Fantasy Fastlane: In-Season Challenge begins; betting the house on Team Penske at Atlanta

Let the madness begin! Or in this case, the In-Season Challenge, which is sure to feature upsets aplenty beginning this weekend at the unpredictable EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). Team Penske has ruled drafting races in 2025, and Austin Cindric secured the team’s first victory of the season after combining to lead 355 of 655 laps (54.2%) through the first three events (Daytona 500, Atlanta spring and Talladega), including Josh Berry. The bulk of those drivers run quite well at Atlanta, too.

Get those brackets in! The first In-Season Challenge gets underway at Atlanta, with a bear of a five-race schedule ahead. Should a driver advance past Atlanta in their respective head-to-head matchup, the Chicago Street Course looms next. Then, there is another challenging road course with Sonoma Raceway. The Final Four event is at the Monster Mile (Dover Motor Speedway) with the tournament wrapping up at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We’ll hit a chunk of these matchups throughout Fastlane in the coming weeks. My final four is Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Chris Buescher. Byron wins the $1 million prize over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Elliott at Indy.

New to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced last year in which strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2025 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.

RELATED: How to watch NASCAR on TNT Sports | How In-Season Challenge works

MUST START:

Ryan Blaney | View stats

Team Penske, No. 12 Ford

Odds (DraftKings): 8-1

With how Blaney typically runs at the front at Atlanta, it’s surprising that he’s yet to score a victory at the reconfigured track. In the seven races since Atlanta transformed to a drafting track, Blaney leads the way with six top-10 finishes. Four of those have been top fives.

MUST START:

Austin Cindric | View stats

Team Penske, No. 2 Ford

Odds (DraftKings): 9-1

Until Cindric was plugged in the fence in the closing laps by Kyle Larson, he was in a great position to win the spring Atlanta race. Cindric has been a menace on superspeedways since entering the Cup Series full time in 2022, scoring victories in the Daytona 500 (2022) and Talladega earlier this year. He also won one of the Daytona Duels in February. His 193 laps led at Atlanta are the second-most by a driver since 2022.

MUST START:

Joey Logano | View stats

Team Penske, No. 22 Ford

Odds (DraftKings): 17-2

The most laps led in the seven Atlanta races, however, is Logano at 282. Logano is one of two drivers (William Byron) to have multiple victories at the reconfiguration. All Penske drivers should be favored for the In-Season Challenge this weekend, though one cause for concern here is that Logano’s win here last fall is his lone top 10 in the last 10 drafting races. In that same span, the three-time Cup champion has led double-digit laps in all but one race, which ironically is the race he won.

MUST START:

Kyle Busch | View stats

Richard Childress Racing, No. 8 Chevrolet

Odds (DraftKings): 14-1

It’s been a brutal couple of weeks for Busch, dropping to 63 points below the playoff elimination line with nine races remaining in the regular season. One of Busch’s best chances to win could come this weekend, as he’s excelled at superspeedways with RCR. He has top 10s in all five races at Atlanta while driving the No. 8 car, with an average finish of 6.4. He’s paired against longtime rival Brad Keselowski this weekend in the Challenge, which is among the most intriguing opening round matchups.

SLEEPER PICK:

Daniel Suárez | View stats

Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet

Odds (DraftKings): 28-1

Up until a disastrous spring event where Suárez was a nonfactor, Atlanta could be considered his best track on the circuit. He has five finishes of sixth or better in the seven races here, including three top-two finishes and his stunning .003-second victory in 2024. Suşrez is in must-win mode to make the postseason and could be a ruckus for Bubba Wallace to advance to the next round.

SLEEPER PICK:

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | View stats

Hyak Motorsports, No. 47 Chevrolet

Odds (DraftKings): 45-1

Whenever the Cup Series visits a superspeedway, you know Stenhouse will be in the mix. All four of his victories have come at drafting tracks, winning one in each of the last two seasons. Stenhouse has three top-10 finishes at the reconfigured Atlanta, all coming in the last four attempts and rounded out the top five in the spring. If you want a real sleeper to get through the first round, look no further, as Stenhouse is pinned up against Christopher Bell this weekend.

SLEEPER PICK:

Corey LaJoie | View stats

Rick Ware Racing, No. 01 Ford

Odds (DraftKings): Not listed

After a successful five-week stretch as an analyst for Prime Video, LaJoie straps back into a race car this weekend for the first time since mid-April at Bristol Motor Speedway. There’s little doubt that Atlanta is his best track, with a pair of top-five finishes to his name here. Nine of his 11 career top-10 finishes at the Cup level have come at superspeedways.

STAY AWAY FROM:

Kyle Larson | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet

Odds (DraftKings): 15-1

Being fully transparent, I played around with moving Larson into sleeper territory with his recent finishes on superspeedways. Since last fall at Talladega, he has three top fives throughout the last four drafting races, including a third-place finish here in February. But it’s hard to overlook that the 2021 Cup champion has five DNFs in seven races at the Atlanta configuration, all from crashes.

STAY AWAY FROM:

Denny Hamlin | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota

Odds (DraftKings): 18-1

Hamlin has been white hot of late, scoring three straight podium finishes (aside from missing Mexico City). Hamlin has been ho-hum at the reconfigured Atlanta, though, with a best finish of sixth (twice). Four of those seven starts are results of 23rd or worse. As the No. 1 seed in the In-Season Challenge, it’s realistic to think he slips by Ty Dillon in the opening round matchup, though Kaulig Racing can’t be overlooked at drafting tracks.

STAY AWAY FROM:

Chase Briscoe | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota

Odds (DraftKings): 22-1

All the momentum is riding with Briscoe after a dominant second half of the Pocono race en route to his first victory with JGR. Just don’t look at his Atlanta numbers. Entering this weekend, he has five straight finishes outside the top 20 here. His best finish is 15th (March 2022).

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Kyle Busch vs. Brad Keselowski

As noted earlier, this is among the most enthralling matchups in the first round of the In-Season Challenge. Keselowski is known for his superspeedway prowess, with seven wins at drafting tracks. Busch’s numbers aren’t as appealing, but his record with RCR speaks for itself. This might be Rowdy's best chance at a victory between now and the end of the regular season, while Keselowski has two DNFs in the last three Atlanta events.

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Alex Bowman vs. Joey Logano

Logano thrives under pressure, and he is an aggressive superspeedway competitor. Bowman cracked the top five last fall and has six top-10 finishes at the last 11 drafting races. Logano tends to lead laps and get wrecked, but he must have the edge here this weekend.

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Kyle Larson vs. Tyler Reddick

This is the most interesting opening round matchup -- period. One of the top seven drivers in the regular-season standings is guaranteed to be bounced out of the opening round. Neither driver has great superspeedway numbers, though Reddick’s jumped off the page a bit more with a victory at Talladega last year. Both have at least one top 10 in the last seven Atlanta races. My gut tells me Larson’s shot at $1 million will come to a halt this weekend, as Reddick has finished better than him in five of the seven Atlanta events.

FEATURED MATCHUP:

Ross Chastain vs. Erik Jones

Another fun matchup between two former superspeedway winners. Chastain has the lead in head-to-head matchups at Atlanta, also with a five-to-two advantage. The No. 1 team has cracked the top 10 on four occasions at Atlanta since 2022, finishing runner-up in both 2022 races. Jones has three straight finishes of 25th or worse at Atlanta.

MY LINEUP: Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott.

GARAGE: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

36 for 36: First off, glad I changed my pick at the last minute to Chris Buescher at Pocono. It was a game-time decision and it led to scoring the third-most points in the field at the “Tricky Triangle.” Moving to Atlanta, it allows for some flexibility to pick a driver you think may run at the front or someone who could quietly sneak out a good finish. With the unknown, I’m leaning towards the latter direction entering the weekend, and utilizing Justin Haley as my pick. It’s been an arduous stretch for the No. 7 team, with only four top-15 finishes this season, including a crew-chief change. Haley has a stout history at superspeedways, with all four of his Xfinity Series victories coming at drafting tracks. He also has four finishes of 12th or better at Atlanta.