The rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings’ NASCAR salaries for Sunday. The order is not based on the highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by the value of each driver.
The DraftKings NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Atlanta slate locks at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Chase Elliott ($10,500) — A poor pit stop in stage 3 may have cost him his second win in a row last week. As far as confidence in himself and the car goes, Elliott couldn’t be more pleased. He’s a streaky driver and a favorite to win at his home track.
2. Ross Chastain ($10,300) — Several leaders wrecked at Atlanta. That’s not common in plate races, but it could be a thing at the new Atlanta. Chastain blew a tire while leading but still managed to finish second. He won the spring race at Talladega.
3. Denny Hamlin ($9,700) — Over the last 28 plate races (every DraftKings plate race contest), Hamlin’s average finish of 15th is the best (excluding Chase Briscoe due to his small sample size).
4. Ryan Blaney ($10,700) — The first Atlanta race did not work out for him, but just about every other recent plate race has. Blaney has finished sixth or better in four of the last five at Daytona, including a win last summer. He won at Talladega in 2019 and 2020.
5. Kyle Larson ($10,100) — In the first Atlanta race, Larson got wrecked battling for the lead. Before his wreck, his car was damaged and heavily taped. This is foreshadowing.
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6. Chris Buescher ($7,000) — He finished dead last at Talladega. It figures. Buescher entered that race on a hot streak with seven top-10 plate track finishes since 2020. That’s how this works.
7. William Byron ($9,500) — Quietly, Byron has become one of the better plate racers in NASCAR. He won the first Atlanta race and won a volatile summer Daytona race in 2020.
8. Bubba Wallace ($8,700) — Whether it’s the car or the driver, it’s not working for the No. 23 team. Atlanta comes at a perfect time. Bubba has been one of the top plate racers in the Cup Series. A top-5 finish would go a long way for this team.
9. Aric Almirola ($7,400) — Due to his eight race top-10 streak at Talladega, his plate track averages are always going to look good compared to the field. Since the streak ended in the fall of 2020, he has earned one top-10 finish in the last eight plate races.
10. Chase Briscoe ($7,900) — The sample size is small, but it’s big enough. Currently, Briscoe’s average finish of 14th in seven restrictor plate races is the best in NASCAR.
11. Corey Lajoie ($5,400) — A couple years ago, Lajoie went on a plate track heater. Across two seasons, he seemed to always be in the optimal lineup. He has cooled off, but he was back in the mix again at Atlanta with a top-5 finish in the spring.
12. Ty or Austin Dillon ($6,000/$6,900) — Plate races are all about luck and the Dillons know a thing or two about luck. Their grandpa is Richard Childress. Talk about luck. It shouldn’t be a surprise that they have exceptional plate racing stats.
13. Michael McDowell ($7,300) — Front Row Motorsports knows plate tracks. Even without McDowell’s 2021 Daytona win or David Ragan’s 2013 Talladega win, their finishes have been impressive. McDowell is having the best season of his career, but he’s nowhere near the playoffs. He needs a win this week.
14. Todd Gilliland ($5,700) — The real DFS NASCAR OGs that played on now defunct DFS sites remember the 2013 Talladega spring race. David Gilliland, Todd’s dad, pushed David Ragan in a tandem draft to the win. Front Row Motorsports had been devoting most of their resources to plate races for years, and it finally paid off. Front Row have been perennial plate track contenders ever since.
15. Garrett Smithley ($4,800) — David Ragan has earned a couple top-10 plate track finishes for Rick Ware. If this race turns into a junkyard, then the Ware mobiles starting in the back will be key DFS targets.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
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