Overview

The trucks will go 135 laps for 208 miles at Atlanta Motorspeedway, one of the tracks that we see pack racing at which always has us viewers on the edge of our seats waiting for the big wreck to happen.

Strategy

We’re looking at pretty much the same strategy here that we did for Daytona in this series. We have to look towards the back of the field but that strategy isn’t as magnified as it is in the Cup Series of even in the XFINITY Series, really. While it is important to find the Trucks/drivers towards the back that will escape the big wreck(s) it’s also worth noting that simply some drivers are far more experienced than others and some equipment is vastly superior than others, those two factors are magnified in the Craftsman Truck Series. With that being said, along with looking to the back looking at drivers/trucks that expect to finish well regardless of starting position does come into. In this race last year three of the top-five finishers started from the 20th position or deepers (Nick Sanchez started 20th and finished second, John Hunter Nemechek; 24th and third, and Bayley Currey; 30th and fourth). Nemechek led the most laps (53) while evenual race winner Christian Eckes led 35 laps from the fourth starting position. One wrinkle to consider here is that Kyle Busch will be running this race in a very strong Spire Motorsports truck and is the most expensive driver ($12,000).

Most comparable tracks: Daytona International Speedway

*Note: all pricing is DraftKings focused

Top Drivers

Corey Heim ($10,000), Starting 19th

For Heim qualifying didn’t go particularly well as he’ll roll of 19th on Saturday. This will be Heim’s third truck race at Atlanta and he’s won here before, in 2022 when he started 19th, coincidentally. Last year in this race Heim wrecked out after 83 laps in a good truck. Heim will be in a good truck again here, the number 11 TRICON Garage truck, a truck in which he drove to a second-place finish last weekend at Daytona after starting 26th. Heim looks poised to pick up plenty of place differential points again on Saturday.

Nick Sanchez ($8,800), Starting 18th

Last weeks winner, Sanchez will roll off 18th and like Heim above, Sanchez has had success here at Atlanta, albeit in one race. In that race last season Sanchez started 20th and wheeled his truck to a second-place finish. Outside of his win last week at Daytona, Sanchez also has a top-10 finish at Talladega under his belt, a track that fits similar characteristics to Atlana these days in terms of style of racing. It could be argued that Sanchez is underpriced given the success he’s had at these types of tracks early in his career.

Kyle Busch ($12,000), Starting 7th

The elephant in the room is whether or not to jam KB into lineups, a popular topic of discussion anytime he’s in a truck. Typically Busch qualifies on or near the front row in these races and quite often he dominates. This week, though, he’ll start at the seventh-position at a track with a ton of variance. KB has not run this track since it’s been reconfigured in a truck but he finished fifth and 10th here last year in a Cup car and, afterall, it’s Kyle Busch in a race with plenty of drivers with moderate experience. It wouldn’t surprise me to see KB get out in front, dominate, and win this race provided that he doesn’t get caught up in a wreck with a bunch of uber-aggressive truck drivers with varying experience levels.

Taylor Gray ($7,700), Starting 31st

The case for Gray is clear. He’s a good young driver in a good truck starting towards the back at a track that fits the characteristics of a superspeedway. Although Gray has never raced here at Atlanta, he should be a popular mid-range play and one that I’ll be rostering plenty.

Also Consider:

Ty Dillon ($8,700), Starting 17th

Tanner Gray ($7,600), Starting 22nd

Kaden Honeycutt ($6,600), Starting 25th

Timmy Hill ($5,500), Starting 27th

Spencer Boyd ($5,200), Starting 33rd

GOOD LUCK!!