EDITOR’S NOTE: Beginning this week, we have brought aboard Mark Michalek, a strong player in the fantasy sports world, to provide weekly fantasy picks to help you make the right decisions when setting your daily NASCAR team. Each week, Mark will give you the plays that could turn into big bucks, so be sure to follow his column.
By Mark Michalek, NASCAR Fantasy Expert
This week we head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. It is going to be very interesting when it comes to the weather. There is a lot of rain on the radar so if the race does go it is going to affect strategy throughout the race. Atlanta is already one of the more interesting 1.5-mile tracks on the circuit due to the massive tire wear. With that said we can get into the picks for your DraftKings NASCAR contests.
Martin Truex Jr,- $10,400 Truex is basically a free square this weekend. During qualifying on Friday his car failed tech 3 times and he was unable to attempt a qualifying run. Therefore he is going to start 35th and become the chalkiest driver of the week. Normally I would never recommend going 100% on a driver but with Truex anything less than 100% ownership is to low. He’s been unstoppable at the 1.5-mile tracks over the last 2 year and he finished last year winning 4 of the last 5 1.5-miles. In final practice today he was second fastest in single lap runs and 5th in 10 lap averages. He should have no problem driving through the field and getting to the front.
Kevin Harvick- $10,100- Normally I would not recommend forcing in the top 2 highest priced drivers this week but with Truex starting in the back and the pure dominance that Harvick has show here over the last few years its very hard not to play both these guys. If you watched the Xfinity race today or listened to any of the drivers you will understand just how good Harvick is here. In the last 4 races here he has led 295, 131, 116, and 195 laps. Practice speeds are a little misleading as he was 23rd in single lap runs and 7th in 10 lap averages but listening to all the drivers radios and watching the lap by lap times Harvick has something figured out here that others just cant replicate.
Ryan Blaney- $8,400- Blaney was hit or miss at 1.5-miles last season with an average finish of 13.58. In his 2 starts at Atlanta he has finished 18 and 23 and in both races he had issues with the tire wear. Starting 26th this weekend he offers a solid floor for both cash games and gpps. In final practice today he was 8th in single lap runs and 6th in 10 lap averages. He should have no problem moving up in the field and if he gets to 12th he scores 46 DK points which will be plenty for his price tag.
Ty Dillon- $6,500- If your going to play the studs you are going to have to find value with the cheaper guys. Ty is starting 28th and in final practice today he was 22nd in single lap runs and 19th in 10 lap averages. He has 3 career starts here at Atlanta all of which he has improved on his starting position including last year going from 26th to 15th. In the Xfinity race today he started 16th and ran in the top 8 for most of the race until a pit penalty forced him a lap down. He is in a very good spot for place differential and salary savings.
Chris Bueschner- $5,900- When you get down to this salary range everyone becomes a risky play because of the tire wear and lap time differences it becomes very easy to go a lap or 2 down. Bueschner is starting 24th and he had the 7th fastest single lap run. Unfortunately in the 38 laps that he ran he did not make a 10 consecutive lap average which is concerning for the longer runs. I did track his lap times and on his 7th lap of his first run he averaged 172.211 mph which was ahead of some of the guys starting in front of him including Bubba Wallace who ran a 169.900 on his 8th lap and Erik Jones ran a 171.737 on his 7th lap during the same run. He carries some risk but he’s a great salary saver and should be able to get positive place differential.