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This Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series will host the second race of the 2025 Cup Series season, the Ambetter Health 400, at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This will be the first of two races at the Georgia track for the year.
There will be 39 drivers who will be entered into this week’s race, with three of them being open entries who will all make the race. Two of those entries, B.J. McLeod and J.J. Yeley, failed to make last week’s Daytona 500 and will make their 2025 debuts officially this week.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Ambetter Health 400 on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 2/23/2025 at 3:17 p.m. EST. If you have further questions or talk about racing, you can find me on X at @SeanE247.
DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
Once you've read this article, be sure also to check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles to help you set your optimal DFS lineups. You should also check out our NASCAR DFS lineup tools for the ultimate combination of DFS resources to help you win big, including our Lineup Optimizer, DFS Cheat Sheet, Research Station, and more.
Chase Elliott
Starts 19th - DK: $9.5K, FD: $11.5K
Similar to last week’s Daytona 500, Atlanta is a drafting race track where drivers will race in packs. The racing will be primarily similar to Daytona but on a shorter, narrower track. This means that Place Differential will come into play for DFS this week.
While this normally means that targeting drivers starting from the rear will be the ideal strategy, there are some drivers even starting towards the middle of the pack worth consideration. Chase Elliott is one of those drivers who should not be overlooked.
chase elliott 2022 atlanta win pic.twitter.com/rbc9TzwQ8J
— NASCAR Arşiv (@nascartrarsiv) September 6, 2024
Apart from just being the hometown favorite, Elliott has been great at Atlanta since the track was reconfigured back in 2022. The No. 9 Chevrolet driver never finished below 15th in five starts since the reconfiguration and won at the site in July 2022.
Considering his starting position and how great the cars at Hendrick Motorsports are at drafting tracks (they did just win the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row with William Byron), Elliott will be a contender on Sunday.
Denny Hamlin
Starts 37th - DK: $9.1K, FD: $10.5K
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin will start towards the rear of the field, making him a popular pick across all DFS formats this week. The amount of upside offered by the No. 11 Toyota driver will be well worth it this week, however.
In six races at Atlanta since 2022, Hamlin only has two top-20 finishes, which is not great, but he did score positive PD in three of his last four at the site, which is great. This includes last September’s Atlanta race, where he started 38th and ended up 24th.
It’s been a theme in recent years where Toyotas do not qualify well at drafting tracks, only to perform much better on race day. Hamlin is a driver easily capable of racing his way to the top 20, and even if he just misses getting that far, he will score enough points to pay off his salary.
Daniel Suarez
Starts 29th - DK: $8.1K, FD: $10K
Seeing Daniel Suarez start around the twenties in a race at Atlanta gives me a case of “Deja Vu.” I say that because Suarez has qualified in this position a couple of times before.
3-WIDE AT THE LINE! WHAT A FINISH. Repost to congratulate Daniel Suárez on his Atlanta Motor Speedway WIN! pic.twitter.com/RdewRqJiwg
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 26, 2024
Each of the last four Atlanta races has seen the No. 99 Chevrolet driver start 23rd or worse. In each of the previous three races, however, Suarez has taken those starts deep in the field and turned them into three consecutive finishes of first or second.
This week, Suarez once again starts in that very same range towards the back, offering plenty of upside at one of his top tracks in recent years. Expect the Trackhouse Racing driver to put together another strong performance.
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Ross Chastain
Starts 33rd - DK: $7.6K, FD: $8.2K
Daniel Suarez may get all of the headlines because he won last year’s February Atlanta race in exciting, close fashion, but his Trackhouse Racing teammate has been no slouch either regarding respectable finishes at this track.
The No. 1 Chevrolet driver has five finishes of 13th or better in six races at Atlanta since 2022, including three top-10 finishes. Two of those top-10 finishes were runner-up finishes in both 2022 Cup events at AMS.
Ross Chastain was robbed of a top five last summer when he was punted on the last lap while running in 4th.
Minus the last two summer Atlanta races, his average finish is 6th! pic.twitter.com/xLssftWLVA
— Ryan (@ifantasyrace) February 23, 2025
When factoring in Chastain’s incredibly high PD upside with a history of favorable finishes, he is one of the best DFS options of the week to plug into lineups.
Erik Jones
Starts 28th - DK: $6.8K, FD: $6.8K
Last week at Daytona, two of the three Legacy Motor Club cars finished inside the top five. Neither one of those cars was the No. 43 Toyota of Erik Jones, as he finished in the 12th position.
What is the reasoning for mentioning these facts? It is because Jones will likely be the best-finishing Legacy Motor Club driver this week from a DFS perspective. Jones has quietly been a top fantasy performer since Atlanta was reconfigured in 2022.
In six races at AMS since 2022, Jones has four finishes of 14th or better, including two top-10 finishes. Notably, Jones is one of only a few drivers in the field to have scored positive PD in every Atlanta race since 2022. Jones's ability to consistently earn positive PD makes him worth rostering in all formats.
Corey LaJoie
Starts 35th - DK: $6.2K, FD: $5.5K
Corey LaJoie is back for Atlanta this week as one of the open entries, driving a second car for Rick Ware Racing under his Stacking Pennies Performance banner. AMS has been one of LaJoie’s top tracks in the Cup Series since 2022.
VIDEO: Cody Ware and Corey Lajoie pre-qualifying press conference from Atlanta Motor Speedway
🎥 NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Z6Fm0YspBi
— Speedway Digest (@speedwaydigest) February 22, 2025
In six races at Atlanta since 2022, LaJoie has four top-20 finishes, including two inside the top 10. The No. 01 Ford driver also led 10 laps in last week’s Daytona 500 and has some incredibly high upside from his starting position.
As a value pick, LaJoie is well worth rostering in all formats, as he can help fantasy players stack a lot more than just pennies for this week with a strong performance at Atlanta.
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