RADIO
The first weekend of NASCAR is in the books. Denny Hamlin walked away with the Harley J. Earl in what was one of the most emotional wins for Joe Gibbs Racing and one of the most exciting races for the fans. Fantasy owners on the other hand weren't so happy due to the insane wreck caused by Paul Menard (Ford #21). Menard took the blame for a 21 car accident late in the race with only 10 laps to go.
This week we head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Teams will unveil a new package for the cars this Sunday that includes an eight inch rear spoiler, two inch kick out and a bigger radiator pan to increase more down force. The package also includes a tapered spacer to reduce the horsepower to roughly 550. With all these changes its crucial to pay close attention when building your lineups.
Over the past few years Kevin Harvick (4) has completely owned Atlanta Motor Speedway. In 2018, Harvick started 3rd and won after leading 181 laps in the race. On Friday Harvick and the Stewart-Haas racing team were having complications with the car and said they would be working on the car throughout the night. Harvick said if the race were today (Friday) they would be packing up and heading to Las Vegas. Harvick will be the priciest play this week due to his success at the track even with car troubles looming.
Editor's Note: RotoBaller will soon be ramping up NASCAR coverage to help you win on DFS sites. The NASCAR writing team will include FSWA Hall Of Famer and two-time FSWA award winner Scott Engel, and also by four-time FSWA award winner Daniel Dobish who has won NASCAR writer of the year twice. Stay tuned!
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 - Starting Lineup
- (10) Aric Almirola, Ford.
- (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford.
- (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford.
- (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.
- (41) Daniel Suarez, Ford.
- (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.
- (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet.
- (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet.
- (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota.
- (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.
- (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet.
- (34) Michael McDowell, Ford.
- (6) Ryan Newman, Ford.
- (21) Paul Menard, Ford.
- (20) Erik Jones, Toyota.
- (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet.
- (24) William Byron, Chevrolet.
- (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford.
- (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.
- (95) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota.
- (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet.
- (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet.
- (38) David Ragan, Ford.
- (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford.
- (47) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet.
- (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford.
- (22) Joey Logano, Ford.
- (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet.
- (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet.
- (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet.
- (36) Matt Tifft, Ford.
- (15) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet.
- (00) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet.
- (96) Parker Kligerman, Toyota.
- (77) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet.
- (51) Cody Ware, Ford.
- (52) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet.
DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
Once you're done here, be sure to also check out Scott Engel's post-qualifying updates for the Atlanta Motor Speedway, including his DFS analysis and lineup picks for this week's NASCAR race. Scott is a FSWA Hall Of Famer and two-time FSWA award winner.
Chase Elliott #9 (DraftKings $9,700 | FanDuel $12,200)
Chase Elliott is the son of retired NASCAR legend Bill Elliott and has quickly become a fan favorite. Last week at Daytona, Elliott crashed out of the race and took the 17th finishing position. The hot story this week has to do with his father being the only driver from Georgia to win the race and many believe it will give him that extra push to compete at a higher level.
Elliott has finished in the top 10 in each of his last three races in Atlanta. Two of them advancing by double digits which is huge for fantasy owners. Elliott had a qualifying speed of 178.487 mph and sits at the 22nd position.
Denny Hamlin #11 (DraftKings $10,000 | FanDuel $12,000)
After winning the Daytona 500, Denny Hamlin has come out publicly and said hes good for 5 wins this season. Although Hamlin hasn't had the best of luck in years past in Atlanta, there is reason to believe he could follow up his Daytona victory with a locked in Top 10.
Hamlin finished fourth in the 2018 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 after starting in the 12th position. On Sunday, Hamlin will be starting fourth from the pole with a qualifying speed of 180.328 mph. We've all seen the power that the Joe Gibbs Toyotas are packing and Hamlin has a great opportunity to bag his second career win at this track.
Clint Bowyer #14 (DraftKings $9,100 | FanDuel $10,800)
Clint Bowyer came out strong in the first practice on Friday with an average lap speed of 180.152 mph. Bower held the pole with a speed of 180.410 until knocked out by teammate Aric Amorila. At the third position, its easy to list Bowyer as a sleeper this week.
If you watched practice, it was easy to see that Bowyer was enjoying the new package when he took off past Austin Dillon (3) on pit road. In last years race, Bowyer started in ninth and ended the race in third. He has never won the spring race in Atlanta.
Kurt Busch #1 (DraftKings $8,500 | FanDuel $9,600)
Kurt Busch has had an impressive career at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In the past five years,he has fished in the top 10 a total of four times between two racing teams. Busch will be starting 8th this Sunday behind new teammate Kyle Larson (42).
There is no doubt that each of these drivers from Chip Ganassi Racing will be helping each other maintain position. Especially with the Chevrolets trying to reclaim their place at the top of the racing ladder. Busch qualified with a speed of 179.796 and is a must play at a reasonable price.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase. Good luck RotoBallers!
