This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
EchoPark 250
Location: Hampton, Ga
Course: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile quad-oval
Laps: 163
Race Preview
Again this year, the NASCAR Xfinity series will have a double-header this Saturday with the NASCAR Truck Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta Motor Speedway's pavement is the oldest the series races on, and is expected to make this week's race as exciting as it has been the past few years. Austin Cindric scored his second win of the year last week at Phoenix, where he picked up the 2020 championship last year. He will start on pole this week with Jeb Burton alongside on the front row. Defending winner AJ Allmendinger is the only regular Xfinity Series driver with a win in this year's field, and he will start third.
Key Stats at Atlanta Motor Speedway
- Number of races: 29
- Winners from pole: 6
- Winners from top-5 starters: 13
- Winners from top-10 starters: 22
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 3
- Fastest race: 151.751 mph
Previous 10 Atlanta Winners
2020 - AJ Allmendinger
2019 - Christopher Bell
2018 - Kevin Harvick
2017 - Kyle Busch
2016 - Kyle Busch
2015 - Kevin Harvick
2014 - Kevin Harvick
2013 - Kevin Harvick
2012 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2011 - Carl Edwards
Winning in Atlanta means teams and drivers will have to manage their tires effectively. NASCAR's lower downforce package coupled with Atlanta's aged surface creates exciting racing as drivers work to optimize the effects of fresh tires. Teams must adjust their settings throughout the race, and drivers will be adjusting their lines throughout the distance, too. AJ Allmendinger's win last season came from the 30th starting position with less than 40 laps led. There were only six caution periods in the race, and that has become the norm for Xfinity races at this track recently. Again this week, fantasy managers will expect long green-flag runs and seek to choose drivers who have shown speed on 1.5-mile ovals already this season, and the main track to look for similar performances from is Homestead Miami Speedway.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Noah Gragson - $11,500
Martin Truex Jr. - $11,300
Austin Cindric - $10,900
AJ Allmendinger - $10,300
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Brandon Jones - $9,700
Ryan Sieg - $9,400
Justin Haley - $9,200
Michael Annett - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Riley Herbst - $8,800
Harrison Burton - $8,600
Brett Moffitt - $8,400
Josh Berry - $8,200
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Santino Ferrucci - $7,500
Brandon Brown - $7,000
Jeffrey Earnhardt - $6,800
Jeremy Clements - $6,400
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Noah Gragson - $11,500
Daniel Hemric - $10,000
Justin Haley - $9,200
Santino Ferrucci - $7,500
Jade Buford - $6,000
Jesse Little - $5,800
Noah Gragson should have multiple wins already this season, but bad luck has kept him out of Victory Lane to this point. He finished second in this race last season after starting on pole. He will start 30th this week, which means he will have a lot of work ahead of him. Daniel Hemric was fourth in last year's race and has an average finish of 8th from three series starts at Atlanta. Santino Ferrucci is proving to be a consistently quick option with limited Xfinity starts. He was 15th last week in Phoenix and was 13th at Las Vegas. Players will be wary of his 30th-place Homestead finish, but those were his first ever laps in these cars and included a pit stop violation. Jade Buford will start 21st this weekend. He picked up top-20 finishes at both Phoenix and Homestead and this week will be his highest start of the season. Last season was Jesse Little's first Atlanta visit in the series. He started 14th and finished 21st. He has one top-15 and two top-20s from four races so far this season.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
AJ Allmendinger - $10,300
Brandon Jones - $9,700
Harrison Burton - $8,600
Myatt Snider - $8,000
Brandon Brown - $7,000
Jeremy Clements - $6,400
The defending winner of this week's race, AJ Allmendinger, will start third this week. He started 30th and won last season, and has a streak of consecutive top-fives to bring into this week's race. Brandon Jones scored his two best Atlanta finishes in the last two races. His fourth-place finish in 2019 was his best, but he also finished ninth in last season's visit. Jones starts 16th Saturday. Harrison Burton started and finished fifth in this race last season. He also starts fifth on Saturday. He is currently seventh in the standings and has three top-10s already this season. His 39th-place finish at Homestead is nothing to worry about since an engine issue is what took him out of contention. Myatt Snider was the one that won that Homestead race. He starts inside the top 10 on Saturday and should be a reliable top-15 finisher with even more potential this time. Brandon Brown scored his best Atlanta finish last season with a 12th-place run one season after finishing 13th the year before. He has three starts at the track and has four finishes of 11th or better in the first five races this season. Fantasy managers might then consider choosing Jeremy Clements. He is 11th in points and scored his best Atlanta finish of 13th just last season.
