Cup Series Atlanta DFS Picks
- RoundersKyle
- Feb 23
- 4 min read
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway this week for the second race of the NASCAR season. Atlanta is another drafting style track like Daytona, but is only 1.5 miles in length and handling is more of a factor this week. We saw in the Truck and Xfinity race a lot less cautions than Daytona and not as nearly as big of wrecks either. I think that could somewhat be the case for the Cup Series, but I do expect them to have more of a pack style of racing and have a better chance for carnage than the other series this weekend. Place differential is still going to be the biggest factor this week as the draft is still going to spread fast laps throughout the field and we are likely to see many different leaders. Since handling is more important and the field could be more strung out than Daytona, you still want to roster drivers that are likely to race towards the front while having the place differential upside.
Fades
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
Joey Logano
Josh Berry
Todd Gilliland
Kyle Busch
Zane Smith
The Fords were super fast in qualifying taking up most of the top 10 starting positions for today's race. But with them having the top speed in qualifying means they don't have much place differential upside for the race for DFS purposes. There are a lot of really good drivers starting towards the back and I think there is too much upside for a lot of the big place differential drivers to make it worth rostering one of the top 7 starters this weekend. I can see some people making a case for the Penske drivers starting at the front that they could control the race, lead most of the laps, and finish up front, ending up with optimal points. I just think the path to that is going to be very difficult. They will need to keep track position all race and you still have to predict the correct one or two drivers of the handful that are going to lead most of the laps. Place differential is still the way to go this week and there are a lot of options to choose from with how qualifying went down.
Place Differential Plays
Denny Hamlin
Christopher Bell
Daniel Suarez
Chase Briscoe
Ross Chastain
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Gibbs
These drivers all have huge place differential upside and are going to be main targets of a lot of people making DFS lineups. All of these drivers start outside the top 25 and on top teams in the series. I expect all these drivers to try to work their way to the front but whoever can get the track position at the end and not get caught up in any wrecks are going to be the optimal plays of the slate. Hamlin and Bell are going to be two of the highest owned drivers as they are two of the top names in the sport with one of the best organizations starting back in the 30s. All these drivers are great place differential plays for this race.
William Byron
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
Bubba Wallace
Tyler Reddick
This group of 5 drivers are also solid plays this week but they don't start way in the back like the others I just mentioned. All of these drivers start in the 10-20 range so they have some place differential upside but may not be the super obvious picks besides the name recognition. People may focus on the drivers starting in the back but all of these drivers are likely going to be aggressive and should be upfront at some point in the day. If they can finish at the front they can still end up being one of the top point scorers even with a little lower place differential upside.
Cheap Options
Erik Jones
Justin Haley
Corey Lajoie
Riley Herbst
Cole Custer
Carson Hocevar
John Hunter Nemechek
There are a lot of solid cheap options this week as well but they don't necessarily start way in the back. Lajoie is the one starting in the back and he has a history at being great at this track as he has almost won this race a couple of times. If he makes his way to the front he is likely going to be in a wreckers or checkers mindset. Jones is good on drafting tracks and with him starting 28th he has a good amount of place differential to gain and should be a good option this week. Haley and Nemechek are two options I really like this week as they both have good finishes on drafting speedways and start mid pack in 21st and 22nd. Herbst, Custer, and Hocevar are a bit of wildcards for this race as we saw Custer and Herbst race to the front at Daytona at the end of the race and then end up crashed, while Hocevar rode in the back all race and never made it to the front before having a mechanical issue. They start in the high 20s so they have good place differential potential and are usable options for the race. I think them starting a little higher up will keep their ownership down but they still have top 10 potential and upside for more.
Using the back markers this week I think is a bit risky as we may not see the big wrecks that we get at Daytona. We could get the volume of wrecks but we may not get as many cars out of the race like we do at Daytona. I think they can get good finishes for their teams around the top 20 but I am not sure I see them getting much better than that and I think they would need to approach the top 10 to end up some of the optimal drivers. These drivers would include BJ McLeod, JJ Yeley, and Cody Ware as they are likely to ride in the back to miss the wrecks. I don't think they are bad plays necessarily, but their are a lot of other good drivers starting in the back and a several are likely to make it to the end with a better finish than them.
Make sure to follow us on X and Instagram:
Also go to our homepage or the SIGN UP page on the top menu to get signed up for all our free exclusive plays we will have throughout the season!