack at a steady pace. In the race he got as high as 2nd, but on lap 223 while he was running in 4th he had a flat tire that came apart and brought out the caution. There was only about 100 laps remaining so that makes his 6th place finish more impressive. Despite his problem, Busch had the 8th best Green Flag Average Speed and ranked as the 10th Fastest Driver Late In A run. In 2018, Busch 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, Busch 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. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 3rd. In 2013, Busch got his most recent Atlanta win. One attribute you have to like about Busch is how well he’s been running lately. In 5 of the last 7 races this season he’s finished in the top 4. (DraftKings $11,200 / FanDuel $13,500 )