NASCAR Fantasy is ready for its second NASCAR Cup Series race of 2024 with the Ambetter Health 400 from Atlanta Motor Speedway.
This will be the first of two races this year from the Georgia venue and the fifth event since its reconfiguration. The race will take place on Sunday, February 25th at 3:00 pm ET (noon PT) on FOX. Radio coverage will be available on both PRN and SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio.
NASCAR Fantasy Live gives fans the chance to partake in driver selection each Cup Series race weekend. One will pick five starters and one “garage” driver per event. The garage driver will not receive any points but acts as a replacement for a starter who may face trouble in the first part of the race. At the end of stage two, picks will lock and no changes can be made. Points are awarded based on stage points and finishing positions in addition to four “head-to-head” driver picks. A driver may only be picked ten (10) times across the 26-race Regular Season and then five (5) times in the 10-race Playoffs.
See NASCAR’s website here for rules of how to play.
The following drivers listed are not my guaranteed lineup for Sunday’s race. Here are my NASCAR Fantasy recommendations for who to pick and who to avoid at the 2024 Ambetter Health 400. Also, see immediately below for my predictions.
2024 DAYTONA 500 RECAP
- STARTERS
- Bubba Wallace (9 uses left)
- 32 Place Points + 7 Stage Points = 39 Total Points
- Denny Hamlin (9 uses left)
- 18 Place Points + 4 Stage Points = 22 Total Points
- Chris Buescher (9 uses left)
- 19 Place Points + 1 Stage Point = 20 Total Points
- Ryan Blaney (9 uses left)
- 7 Place Points + 10 Stage Points = 17 Total Points
- Brad Keselowski (9 uses left)
- 4 Place Points + 0 Stage Points = 4 Total Points
- Michael McDowell (left in garage; 10 uses left)
- 1 Place Point + 0 Stage Points = 0 Total Points
- Bubba Wallace (9 uses left)
- FEATURED MATCHUPS
- Ty Gibbs vs. Joey Logano
- PICK: Logano
- RESULT: INCORRECT (Gibbs = 17th, Logano = 32nd)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. vs. Michael McDowell
- PICK: McDowell
- RESULT: INCORRECT (Stenhouse Jr. = 31st, McDowell = 36th)
- Ross Chastain vs. Tyler Reddick
- PICK: Reddick
- RESULT: INCORRECT (Chastain = 21st, Reddick = 29th)
- Josh Berry vs. Zane Smith
- PICK: Smith
- RESULT: CORRECT (Berry = 25th, Smith = 13th)
- Ty Gibbs vs. Joey Logano
- RANKING – RACE 1/36
- Total Points = 112
- Weekly Rank = 78,963rd
- Collective Rank = 78,963rd
See my NASCAR Fantasy breakdown from last week’s Daytona 500 here.
STARTERS
Pick 1 – Ryan Blaney
Ryan Blaney saw another strong Daytona 500 performance, but it ended in “The Big One” with nine laps remaining. Superspeedways are a strong suit of Blaney’s, and his performance through the four Atlanta repave races has been nothing short of impressive. Two stage wins, stage points in six of the eight stages, and three consecutive Top 10s are all reasons to lean with a Blaney pick. Additionally, he also leads all drivers through these four races with an Average Running Position of 7.4. Expect a strong rebound from the 2023 Champion.
Pick 2 – Austin Cindric
Speaking of Penske, Austin Cindric is a sneaky pick for this weekend’s NASCAR Fantasy. The teammate of Blaney was in position for a second trophy in the Great American Race before an incident coming to the white flag. On Dirty Mo Media’s Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin commented on how impressed he was with Cindric’s abilities in the draft. Cindric finished first in Stage One of this race last year and has three straight Atlanta finishes of 12th or better.
Pick 3 – Joey Logano
Why not take all three Penske cars? A high risk, but their performance at Atlanta leads all other teams. Joey Logano was another Penske driver taken out in the wreck with Blaney, and his hopes at a second Daytona 500 evaporated. In the 2023 March Atlanta race, Logano dominated leading 140 of 260 laps with a 1st and 2nd in the two stages. With a 2nd place qualifying effort for Sunday, expect Logano to maintain that track position en route to a strong NASCAR Fantasy day.
Pick 4 – Chase Elliott
Fan-favorite Chase Elliott always finds himself in the mix at drafting-style tracks. The 2020 Champion missed the March race last year due to injury, but he managed a decent 13th in the second rain-shortened event. Elliott finished 6th in the inaugural reconfiguration race only to follow it with a dominant sweep of both stages and the checkered flag in the 2022 summer event. Sooner or later, the Dawsonville, Georgia native is going to return to victory lane, and a spark will light this weekend.
Pick 5 – William Byron
Your 2024 Daytona 500 Champion, everyone. William Byron started the year with a bang by earning a trip to victory lane, and now, the chase for the NASCAR Cup Series Title is on. Because of this, he will have nothing to lose in terms of chasing first place. Byron has won seven of the last 37 races, and he enters Atlanta as the defending winner. He also took first in the 2022 inaugural repave being aggressive may bite the bullet, but the rising superstar will surely be in contention.
Alternate Options
- Ross Chastain: back-to-back 2nd place finishes in 2022 efforts
- Corey LaJoie: Top 5s in last two primary Atlanta races, wrecked battling for the lead on last lap in 2022 summer event, fresh off career-best 4th in Daytona 500
- Justin Haley: tied for 10th with Average Running Position since 2022 repave
*AVOID*
- Kyle Busch: two Top 10s in four repave starts, six of eight stages outside Top 10
- Bubba Wallace: No Cup Series finish inside the Top 10 at Atlanta or finish better than 13th since reconfiguration
- Kyle Larson: DNFs in three of the last four Atlanta races
FEATURED MATCHUPS
William Byron vs. Denny Hamlin
As mentioned, William Byron has nothing to lose. Denny Hamlin has faired well on the repave but has only one finish inside the Top 10. Having two wins on this configuration, entering as the defending race winner, and holding the most victories since last season makes Byron the pick here.
Alex Bowman vs. Christopher Bell
In last weekend’s Daytona 500, Alex Bowman finished runner-up to William Byron. The 2nd place finish was surprisingly Bowman’s best finish since Circuit of the Americas (2nd) in 2022. This makes for an interesting matchup as Christopher Bell has finished 1st or 2nd five times more since the event. Bell finished one spot behind Bowman in the season-opener. Hendrick Motorsports is off to a slightly better start than Joe Gibbs Racing, so I will lean toward Bowman.
Joey Logano vs. Brad Keselowski
Ford versus Ford in this NASCAR Fantasy battle. Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are regarded as two of the best drafters in the field. Their skills are a near match when it comes to this style of racing, and the same is said for their Atlanta repave statistics. Logano has led in three of the four races with Keselowski leading in two of the four. Keselowski leads with five of eight Top 10s in stages as Logano has only three. This duo is the toughest to pick, and by a hair, I will go with Keselowski.
Bubba Wallace vs. Chase Elliott
For how good Bubba Wallace is on superspeedways, something with Atlanta has not resonated. Last year, he played catchup after an early wreck in the March race followed by a late incident in the summer race. If prior performances see a repeat, Wallace will not be in contention at the end of the day. My pick is the 2022 summer winner Elliott.
What does your NASCAR Fantasy lineup look like for the 2024 Ambetter Health 400? Tweet us @LWOSMotorsport. Stay tuned here at LWOS Motorsports for NASCAR news, results, updates, and more.
