The Gander Outdoors Truck Series rolls into Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, and Saturday’s Ultimate Tailgating 200 will be part of a tripleheader of racing action. Thanks to DraftKings’ decision to offer Truck Series contests this year, we also have a tripleheader of DFS action on tap.
With some highly-touted newcomers and some bigger names changing teams this offseason, the first few races will help us establish a hierarchy among the top drivers in 2019. Of course, you don’t need any data to know who should be the top option this weekend. Kyle Busch is the field, and whenever he jumps behind the wheel in the Truck Series, he is capable of a dominating performance.
The problem with Busch is that his price tag is an outrageous $15,000 at DraftKings. It is going to be impossible to build anything that resembles a balanced lineup while rostering Busch. I’m certainly not saying to avoid Busch this weekend, but without a ton of laps on tap, I don’t think he has to be owned in all of your lineups. He’s capable of leading every lap and winning the race, but that’s never easy for any driver, and Busch is going to need a performance like that to justify this price.
Qualifying will make the decision a little easier, and if a few bigger names start deeper in the field, I’ll probably lean towards a more balanced approach. If all the top guys are starting up front, I will likely have more lineups built around Kyle.
Feel free to hit me up on Twitter @BPolking after qualifying for any lineup advice, but in the meantime, check out the drivers I have my eye on at DraftKings for the Truck Series Ultimate Tailgating 200 at Atlanta.
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Must-Own Drivers
Kyle Busch ($15,000)
Busch has actually had issues in the Truck race at Atlanta in each of the last two years, but he still has four wins and seven Top 5s in 10 starts here. He’s also led laps in all 10 of his starts, leading at least 25 laps seven times. Busch’s price tag makes building a balanced roster tricky, but that won’t matter if he goes out and leads almost every lap and wins.
Brett Moffitt ($11,300)
He is the defending winner of this weekend’s race, and Moffitt’s victory at Atlanta was one of his series-best three wins at 1.5-mile tracks in 2018. Moffitt also led the second-most laps in those races. He did move to GMS Racing this offseason, but Johnny Sauter drove the same equipment to impressive numbers at the mile-and-a-half tracks last year.
Johnny Sauter ($10,900)
Speaking of Sauter, he led the series with seven Top 5s and 170 laps led at the 1.5-mile ovals last year, and he has finished third in each of his last two starts at Atlanta. He was the odd man out at GMS Racing this offseason, but the veteran landed on his feet with ThorSport Racing, one of the deepest organizations in the series.
Difference Makers
Ben Rhodes ($10,400)
Rhodes has made three career starts at Atlanta, and he has never finished worse than sixth. He also tied for the series lead with eight Top 10s in the 10 races at 1.5-mile tracks last year. Rhodes finished fourth or better in four of the final five races at mile-and-a-half tracks, picking up a win at Kentucky and a pair of second-place finishes.
Stewart Friesen ($10,100)
No driver earned more points at the 1.5-mile ovals last year than Friesen. He finished the year with a 7.2 average finish in the 10 races, logging eight Top 10s. Friesen was also one of four drivers to lead more than 100 total laps at the 1.5-mile ovals. He has some dominator potential.
Todd Gilliland ($9,700)
Gilliland led the third-most laps of any driver at 1.5-mile ovals last year, and that stat becomes even more impressive when you consider that he only raced in seven of the 10 races. The 18-year-old has already shown the ability to pile up dominator points, and he’s just getting started.
Matt Crafton ($9,400)
The veteran has been excellent at Atlanta recently, leading the most laps in two of the last four races and finishing in the Top 5 in three of them. Crafton also notched seven Top 10s in the 10 races at mile-and-a-half tracks in 2018, so you don’t have to worry about him ruining your lineups. Don’t sleep on Crafton this weekend.
Grant Enfinger ($8,900)
He was the model of consistency at the mile-and-a-half tracks last year, posting a series-best 6.6 average finish in the 10 races and tying for the series lead with eight Top 10s. Enfinger also showed a little more muscle late in the year, leading 40 laps in his win at Las Vegas and 33 laps in his runner-up effort at Homestead. At worst, he should land in the Top 10 Saturday, and dominator points aren’t out of the question.
Austin Hill ($8,700)
His numbers at the 1.5-mile tracks last year don’t jump off the page, but Hill moved to Hattori Racing this offseason, and it already paid off in the form of a win at Daytona last weekend. More importantly, Brett Moffitt piled up incredible numbers at the mile-and-a-half ovals for Hattori last year, so Hill could be poised for a big boost in performance.
Harrison Burton ($8,500)
He’s still getting his feet wet in the Truck Series, but Burton has two starts under his belt at mile-and-a-half tracks, finishing sixth at Texas and 11th at Homestead last year. Armed with Kyle Busch Motorsports equipment, Burton has Top 5 upside this weekend at a surprisingly affordable price.
Sheldon Creed ($7,800)
Creed only has two Truck starts under his belt at 1.5-mile ovals, but one of those resulted in a fifth-place finish at Homestead last fall. His potential was on full display last year as he powered his way to the ARCA title, and I think his Top 5 effort to close out 2018 could be a sign of things to come for Creed this season. He’s got a lot of upside and could be the steal of the weekend at this price.
Sleeper Special
Austin Wayne Self ($7,600)
Cap relief is going to be tough to come by unless you want to completely punt a roster spot, but Self could be an exception. He posted a 16.3 average finish at the 1.5-mile tracks last year, gaining an average of 3.2 spots per race. Self gained five spots and finished 15-th at Atlanta last year and gained four spots and finished 16-th in his only other Truck start here. If he starts 20th or worse, he should be able to help you out.
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