Atlanta’s reconfigured layout keeps turning Cup Series races into pack-racing chaos, and this week should be no exception. That makes driver selection here more about survival instincts than season-long form. Here are my top DraftKings picks for the Quaker State 400.
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Top DraftKings Picks for the Quaker State 400
- Chase Elliott ($9,900) — Is NASCAR’s golden boy No. 1 at the super speedways? No one is. Technically, his median finish of 14.1 in Gen-7 pack races is the best. That’s barely a top-15 finish on average. This is plate racing. This opens the door to the rest of the picks in the rankings.
- Alex Bowman ($7,300) — Who needs a win? Who will be on the hot seat come silly season? Bowman ran well at Chicago. An Atlanta win would go a long way to secure a seat in 2027. Bowman has the third-best median finish in Gen-7 pack races.
- Carson Hocevar ($8,700) — The hype train is off the rails, but the hype is real. Hocevar has talent. He has speed with Spire. The kid won at Talladega and finished fourth at Atlanta in the spring. He was the runner-up and finished 10th as a rookie at Atlanta in 2025.
- Daniel Suarez ($7,200) — This is a classic example of plate racing. Danny’s Atlanta stats paint the picture. What should DraftKings fantasy NASCAR players expect on Sunday night? Look at Suarez’s stats: 5th, 33rd, 34th, 1st, 2nd, 29th and 2nd.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr ($7,700) — Everyone knows the resume. Wrecky Spinhouse has won more superspeedway races than most of the drivers to ever race at Talladega and Daytona. He’s also wrecked more and wrecked more competitors than those drivers.
- William Byron ($9,700) — This has been a quiet season for Byron, but it’s hard to make noise with the Toyotas blasting their woofers. The No. 24 Chevy turned up the volume at Chicago. Atlanta could easily be his week given his four Gen-7 super speedway wins — two at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta.
- Zane Smith ($6,800) — Where are the regulars? Where are the elites? It doesn’t matter. This is a super speedway. The DFS strategy is survival and place differential. Smith survives and thrives. Smith finished sixth at Dayton, 11th at Atlanta and fifth at Talladega.
- Austin Cindric ($8,200) — The Cup Series career for Cindric in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford has been beyond disappointing. The one place that Cindric has earned the seat his father gifted to him is super speedways. Cindric is a Daytona 500 winner.
- AJ Allmendinger ($5,900) — The Dinger has always been a patient plate racer. He scored several wins and top 10s with Kaulig Racing in the O’Reilly Series. His median finish at Atlanta is eighth.
- Denny Hamlin ($9,100) — It’s an upside-down week. The stars are black holes. The astral plane is leveled. Hamlin is one of the greatest racers ever and one of the best pack racers ever. True to the style of pack racing, every driver goes through a drought. Hamlin has two top-10 finishes since 2014 with an average finish of 23rd in 15 races. That’s leverage.
- Chris Buescher ($8,400) — The most recent superspeedway race was Talladega. Buescher was the runner-up. He finished seventh at Daytona. Atlanta has been mixed, but not as mixed as others — two top-10 finishes in the last four drafting races.
- Austin Hill ($6,600) — This isn’t a reach. Hill is one of the best super speedway drivers in Truck and O’Reilly Series history. He’s taking over Kyle Busch’s ride. Busch had the third-best average finish at super speedways in the Gen-7 car. Atlanta is also Hill’s home track.
- Bubba Wallace ($7,900) — His median finish of 10th at super speedways is the best in Cup Series over the last three seasons. That’s a median. He’s earned nine top-10 finishes and finished outside of the top 20 six times in those 15 races.
- Ross Chastain ($8,100) — Starting position is the main factor when building lineups. Place differential is everything in volatile drafting races. Driver volatility is another factor. Passive drivers are safer in cash games. Aggressive drivers go for the win and maximize gains or losses if they wreck.
- Cody Ware ($5,000) — The playing field is level for NASCAR drivers at super speedways. It’s a level playing field for DraftKings players. The 150-entry Goliath can be beaten in GPPs by David and his one entry. A single-entry DFS player can gain leverage by targeting drivers starting close to the front or with weak equipment.
