Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Chase Elliott
Atlanta Bottom Line – At Atlanta, put Chase Elliott on your short list of favorites, and don’t be surprised if the siren’s go off in Dawsonville. Elliott raced his way to victory lane here in summer 2022 and on the new surface (only 3 races for him), Elliott has a series best 6.7 average finish, the 2nd best driver rating, the 2nd best average running position (10.1) and he’s averaged leading the 2nd most laps per race (41.7). If Elliott can once again avoid trouble, look for him to finish up front and be a factor.
Atlanta Track History – Chase Elliott has been elite at Atlanta and ranks among the best. Last summer, Elliott was OK and finished 13th. Elliott didn’t do anything special, but it’s a solid result. In spring 2023, Elliott missed the race due to injury. In 2022 over the combined races, Elliott had a 3.5 average finish, a 6.8 average running position and he averaged leading 62.5 laps per race. In summer 2022, Elliott was the class of the field and put on a display of domination. En route to victory lane, Elliott started on the pole, won Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a 3.5 average running position, earned the best driver rating by a wide margin 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 overall.

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William Byron
Atlanta Bottom Line – Daytona 500 winner, William Byron has been a super-elite performer at Atlanta superspeedway so don’t be surprised if he goes to victory lane in back-to-back races. Byron’s won 50% of the NEW Atlanta races and he’s 4 for 4 at being a top five contender, “Performance Wise.”  Byron won the inaugural race in dominating fashion, and he won last summer with strategy, so the #24 team just knows how to win here.
Atlanta Track History – William Byron has been a force to be reckoned with at Atlanta, and there’s no question in my mind he’s been the premiere performer on the reconfigured track. At Atlanta superspeedway, Byron’s won 50% of the races, and then in the other 50% he’s looked great but crashed and finished in the 30’s, so there’s been no middle ground for him in terms of results. Last summer, Byron looked great and raced his way to victory lane, despite his race not being incident free. In the race, Byron finished 5th in Stage #1, got a safety violation during Stage #1 pit stops, had a harmless spin on lap 80 in Stage #2 which dropped him a lap down, but that ultimately got him out of sync with the front runners due to his fuel situation, and propelled him to victory lane. At the end of Stage #2, Byron finished around 16th, but he then stayed out on the track during the Stage #2 caution, took the lead early in the final Stage, and then was the leader when the sky opened up. In spring 2023, Byron had a hot rod but finished an asterisk mark 32nd after crashing in the last Stage. In the race, Byron finished 5th in Stage #2, was in 3rd on lap 185 but then on lap 189 he crashed when Harvick was “Aero dynamically Chastain’ed.” In 2022 over the combined races, 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). In summer 2022, Byron was a top five contender but finished a misleading 30th. In the race, Byron finished 5th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2, led 41 laps but early in the last Stage on lap 170 he was caught up in a multi-car wreck. In spring 2022, Byron had the field covered and easily raced his way to victory lane. 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.

Ryan Blaney
Atlanta Bottom Line – Ryan Blaney is one of the premiere superspeedway performers in NASCAR, and at Atlanta, look for him to be a contender. Blaney has a knack for the draft and knows how to run smart races on this track type. At Atlanta superspeedway, Blaney’s been one of the best and over the last three races, Blaney has the best driver rating, the best average running position (7.2) and he’s tied for having the best average finish (7.0). In the one race prior to the last three, Blaney was a top five contender but crashed on the last lap while running in 4th, so he’s been great over all four. Look for Blaney to be a contender to win.
Atlanta Track History – Ryan Blaney has been elite at Atlanta on the new surface. Last summer, Blaney had a hot rod. In the race, Blaney won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage # 2, led 20 laps, had the best average running position (4.8), earned the best driver rating but then finished a misleading 9th. Blaney pitted during the Stage #2 caution (was in 2nd) which dropped him back to the high teens, with not much race left after that before the sky opened up. In spring 2023, Blaney had a great car and rallied to finish 7th. That result is extremely impressive when you consider Blaney got a “Speeding penalty of doom” on the extended pit road on lap 135 while running in 3rd which dropped him two laps down. In Stage #1 prior to that, Blaney finished 4th. In summer 2022, Blaney was one of the best. In the race, Blaney finished 4th in Stage #1, 4th in Stage #2, had a 5.5 average running position and then finished 5th overall. In spring 2022, Blaney didn’t like his car early, but he liked it late and 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 him and that then led to the #12 getting into the wall with Blaney fading back to finish 17th.

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