Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500: NASCAR DFS Picks

As we discussed during our Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 primer, there are a variety of options for this weekend’s race in Atlanta. The intermediate oval plays to several drivers’ strengths so many of the decisions to make now are related to qualifying position (QP). Due to rain washing out all activities on Friday, NASCAR skipped the qualifiers, but the field is still set so we can now make lineups to win in this afternoon’s race.

If you’re looking for some race day recommendations, I’ve got you covered for both FanDuel and DraftKings. If you’re playing season-long, even if I am not sure of the independent salaries in your league, I’ll give you a variety of choices I like.

Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 DFS Picks

One note: Keep in mind that a qualifying position (QP) is very important concerning NASCAR fantasy. For comparison’s sake, FanDuel rewards laps led with only 0.1 points but you earn or lose 0.5 points for place differential. On DraftKings, it’s even starker: Laps led is 0.25 points whereas place differential is +/- 1 point.

With that said, here are some picks I’ll be entering into both GPPs and cash games today for the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500.

I wanted Chase Elliott to be in this group given that he is racing on his home turf, but his starting position of sixth threw a wrench into that. He is expensive on both sites ($12,500 FD, $10,300 DK) and for that amount of budget, I’d prefer Kyle Larson or Kevin Harvick. Still, the No. 9 car does enjoy racing at home so I wouldn’t begrudge you for putting him in your lineups.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., intrigues me with his starting spot of 28. The No. 47 car had the fastest lap during Happy Hour yesterday, topping out at 186.616 mph. With the new banking and asphalt on the track, those drivers who figure out quickly how it will play in the race will have an advantage. Stenhouse has all the experience necessary to make his QP play to his advantage and aim for the Top 10.

Kyle Larson is starting in 21st which also creates excellent positional value. While mechanical difficulties ended his day in Phoenix early, he has finished in the Top 10 in four out of six races this season. Thanks to his low starting position, he leapfrogged into one of the best values of the day even with the highest salary on the board.

Lastly, we have Chase Briscoe who is sitting in pole position and ended last week’s race in dramatic (and dominant) fashion. I am willing to take the possible trade of negative positional gain for what I presume will be a good number of laps led. He has been on a roll so far this year and will have clean air in front of him to start. If you’re playing GPP, I feel like his roster percentage could be lower than expected so there is an additional advantage to putting him in your lineup.

All that said, here are two lineups I will be using tomorrow, one for each site. If you want to talk about racing, feel free to hit me up on Twitter @thewonkypenguin. And, as always, good luck!