Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Qualifying Predictions

On Sunday night, NASCAR will be racing at Atlanta! Remember, this is now “Atlanta Superspeedway”, so all of your Atlanta notes prior to 2022, can go directly in the garbage. This is essentially a “Show up and race” weekend, with qualifying being the only on track activity prior to the race. In terms of how I would approach the weekend, I would focus on the three Atlanta races run on the new surface, general superspeedway racing prowess (so bring Daytona and Talladega somewhat into the equation) and then recent form.

Qualifying was held on Saturday and here’s the Atlanta Starting Lineup.

Atlanta Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) Joey Logano
Start 4th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Atlanta Scoop – Joey Logano will be tough to beat at Atlanta. Logano put on a display of domination this spring en route to victory lane, and his superspeedway prowess is second to none. This year at superspeedways, Logano won at Atlanta, won his Duel 150, finished 2nd in the Daytona 500 and looked strong at Talladega but crashed.
Atlanta History Breakdown – This spring at Atlanta, Joey Logano had a clutch performance and passed Brad Keselowski on the last lap for the win. In the race, Logano started on the pole, won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had a 4.1 average running position, earned the best driver rating and led 140 laps. Last summer, Logano was a top ten contender but his race was anything but incident free. 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 racing 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 in the tracks debut, Logano led 12 laps and finished 9th when the checkered flag waved. I’ll note, Logano was actually involved in a wreck in that race while running around 6th on lap 145, so that result is impressive.
DraftKings $10,100 / FanDuel $10,000 / DK Odds To Win +1100 (Saturday 8:30 PM)

Further Recommended Reading = Atlanta Finish Projections, DraftKings Atlanta Scoring Projections, FanDuel Atlanta Scoring Projections 

2) Chase Elliott
Start 23rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Atlanta Scoop – Chase Elliott is the defending Atlanta summer champ and on Sunday night, I think he’ll be tough to beat at his home track. On the new layout, Elliott’s been strong and over his combined starts, Elliott has a 3.5 average finish, a 6.8 average running position and he’s averaged leading 62.5 laps per race. Since 2022 at superspeedways minus Daytona last summer and this year’s Daytona 500 (crashed in both), Elliott has 2-wins and a 6.0 average finish. Another attribute you have to like about Elliott is how well he’s run in 2023 and his ability to avoid trouble on the track. For the season minus the Daytona 500 and Charlotte, Elliott’s average finish is 6.9.
Atlanta History Breakdown – Chase Elliott has been elite at Atlanta. Elliott missed the race this spring due to injury but in 2022, Elliott put on a display of domination in the summer and was strong in the spring. Last summer, there’s no question that Elliott was the class of the field. In the race, Elliott won Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a 3.5 average running position, earned the best driver rating and led a race high 96 laps. In spring 2022 in the first race on the new surface, Elliott finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 29 laps, had an 8.8 average running position and then finished 6th when the checkered flag waved.
DraftKings $10,400 / FanDuel $11,000 / DK Odds To Win +850

3) Ryan Blaney
Start 2nd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Atlanta Scoop – Ryan Blaney is a super-elite superspeedway performer who’ll be a factor at Atlanta. Blaney looked great this spring and “Performance Wise” on the new Atlanta surface, he’s 3 for 3 at being a top five contender. In the Next Gen at superspeedways over all the 9 combined races, Blaney has a series best 7.9 average finish. In 2023 over the three superspeedway races, Blaney has a 5.7 average finish (2nd best).
Atlanta History Breakdown – Ryan Blaney has been one of the best, “Performance Wise” on the new surface at Atlanta and over the combined events he has a 9.7 average finish, an 8.3 average running position and his driver rating ranks as the 2nd best. This spring, Blaney had a great car and rallied to finish 7th, despite getting a pit road speeding penalty while running in 3rd which dropped him two laps down. Last summer, Blaney finished 4th in Stage #1, 4th in Stage #2, had a 5.5 average running position and then finished 5th when the checkered flag waved. Last spring, Blaney was a contender. In the race, Blaney won Stage #2, led 15 laps, had the 2nd best average running position (8.1) but finished an asterisk mark 17th. At the start of the final lap while running in 4th, Wallace got loose in front of Blaney and that then led to the #12 getting into the wall.
DraftKings $9,700 / FanDuel $9,500 / DK Odds To Win +1200