What’s up guys. This week due to having a couple extra hours between qualifying and the race I am going to give some info on each driver that can apply to the entire season and who I believe are good plays and fades for Atlanta. I will choose a few drivers as “top plays” who I like the most. I won’t be able to do this every week. I do hope that by doing this I can give some extra info that will help for the entire season. If you have any questions please reach out in the NASCAR Slack channels or on twitter @Larkin8.
Kyle Busch $15000 Start: 7th – Top Play – Kyle is most likely going to dominate this race. The question will be whether or not you can win with the punts you have to play or if it is better to pay down from Busch and shoot for a bunch of top ten finishers. I expect Kyle to be between 90-110 points if the race goes as planned
Brett Moffitt $11300 Start: 3rd – fade – I think he will be higher owned than he should be and will ultimately not score well enough. Last years race winner at Atlanta. Moffitt also scored a top 10 in the Cup series here. He definitely has the ability to win but if Kyle Busch dominates it will be hard to see Moffitt being worth a play at his price.
Johnny Sauter $10900 Start: 12th – play – Sauter has back to back 3rd place finishes at Atlanta. He has the ability to run well everywhere. Sauter is great and offers great upside. Will probably be played most in non Kyle Busch Lineups.
Ben Rhodes $10400, Start: 6th – fade – I am a big fan of Rhodes. He has race winning ability and often strong position upside. He has finished 4th, 4th and 6th at Atlanta in his 3 starts with a place diff. of + 22 in those 3 races. This could see people on him today I just don’t thing he has a chance to pay off. Still a tough price point but definitely someone to watch this entire season.
Stewart Friesen $10,100 Start 9th: – play – Showed some elite speed last year. Good on long runs. Good when tires wear out. I like him a lot. SHould win a couple races this year.
Todd Gilliland $9700 Start: 11th – play – Has solid upside and could crack the top 5. No matter what I expect 40+ points if he stays out of trouble. Driving for KBM We should expect a good performance this weekend. SHould win a couple races this year and will be major threat for title.
Matt Crafton: $9400 Start 10th – play – great history at Atlanta. Could be threat to win, @ time truck series champion.
Ross Chastain $9100 Start: 21st – play – Priced too high based on name. He could score well enough based on position upside. Just wish he was priced slightly lower.
Grant Enfinger $8900 Start: 5th – fade – Not much upside. I expect him to hang around the top 10 but not do much overall. Great play this year anytime starting outside top 10. WIll most likely be a title contender come playoff time.
Austin Hill $8700 Start: 1st – Fade – Not much upside. Tons of negative position diff potential. I expect good things this year. Championship winning team from 2018.
Harrison Burton $8500 Start: 2nd – fade – Great team and good young driver. If something happens to Busch he is a good play as potential to dominate. Just don’t expect anything other than Busch crushing. Could still score 40-45 even if Busch dominates but more than likely scores in the low 30s
Timothy Peters $8300 Start: 14th – fade/play – Not really sure where this team is in terms of quality. Driver is decent but not sure he has much upside. Off chance at 10th-12th but I expect a finish outside top 15.
Parker Kligerman $8100 Start: 26th – Top Play – Fast in practice. Loves his truck this week. Veteran driver with real ability. I expect 40+ today. Will offer some great upside whenever he is in the truck this year. ANother driver who would kill in top equipment.
Jesse Little $7900 Start: 23rd – Top play – I love Little anytime he starts this far back. Dude lived inside the top 10 in his partial schedule last year. Anywhere near that and he is a top play today. Will be a solid point scorer all year. Has talent and is relatively safe. Just needs a chance in top equipment and he could be a title contender.
Sheldon Creed $7800 Start: 4th – fade – expect to fall back. Driving for GMS he has strong upside in 2019 just not today in a race he will most likely drop a few spots in.
Austin Wayne Self $7600 Start: 17th – play/fade – too many good trucks coming from behind him. off chance he climbs a couple spots but 17th is roughly where he will finish. Great play anytime he starts outside top 20 this year.
Gus Dean $7400 Start: 22nd – play – Solid truck. Solid driver. Good position upside. should score over 30 points
Anthony Alfredo $7300 Start: 27th – Top Play – driving for DGR his truck is good enough to carry him towards top 15 even if he lacks talent. Driver is an unknown but truck is strong.
Josh Reaume $7200 Start: 13th – fade – will fall back fast. might score negative points.
Tyler Dippel $7100 Start: 15th – fade – Just starts too high. Solid truck but just won’t score enough.
Brennan Poole $7000 Start: 29th – Top play – Love Poole in this spot. New team but strong driver and crew chief lineup. I expect numerous top 15s and some top 10s in 2019
Jordan Anderson $6900 Start:20th – play – often found his way between 12th-17th last year. That will do just nicely today. Solid midfield play this season.
Korbin Forrister $6800 Start: 31st – play – I expect a finish of 18th-22nd. Should score nicely.
Joe Nemechek $6700 Start: 8th – play – Old man Joe is a solid driver. Can hang around and score 40 or might lose a few spots and score high 20s. either way is worth a play at this price especially in Busch lineups.
Natalie Decker $6500 Start: 16th – fade – Taco’s favorite driver. Don’t think she is ready or capable of this level of racing. Too much of an unknown at this point. Will be fun to watch though.
Spencer Boyd $6300 Start: 18th – play – I like Boyd in this spot. solid price and a 12th is definitely a possibility. Outside shot at scoring 40 points is nice. Boyd signed with a pretty solid truck team so we could see him put together some strong runs in 2019.
Norm Benning $6100 Start: 32nd – play – Not much in terms of overall upside but cant score any worse than 12 points. Will need punts to pair with Busch. Norm is playable in this spot
Cory Roper $5900 Start: 28th – playable – I don’t see much upside here but can score 20-25 as punt. Not a horrendous play. DOn’t expect much this season though.
Jennifer Jo Cobb $5800 Start: – fade – Just not much point in playing the worst driver in Truck Series history. Praying for a driver to maybe finish 25th isn’t a good play. Major fade almost all year
Timmy Hill $5700 Start: 24th – fade – could work as a punt. should be passed by a few drivers.
Ray Ciccarelli $5500 Start: 19th – fade – Expect him to lose a few positions. Won’t be playable starting anywhere in top 25 all year for me.
Chad Finley $5300 Start: 30th – Top play – top 20 speed in both practices. Can offer some decent upside. I would probably have him in every Busch lineup.