Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Michael McDowell – When the draft comes into play, make sure you put Michael McDowell on your radar because he really steps up to the occasion on this track type. I view Daytona as the most similar track, and McDowell of course won last year’s 500 and since 2019 minus last summer, his average finish is 9.0. To start the year, McDowell kept the good times going and finished 7th in the Great American Race. At Talladega, the other superspeedway on the schedule he finished 8th in April. This spring at Atlanta, McDowell finished 24th, but I’ll note his afternoon wasn’t incident free. On lap 145 he was collected in a “Big One” and then he basically logged laps after that. At the time of his incident, he was running in the mid 20’s. On this track type, McDowell isn’t typically seen until late in the race, so I don’t even think he tried to show his hand, so for that reason, I have no takeaways for his afternoon. With how well the #34 team is running on a weekly basis, make sure you prominently put him on your radar. Over the last ten races heading into the weekend, McDowell’s 11.4 average finish ranks as the 4th best in the series.

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Chris Buescher – Chris Buescher has a knack for superspeedway racing and among mid-tier drivers, he’s a great option. This spring at Atlanta, Buescher finished around the mid-twenties in Stage #1, just outside the top ten in Stage #2, was running in 13th with three to go, but when mayhem ensued at the end, Buescher rose to the occasion and finished 7th. I view Daytona as the most similar track and at that venue, Buescher won his Duel 150 this year, ran in the top five in the Daytona 500 before crashing late, and last summer, Buescher was actually the leader at the start of over-time and crossed the finish line in 2nd only to get DQ’ed in post-race inspection. At Daytona since 2020 minus last year’s 500 where he crashed in the early “Big One”, Buescher’s average finish is 7.5 (when you credit him with a 2nd last summer).

Aric Almirola – Aric Almirola had a strong showing at Atlanta this spring, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his 22nd. In the race, Almirola was at his best late, and in the race he finished 4th in Stage #2, but then late in the final Stage on lap 307 while he was running in 3rd and was the first car in the inside lane, he was spun. For the afternoon, Almirola’s average running position was 12.7. This year at the other two superspeedways visited, Almirola finished 5th at Daytona and at Talladega, he crossed the finish line in 13th.

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