June 28, 2025
Ross Chastain will roll off the starting grid from 34th place when the Quaker State 400 goes green on Saturday night, making him one of the top DFS targets on the slate in a race where place differential is king. And even though Chastain wasn't able to find a ton of speed in qualifying, he should be just fine once the green flag waves. Since Atlanta was repaved and reconfigured prior to the 2022 season, Chastain ranks fifth-best in average finish (11.4) among active drivers and sixth-best in average driver rating (85.5). Back here in February, he started way back in 33rd but ended up eighth once the checkered flag flew. Chastain could easily have a similar performance here this weekend. Getting up front at this "new" Atlanta requires aggressiveness and precision, and we all know Chastain is capable of both, especially the former.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
June 28, 2025
Daniel Suarez hasn't won in over 50 races, since he took the three-wide victory in dramatic fashion at Atlanta back in February 2024. And with contract concerns looming--Suarez is in the final year of his contract at Trackhouse Racing--nothing would help move negotiations along like another win at the 1.54-mile track. Since Atlanta was repaved and reconfigured before the 2022 season, Suarez has been one of the best here--at least in terms of average finish. In addition to that aforementioned victory, Daniel has two runner-up finishes along with five total results of sixth or better in the seven races on this "new" track. This weekend, the No. 99 Chevrolet ended up 31st-fastest in qualifying, which means Suarez has a ton of Place Differential upside for Saturday night's race. He's a strong DFS play when you combine that with his strong track history.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Motorsport
June 28, 2025
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified 37th for Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), making him one of the most obvious DFS picks on this weekend's slate. Constructing a solid DraftKings lineup at Atlanta is all about focusing on place differential, and Stenhouse's upside in that category is sky-high for this race. Additionally, Atlanta is a good track for Ricky, as he has posted finishes of fifth, 14th, sixth, 10th, and 17th in the last five races here. At just $6,900 on DraftKings and with super-high place-differential upside, DFS managers should have plenty of Stenhouse exposure on Saturday night, unless you want to take a strategy play and go underweight on him and hope he has issues (as he will likely be one of the highest-owned drivers). Over the last five Atlanta races, Stenhouse has a plus-92 place differential.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
June 28, 2025
Keep an eye on Todd Gilliland this weekend in the Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta). The Front Row Motorsports driver has shown upside at this track in the Next Gen era, and has posted four finishes between 15th and 17th in the last six races here. Additionally, Gilliland has had a driver rating of 88.4, 72.0, and 91.8 over the last three races at Atlanta, which is much better than his typical performance at other tracks. Looking at this weekend, the No. 34 Ford will roll off the starting grid from 17th-place when the race goes green on Saturday night. For DFS purposes, Todd Gilliland makes for a risky play, but his $6,500 salary on DraftKings also makes him an affordable one. He should be considered for tournament-style lineups but don't go overboard on Gilliland this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
June 28, 2025
AJ Allmendinger has only made three starts on the "new" Atlanta race track, but he's made the most of them. In addition to his third-place finish here back in the summer 2023 race, Dinger has also posted results of 14th and 16th in his two other starts at this track. Additionally, he's been able to rack up fastest laps in these events, averaging 7.667 fastest laps per start here in the Next Gen era. This weekend, Allmendinger qualified 21st for Saturday night's Quaker State 400 race. This gives him some Place Differential upside for DFS but, at the same time, many DraftKings players will probably overlook AJ (especially at his $6,100 salary). He's worth a roll of the dice in tournament formats and single-entry contests.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
June 28, 2025
If you're looking for a low-tier fantasy pick to roll the dice with in this weekend's Quaker State 400, consider Justin Haley. The Spire Motorsports driver has an average finish of 14.9 over the seven Next Gen races at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), and over the last three summer races he has walked away with finishes of 12th, eighth, and seventh. This weekend, Haley qualified in 22nd-place, which gives him some Place Differential upside but doesn't make him an obvious DFS choice by any means. At $5,600 on DraftKings, Haley is a tournament option to have some exposure to (but don't go overboard). One other thing to note is that the Spire Chevrolets have racked up fastest laps on superspeedways this season. Haley put up nine fastest laps here at Atlanta in February and had eight fastest laps at Daytona earlier this year as well.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
June 28, 2025
The NASCAR Cup Series is at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta) this weekend, and that means it wouldn't be too crazy to see some of the underdog drivers perform well in the race. One of those is Corey Lajoie, who has a pretty good history at this race track. In addition to his fourth-place finish here back in 2023, Lajoie also has a fifth-place finish to his credit at this track and has ended up 15th or better in four of the seven Next Gen races. This weekend, Corey will be in the No. 01 Ford for Rick Ware Racing and will roll off the starting grid from 25th-place. That gives him some Place Differential upside in DFS, but is also high enough that his ownership should be relatively low. Lajoie is a cheap tournament option ($5,500 on DraftKings) for this weekend's Quaker State 400.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
June 28, 2025
Cole Custer used his Ford engine power to qualify seventh for this weekend's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta), his second-straight solid qualifying effort in a row, as the Haas Factory Team driver started fifth at Pocono last weekend. And while track position is always important an any race, it's likely we see Custer do the same thing this weekend as he did one week ago: fall back after the green flag waves. In the Next Gen era, Custer does have one good finish at Atlanta under his belt (a ninth in 2022), but other than that, he has ended up 32nd or worse in the other three races. Even though he's a cheap option in DFS this weekend ($5,400 on DraftKings), Custer is an easy fade due to his high negative Place Differential probability.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
June 28, 2025
David Starr makes his return to Cup Series action this weekend, as he will be behind the wheel of the No. 66 Ford for Garage 66 in this weekend's Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta). Starr qualified last (40th) for Saturday night's race and was well off of the pace in that session, as his lap time (34.113) was over three seconds slower than the pole time of Joey Logano (30.979). In terms of miles-per-hour, Starr averaged 162.519 on his qualifying lap, much slower than Cody Ware, who qualified 39th at 175.643 mph. With as off-pace as Starr is this weekend, it's recommended to completely avoid him in DFS despite the Place Differential upside he could potentially have.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
June 23, 2025
Ryan Blaney had arguably the most impressive drive in Sunday's race at Pocono. After being forced to start in the back due to making unapproved adjustments prior to the race, he drove into the top 15 despite his cooling suit failing early in the race. After speeding on pit road early in Stage 2, he miraculously recovered to finish eighth in that stage before ultimately finishing third in the race. After the race, he was so drained that he fell on his knees a couple times, but he appears to be otherwise OK. He gained 18 points on the championship leader William Byron, but since he trails Byron by 120 points, he's unlikely to be a serious contender for the regular-season championship.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 23, 2025
William Byron made one of the rapidest ascents through the field early in Sunday's Pocono race, earning points in Stage 1 after staying out of the pits leading up to the first stage caution because there was a risk he might've been lapped if he'd tried to pit then. Despite falling back to 18th after his pit stop, he broke into the top five and finished fourth in Stage 2. However, the wheels came off his race after he fell to 24th on the Stage 2 caution. After pitting an extra time on a later caution -- a rare strategy faux pas from Rudy Fugle -- Byron remained in the 20s for the remainder of the race and finished an uncharacteristic 27th. Because he collected more stage points than his teammate and closest pursuer Kyle Larson, his lead in the regular-season points battle only dropped from 68 to 55 points.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 23, 2025
Kyle Larson didn't have his usual speed at Pocono and he didn't drive up through the field as quickly as his teammate William Byron did, but he had a solid racecraft and finished seventh after qualifying 24th. Although he earned no points in Stage 1, he finished ninth in Stage 2 before jumping to sixth after pitting shortly before the final caution of the race for Shane van Gisbergen's spin. After falling to seventh on Lap 134, he maintained his position in a final stint where it was almost impossible to pass. Although Larson didn't score as many stage points as Byron, his much better finish resulted in him cutting his deficit for the regular-season championship by 13 points, and he now trails Byron by 55 points.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 23, 2025
John Hunter Nemechek had one of the best runs of his career at Pocono on Sunday, finishing sixth after starting fourth as Legacy Motor Club's cars improve. Although Nemechek quickly fell from fourth to 10th early in Stage 1, he returned to the top five early in Stage 2 after pitting just before the first stage caution came out. Although he fell to the middle of the pack for much of Stage 3, he had the good fortune of making his final pit stops just a few laps before Shane van Gisbergen's spin. After settling into sixth position on Lap 132, he remained there for the rest of the race. With Nemechek now boasting back-to-back sixth-place finishes and his teammate Erik Jones finishing no worse than 17th in his last five starts, LMC seems to be having a resurgence this year as Nemechek gains experience while Jones recovers from last year's injury.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June
23,
2025
Denny
Hamlin
of
Joe
Gibbs
Racing
fell
short
of
victory
during
Sunday's
Great
American
Getaway
400
at
Pocono
Raceway.
In
the
race's
first
stage,
Hamlin
started
from
the
first
position,
took
the
lead
immediately,
and
never
looked
back.
Despite
Chris
Buescher
read more...
June 23, 2025
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott had a highly favorable finish of fifth during this weekend's Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway. Beginning the race from the 18th position, Elliott displayed great speed right from the beginning as he went all the way up to the eighth position and claimed three stage points at the end of the first stage. In the second stage, Elliott progressed further through the field with his team also executing on pit stops and making no mistakes. Elliott finished stage two in the third position behind Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry. In the final stage, Elliott continued to maintain a top-5 running position through most of the stage, even across cautions and pit stops under green flag conditions. By the end of the race, he was trying to hold onto fourth, but was passed by Chris Buescher in the closing laps, giving Elliott a final finishing result of fifth, marking his fourth consecutive Pocono top-10 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
RADIO
