NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.
Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.
We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?
Current Standings:
- Steve Luvender: 667
- r/NASCAR Community: -63
- Dustin Albino: -83
- Cameron Richardson: -123
Race 27 of 36: Atlanta
Welcome to the playoffs! Well, not for 36 for 36, which is a season-long challenge. Last week’s regular-season finale at Darlington wasn’t a stellar outing for our pickers. Erik Jones delivered just 13 points for Cameron Richardson and the r/NASCAR community, while William Byron’s late crash netted picker Dustin Albino 17 points — mostly from stage points. Steve Luvender extended his points lead with 32 more points resulting from Ross Chastain’s top-five finish.
Now, an Atlanta race as a playoff opener is bound for unpredictability. How will our pickers handle the challenge?
Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 47, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Dustin’s pick last week: No. 24, William Byron (17 points)
Total season points: 584 (third place)
Dustin: Man, I’m sure glad summer is wrapping up soon. Aside from a Zane Smith top 10 at Michigan, it’s been a brutal few months of picks here. Most recently, William Byron had a top-five car all night at Darlington and was collected in a late wreck. But hey, that’s racing. This weekend, I’m rolling with Stenhouse, who has consecutive top-10 finishes at Atlanta and is a three-time winner on drafting tracks. While playoff drivers will be focused on points, the No. 47 team has one goal: win.
NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 7, Corey LaJoie
Steve’s pick last week: No. 1, Ross Chastain (32 points)
Total season points: 667 (first place)
Steve: Corey LaJoie won’t drive the No. 7 car in the Cup Series next year, and he hasn’t yet announced his plans for 2025. Given his past success at the superspeedway-configured Atlanta Motor Speedway, this could be one of LaJoie’s last chances for a victory driving for Spire Motorsports. It’s a lot of pressure, but it may be the race of his career.
NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 7, Corey LaJoie
Cameron’s pick last week: No. 43, Erik Jones (13 points)
Total season points: 544 (fourth place)
Cameron: There are two drafting tracks in the playoffs and Corey LaJoie could be a legitimate threat to win either of them. LaJoie owns two top fives at Atlanta and nearly broke through for this maiden Cup win in 2022 before contact with Chase Elliott on the final lap sent the No. 7 driver spinning. LaJoie could also take advantage of playoff drivers wanting to be more conservative early on and put the No. 7 up front early to nab stage points. Ten races to go and a healthy 100-plus point gap to make up for the lead. Wish me luck.
r/NASCAR Community: No. 38, Todd Gilliland
r/NASCAR’s pick last week:No. 43, Erik Jones (13 points)
Total season points: 604 (second place)
It’s Todd Time for the NASCAR subreddit! The community voted Driver No. 38 to get the job done in Atlanta. Here’s what Redditors had to say in this week’s voting thread:
u/FridgusDomin8or: “I say we go Todd this weekend. Usually qualifies up front (and runs up front) on these drafting style tracks and I don’t really see any better tracks to use him at — he and this team really seem to specialize on the drafting tracks.”
u/Extreme-Bite-9123: “Todd this week. He’s been really fast at the plates this year, and it’s our best shot at a good day with him.”
u/Dont-Hate-The-8: “This is tough. This is the best place to use Todd, but it’s the best place to use a few drivers. I say we go JHN here, because the 38 has shown far more speed on other tracks.”
(Narrator: But they did not go with John Hunter Nemechek.)
Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.
And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!