Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Atlanta

Ragan scored top 10's at Chicago, Kansas, Charlotte (fall race), and Las Vegas. He is a decent class B option this weekend if you have used the other guys ranked ahead of him too often.

Bowyer was 6th earlier this year at Atlanta, but has been inconsistent on the 1.5 mile tracks this year. He was 12th in Kansas, 10th in Texas, and 12th a couple of weeks ago in Charlotte. The latter is the most important, since he improved upon a 25th place result the first time there. Overall, there are just better class A drivers.

Kahne seems to have Charlotte figured out well, but not really anywhere else. He won the first race at Charlotte and finished 2nd there a couple of weeks ago. He has been average everywhere else with the exception of a 6th place finish in Las Vegas. He has 3 finishes of 20th or worse on 1.5 mile ovals and an extremely average 15th at Chicago. I would look elsewhere.

Hamlin has been too average on the 1.5 mile ovals to place on your class A roster this weekend. He was 11th in Kansas, 15th in Atlanta, 16th in Charlotte, and 5th in Texas. However, he also has several sub par finishes this year. Look elsewhere for your class A choice.

Busch's stock rose dramatically after his 3rd place finish in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago. He was 11th in Atlanta and 16th in Charlotte earlier this year, and to that point they were all you could really say about the #2 team this season. He isn't on par with other class A teams yet, but he moved back towards the radar screen.

Newman was 4th at Texas and 14th at both Atlanta and Las Vegas. He was also 10th in Chicago and 16th in Kansas. Newman shouldn't be on your roster this weekend, but if you do choose him you know what you're getting.

Truex has been fairly strong on the 1.5 mile tracks over the second half of the season. He gathered a top 10 at Chicago, then was strong at Kansas before a transmission failure relegated him to a DNF. He was 14th at Charlotte, and may surprise some people with a top 10 this weekend.

Labonte had a couple of solid finishes at Charlotte (11th/17th) and was 12th in Atlanta earlier this year. He had top 20's at Las Vegas and Texas as well, and is historically good at fast 1.5 mile tracks. Still, it's just tough to click the box next to his name when you know he drives for Petty Enterprises.

Like Kurt Busch, McMurray raised his stock with a 5th place finish in Charlotte. How that translates to other tracks and whether it is something he can repeat I'm not sure. He isn't someone I'm looking at for my class B roster, but if he runs well again this weekend he may be a sleeper for Texas, where he was 14th earlier this year.

Sadler has had several decent runs on 1.5 mile ovals this year, but looked absolutely horrible at Atlanta in the spring. Finishes of 12th in Vegas, 8th in Charlotte, 12th in Chicago, and 10th in Kansas aren't enough to place him on my roster, especially after his 20th place run in Charlotte.

Mears had top 15's in Las Vegas and Kansas, but has had forgettable outings everywhere else. He was a solid enough 17th in Atlanta in the spring, but shouldn't be on your class B roster this weekend.