Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings/ Post Qualifying Predictions

On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Atlanta! Remember, this is now “Atlanta Superspeedway.” All of your Atlanta notes prior to 2022, can go directly in the garbage. I think the best approach for evaluating drivers this weekend is to study the Atlanta 2022 races, and then just note “General Superspeedway Racing Prowess.” Atlanta is now a superspeedway, but it’s certainly not a Daytona or Talladega. It’s much smaller than the two, and narrower (especially from Talladega).

No practice was held for Atlanta. Qualifying was held on Saturday and here’s the Atlanta Starting Lineup.

Atlanta Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) William Byron
Start 11th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Quick Scoop – William Byron will be tough to beat at Atlanta as he vies for his third straight win of 2023. At the NEW Atlanta, I would argue nobody has been better than William Byron. Byron had the field covered last spring en route to victory lane in dominant fashion and was strong in the summer until trouble struck. In terms of pure superspeedway racing talent, Byron is a former winner and is one of the better drivers in the series, but he’s had quite a few misleading results recently. One attribute you have to love about Byron is how strong the #24 team has been on a weekly basis in 2023, and over the combined events, Byron has the best driver rating.
Atlanta Fantasy Spin – William Byron has been stout at Atlanta. He’s the defending spring winner and “Performance Wise” between the combined 2022 races, Byron was arguably the best. In 2022 at Atlanta, Byron had the 2nd best driver rating, the 3rd best average running position (10.0) and averaged leading the most laps per race (76.0). Last summer, Byron was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 30th. In the race, Byron finished 5th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2 (lap 160), led 41 laps but early in the last Stage on lap 170 he was caught up in a multi-car wreck that marked the end of his race. In spring 2022, Byron was the class of the field. In the race, Byron won Stage #1, finished 9th in Stage #2, led 111 laps, had a 4.7 average running position and then of course finished 1st. When it was “Closing Time”, Byron had the field covered and led 61 of the final 64 laps.
DraftKings $10,900 / FanDuel $14,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +900

Don’t be a pretender, become a contender and get the ifantasyrace advantage to read all of our full exclusive content. Join Now! 

2) Joey Logano
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Quick Scoop – Joey Logano is one of the premiere superspeedway performers in NASCAR and at Atlanta, look for him to be a factor, if he can avoid trouble. I have no doubt, Logano won’t be lacking in the performance department. At Daytona in February, Logano won his Duel 150 and finished 2nd in the Daytona 500.
Atlanta Fantasy Spin – Joey Logano has run well at Atlanta on the new surface. Last summer, I think Logano was a top ten contender, but he finished an asterisk mark 26th. In the race, Logano finished around 12th in Stage #1, was running in 9th on lap 87 but then on lap 91 he was caught up in an accident which got at least three wheels of the #22 off the track. Somehow, Logano kept on motoring along and even flirted with a top ten late in the race (was in 9th with 18 to go). Then late in the race when he got shuffled back to about 20th, Logano spun with 8 to go which doomed him to a 26th. In spring 2022, Logano led 12 laps and finished 9th when the checkered flag waved. That result looks more impressive when you take into account he was involved in a wreck. On lap 141 he was running in 6th, but then on lap 145 he was collected in the “Big One.”
DraftKings $10,200 / FanDuel $13,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +1200

Further Recommended Reading: Atlanta Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Atlanta Scoring Projections, FanDuel Atlanta Scoring Projections

3) Ross Chastain
Start 18th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Quick Scoop – At Atlanta, Ross Chastain will be a favorite. He clearly has the new surface figured out and last year, he went 2 for 2 at finishing runner-up. When it comes to superspeedway racing, Chastain is one of the better drivers in the series. One attribute I like about Chastain is how well the #1 team has been running so far. In 2023 over the combined events, Chastain has the 3rd best average running position and the 4th best driver rating. Look for Chastain to be a contender.
Atlanta Fantasy Spin – Ross Chastain has been a standout at Atlanta and is 2 for 2 at finishing runner-up. Last summer, Chastain caused not one, but two accidents near the front. En route to his runner-up, Chastain finished 3rd in Stage #1, 9th in Stage #2, had a 7.9 average running position, led 32 laps, earned the 2nd best driver rating and was tied for having the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring in the first race on the new Atlanta surface, Chastain was impressive. In the race, Chastain crashed while leading on lap 94 (led 42 laps before that) and got a two-lap penalty for improper refueling, but he battled back and finished 10th in Stage #2 and then 2nd when the checkered flag waved.
DraftKings $10,000 / FanDuel $12,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +1200