Race No. 5 of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season is here, and it’s time to set those Fantasy Live lineups for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). What six drivers should you have in your lineup? How will the new track configuration play into this weekend’s strategy? Let’s answer that and offer up my race-day lineup and bonus picks below.
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Sean Montgomery’s race-day lineup for Atlanta spring race:
1 – Chase Briscoe (used once)
2 – Ryan Blaney (used once)
3 – Kurt Busch
4 – Tyler Reddick
5 – Ross Chastain
Garage – Brad Keselowski
Next in line: Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric.
Analysis: Combining the unknowns of the new Atlanta track and the absence of qualifying, it would be a safe bet to prioritize starting position, stage points and overall uses. If the new, superspeedway-like track does run anything like Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway, drivers out front have a much less chance of being involved in potential chaos. If you have the uses, starting Briscoe and Blaney is a no-brainer. Both drivers start on the front row and have arguably been two of the fastest cars all season.
Behind them are four drivers who have yet to see my lineups this season. Kurt Busch has had a sneaky good year and yet to finish outside of the top 20. Reddick and Chastain have proven their fantasy value early in this season. It’s time to plug them in if you have the uses. Busch, Reddick and Chastain each start inside the top 10.
Keselowski, a superspeedway savant, looked strong enough in practice for me to hold him in the garage at zero uses so far in 2022. If you already have multiple uses on the No. 6 and are looking for a similar performance, try Logano, Aric Almirola or even Cindric.
Wallace is a solid choice based on his history at high-banked tracks with drafting, as we may see a lot of Sunday. Leaving out Hendrick Motorsports drivers was more about finding more definitive value for them at other tracks.
Featured Matchup bonus picks
Ryan Blaney vs. Kyle Larson: Don’t ever count out Larson, but lately the magic has been with Blaney. Still searching for that elusive first win of 2022, expect Blaney to pull the pieces together on Sunday. The pick: Blaney.
Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin: The early talk has been about superspeedways, and if that’s the case, you should rarely bet against Hamlin. But the No. 11 team has struggled heavily and it’s time for Elliott to make a home-state statement: The pick: Elliott.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. vs. Bubba Wallace: Wallace has been successful at Daytona and Talladega, leaning me toward taking him in this matchup. But Stenhouse topped the practice charts and that confidence should make it a tight race here. The pick: Wallace.
Chase Briscoe vs. Tyler Reddick: Arguably the toughest matchup on the board leads me to look deeper at the manufacturers. I think Ford will have the strongest showing on Sunday, leading me to choose the driver starting at the front of them all. The pick: Briscoe.