Bubba Wallace Surprises Everyone By Qualifying In The Front Row
Source: MSN
No, that's not a typo on the starting lineup for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Bubba Wallace actually qualified on the outside pole for this weekend's race. Road course tracks have typically been a major struggle for Wallace, but he has been improving at this track type over the years. Looking at the last eight races at road courses, Bubba hasn't finished worse than 20th, and he actually came home with a ninth-place finish at the Charlotte Roval last October. This weekend, Bubba will start on the front row for the first time ever at a road course, which actually ended up being a historical qualifying session for 23XI Racing. As far as DraftKings playability, though, it's best to avoid Bubba Wallace in DFS fantasy contests this weekend. It's very unlikely that he finishes as high as he qualified this weekend.Todd Gilliland Struggles In Practice But Qualifies 10th At COTA
Source: Jayski
One driver that was a bit of a surprise on the leaderboard in qualifying at Circuit of the Americas on Saturday afternoon was Todd Gilliland, who was just 27th-fastest in practice earlier that day but ended up qualifying 10th for his weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. And don't be surprised if the Front Row Motorsports driver parlays that into a solid finish on Sunday as well. Gilliland already has a pretty solid record at this track, with finishes of 10th in 2023 and 16th in 2022. Additionally, he was pretty good on the road courses overall last season, finishing between 10th and 18th at Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and the Charlotte Roval. At $6,600 on DraftKings, Gilliland likely starts too high up to take any real shot with him, but it's worth having a little bit of exposure in DFS tournaments this weekend.COTA Could End Up Being A Good Race For Zane Smith
Source: Racing-Reference.info
Zane Smith is a sneaky DFS option to consider at Circuit of the Americas this weekend. Even with all of his struggles last season while with Spire Motorsports, Smith was able to put up respectable finishes on a consistent basis on the road-course tracks. Here at COTA last season, Smith walked away with a 19th-place finish despite starting back in 34th, and he followed that up with a 16th-place result at Sonoma, a fifth-place finish at Watkins Glen, and a 19th-place finish at the Charlotte Roval. And don't forget, he has two COTA wins under his belt in the Truck Series. This weekend, Smith qualified 20th for Sunday afternoon's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. He is priced at $6,400 on DraftKings and should be considered a risky tournament option.Cole Custer Will Likely Struggle At COTA
Source: ifantasyrace
Don't expect much out of Cole Custer in this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. The Haas Factory Team driver has shown decent upside at road courses in the past (he had three top-15 finishes on them in 2022) but the No. 41 Ford is struggling this weekend, and it's hard to see Custer cracking the top 20 on Sunday. In the first practice session on Saturday, the No. 41 Ford was 27th-fastest out of 37 drivers, and Custer got even worse in the second practice, ranking 35th-best. At $6,500 on DraftKings this weekend, there are better drivers to spend that money on with your DFS lineups on Sunday.Could Ty Dillon Be A Deep Sleeper At COTA?
Source: Jayski
If you're looking for a cheap option on DraftKings this weekend at Circuit of the Americas, don't overlook Ty Dillon. The Kaulig Racing driver starts way back in 34th for Sunday's afternoon's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, and he has 21st- and 20th-place finishes to his credit at this track (back in 2021 and 2022, respectively). Dillon isn't a top-tier option at road courses, by any means, but he's a capable driver in decent equipment. Back in 2023, he finished 23rd at Sonoma, and also ran 16th at Watkins Glen in 2022. Ty posted the 19th-fastest lap during the second practice session on Saturday afternoon. If you need to save some cap space with your DraftKings lineup this weekend, Ty Dillon ($5,100) just may be your guy.Kyle Busch Leaves Atlanta With His First Top-10 Finish Of 2025
Source: NASCAR.com
Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch ended Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the seventh position. The No. 8 Chevrolet driver would fail to score stage points for the day as he ended the first stage in 12th position and the second stage in 19th. In the final stage, Busch took advantage of pit strategy and adjustments made on his car by his team throughout the day and took the lead around lap 193, leading his first laps of the day. Busch exchanged the lead with several drivers until he lost it to Ryan Blaney on lap 224. Ultimately, Busch would never get back to the lead from this point but managed to avoid multiple crashes and incidents to walk away with the fifth top-10 finish of his Cup career at Atlanta since the track was reconfigured in 2022.Kyle Larson Scores The Best Drafting-Track Finish Of His Career At Atlanta
Kyle Larson ended up earning the best result of his Cup career at a drafting track during Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Beginning the race from the 17th position, Larson did not do much during the first stageread more...
Ryan Blaney Rallies Back To Score A Finish Of Fourth At Atlanta
Source: NASCAR.com
On Sunday, Ryan Blaney of Team Penske went through an eventful race, the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but managed to leave with a fourth-place result. Blaney began the race from the lead but eventually faded back to eighth by the end of the first stage, scoring a few stage points. The second stage was quiet for Blaney as he ended it in 12th and failed to earn more stage points, but the third stage was where Blaney started experiencing setbacks. After a few pit stops and some strategy, Blaney eventually managed to trade the lead with a few drivers until Carson Hocevar bumped him on lap 234, sending him spinning. Blaney saved the car from being out of the race and then rallied back to the front by the end to capture the sixth top-10 finish of his Cup career at Atlanta since 2022.Despite Rarely Factoring For The Lead, Bubba Wallace Has Great Points Day
Source: Racing Reference
Although Bubba Wallace outqualified all the other Toyota drivers for Sunday's Ambetter Health 400, he never led and rarely contended for the lead but he consistently ran well nonetheless and finished ninth. His ninth-place average running position and 100.8 driver rating were both better than any other Toyota drivers. It's possible that since his past record indicated he was unlikely to win at Atlanta, that he chose to maximize points instead, and he definitely did that as his 44 points scored were tied with Kyle Larson for the most in the field, which elevated him from a tie for 17th in points to fifth. It's still unclear whether he will make the playoffs or not since he was fourth after this race last year and missed the playoffs, but he has definitely had a good start.Ross Chastain's Chances For Victory End After A Bump From Carson Hocevar
Source: Racing Reference
Ross Chastain was a relative non-factor in the first half of Sunday's Atlanta race, as he rarely ran in the top 10 until he stayed out of the pits during the Stage 2 caution when the other leaders pitted. However, on the ensuing restart, Chastain immediately took the lead from Chase Briscoe with the help of Shane van Gisbergen and ran consistently near the front for the rest of the race, leading seven times for 25 laps. He beat the leader Kyle Larson to the line on the overtime restart but ultimately fell to eighth after his protege Carson Hocevar bumped him out of the racing groove, which caused him to lose his momentum. Although Chastain missed out on what could have been a possible win and confronted Hocevar after the race, he still did what he needed to do in avoiding a crash.Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Recovers From Causing Daytona Big One To Finish Fifth At Atlanta
Source: Racing Reference
After embarrassing himself by triggering the first Big One in the Daytona 500 a week ago, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. recovered to finish fifth at Atlanta despite qualifying a miserable 34th. He never led the race, and his average running position of 18th wasn't stellar, but he led the field with a pass differential of 59 and 13 fastest laps and he continues to show a knack for being there at the end of drafting-track races, even though it didn't seem like the Chevies were quite as fast as the Fords. This marked his first top-five finish since HYAK Motorsports purchased JTG Daugherty Racing and elevated him to sixth in points in a tie with Kyle Larson and John Hunter Nemechek, but based on recent history, it seems very unlikely he will have much speed at all outside of drafting tracks, so he probably won't contend for the playoffs.Carson Hocevar Earns Best Career Finish
Source: Racing Reference
Carson Hocevar earned his best career finish in the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Sunday when he finished second from a 26th-place starting spot. After choosing not to fight for the lead in previous drafting-track races in an attempt to avoid crashing, Hocevar adjusted his strategy and fought for the lead this time, but not without ruffling a couple feathers as he first spun out Ryan Blaney to trigger the ninth caution and then bumped his mentor Ross Chastain out of the way on the overtime restart to move into a three-wide battle for the lead with Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson before Josh Berry spun out on the final lap. Hocevar was listed in second place at the time of the crash, which also moved him into his best-ever points position of 15th, making him a possible playoff dark horse this year.Ryan Blaney The Heavy Favorite To Win At Atlanta
Ryan Blaney is the odds-on favorite to win the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, with some sportsbooks posting Blaney as short as three-to-one to take the checkered flag in Hampton. And, honestly, that shouldn't be too surprising.read more...
Can Kyle Larson Finally Get A Good Finish At The New Atlanta?
When browsing the betting odds this weekend for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, you may have noticed that Kyle Larson was much further down the list than usual. No, that's not a typo. Ever since this track wasread more...
Chase Elliott Can Win This Weekend
Source: ifantasyrace
Don't be surprised if Chase Elliott contends for the Ambetter Health 400 victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has been one of the best at this track since it was repaved and reconfigured prior to the 2022 season, as Chase has the third-best average finish (8.6) and driver rating (97.7) over that three-year span. This weekend, Elliott qualified back in 19th-place, but that's not a bad thing at all. In fact, it actually makes him an even more attractive option on DraftKings, as he now has pretty high potential for Place Differential FPTS as well. At $9,500 on the DFS site, Chase should be one of the core drivers in a good portion of your lineups this weekend.