Atlanta Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Ryan Blaney
Atlanta Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney is one of the premiere superspeedway performers in NASCAR and at Atlanta, there’s no question he’ll be a factor. Blaney’s been elite and over the last four races, Blaney has the best driver rating, the best average running position (7.1) and the best average finish (5.8). In the one race prior to the last four, Blaney was a top five contender but crashed on the last lap while running in 4th, so he’s been great every race on the new surface.
Atlanta Track History – Ryan Blaney has arguably been the premiere performer on the new Atlanta surface. Blaney hasn’t visited victory lane, but he nearly won this spring and he’s been a top five contender every race. Over all five, Blaney has the best average finish (8.0), the best average running position and the best driver rating. Also impressive is that in 8 of the 10 Stages, Blaney’s finished in the top 4. This spring, Blaney was a standout performer and nearly raced his way to victory lane but was inched at the finish line and finished 2nd. Additionally, Blaney finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, had the best average running position (6.6), earned the best Driver Rating and led the 3rd most laps (31). 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 rain fell. 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 finished 5th and had a 5.5 average running position. In spring 2022, 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.

Kyle Busch
Atlanta Fantasy Outlook – At Atlanta, look for Kyle Busch to have a strong showing and be a factor. Busch is an elite superspeedway performer, and at Atlanta on the new surface he’s been a standout and nearly raced his way to victory lane this spring. Over the last three Atlanta races, Busch is tied for having the best average finish (6.0) and just him and Ryan Blaney are 3 for 3 at finishing in the top ten.
Atlanta Track History – Kyle Busch is one of the best at Atlanta, despite having a few asterisk mark results. This spring, the#8 was fast, and Busch finished 3rd, getting inched right at the finish line by Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney. Busch is sort of the forgotten man in the middle. In the race, Busch finished 5th in Stage #1, led 28 laps, ran up front when the trophy was on the line and then finished 3rd overall. The #8 looked great, and Busch really liked his car. Last summer, Busch played the pit strategy game and snuck in a 5th, despite having an 18.9 average running position and finishing around 23rd in Stage #2, before he did pit strategy to close out the final sprint. In spring 2023, Busch escaped with a 10th but take note his race wasn’t incident free. In the race, Busch started 17th, finished 7th in Stage #1, about mid-teens in Stage #2 but then on lap 189 he was involved in the “Harvick” crash and spun. The #8 appeared pretty unscathed from that though. When the checkered flag waved, Busch finished 10th, had an 11.2 average running position and led 7 laps. In summer 2022, Busch finished 6th in Stage #1 but then in Stage #2 while running around 11th on lap 91, Busch was caught up in a multi-car accident. Later, Busch also spun again on lap 189. When the checkered flag waved, Busch finished 20th. In spring 2022, Busch’s afternoon was anything but incident free and he finished an asterisk mark 33rd. On lap 101, Busch was running in 4th, but then later that lap during a restart he crashed which essentially marked the end of his race (logged more laps, later spun again and then called it a race).

Brad Keselowski
Atlanta Fantasy Outlook – Brad Keselowski is one of the premiere superspeedway racers in NASCAR and at Atlanta, look for him to have a fast Ford and be a factor to win. Keselowski was fast this spring, a standout performer in both 2023 races so there’s no reason to think he’ll be a letdown. If Keselowski can avoid trouble, look for him to finish up front and be tough to beat.
Atlanta Track History – Brad Keselowski has been strong at Atlanta and over the last three races he’s been top five good “Performance Wise” and has the 5th best Driver Rating. This spring, Keselowski was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 33rd. In the race, Keselowski finished 7th in Stage #2, ran a lot of the last Stage in the top five but then on lap 219 while running in 3rd, he got loose and got into the wall hard. Last year, nobody was better and between the combined races, Keselowski had the best average finish (4.0) and the 3rd best Driver Rating. Last summer, Keselowski was one of the best. In the race, Keselowski led 19 laps, won Stage #2 which is a great barometer for performance, pitted during the Stage #2 caution which dropped him back to the high-teens and then he rallied to finish 6th when the race met its early conclusion. In spring 2023, Keselowski finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 9th in Stage #2, had a 5.2 average running position and led 47 laps. I’ll note, 29 of those laps came in the final 30 laps before getting passed on the last lap by Logano. In summer 2022, Keselowski showed potential, but his afternoon went south in the last Stage. In the race, Keselowski finished 3rd in Stage #2 (lap 160), promptly got an equipment interference penalty following that which dropped him back in the pack and then on lap 170 he was involved in a “Big One.” He was able to keep on motoring along though and finished 18th. In spring 2022, Keselowski finished 12th.

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