Atop The Pit Box

Atop the Pit Box

Discussing the Atop The Pit Box Fantasy NASCAR League

  1. 24 APR

    114 - Kansas

    We're a little late getting this one out — apologies for the delay — but Josh and Norton are back to recap what turned out to be a two-part Kansas recording after some brutal connection issues forced them to restart mid-episode. Tyler Reddick wins for the fifth time this season, and his average fantasy points per race somehow dropped again to 1.1 — the guys marvel at what his final number looks like if the wheels ever fall off. Josh makes him the Fantasy Winner while Norton gives the nod to Denny Hamlin, now up to second best fantasy driver with three straight single-digit scores. Fantasy Loser is Ryan Blaney, who hit Allmendinger on pit road and had his worst finish since Daytona at a track Penske typically owns. SVG gets the other nod as the Trackhouse struggles become impossible to ignore. The top 10 is remarkably stable — only two teams swap in and out — with 2Z Designs back on top for the fifth time this season and JLAS Racing climbing to second. The guys spotlight Chase Briscoe's back-to-back top 5 finishes as a vindication of their "don't give up on him" stance, and Ty Gibbs now sits third in the driver standings with seven straight single-digit fantasy scores. Daniel Suarez gets some long-overdue credit, running $7 above his original value with only 12 teams owning him. The Pizza West bet on Busch vs. Bowman is not looking good for Josh — Kyle Busch just posted his worst fantasy result of the season at P35, and Norton notes Austin Dillon is outrunning him. Kansas snapped the two-week swap drought with 12 moves, pushing the season total past last year's record. Most notable: three Logano-to-Reddick swaps, two Chastain-to-Gibbs swaps, and a deep dive into the Shox 8's McDowell-to-Zane-Smith move that the guys aren't sure will pay off. Best swap of the season holds at Bowman-to-Gibbs at +137 points; worst is still Gibbs-to-Buescher at -72. Looking ahead to Talladega, Josh takes Carson Hocevar (first use for either) and Norton rides Brad Keselowski. Josh leads the series picks 6-4.

    40 min
  2. 16 APR

    113 - Bristol

    Josh and Justin return from the bye week — one day late, because Norton delayed them — and immediately dive into a Bristol recap that had them competing with the Masters for screen time. The big story is Ty Gibbs winning for the first time in his career, ending his streak as the all-time laps-led-without-a-win leader at Bristol. Josh makes him the Fantasy Winner, noting that Gibbs went from dead last in our driver standings after Atlanta all the way to 4th best on the season. Justin's Fantasy Winner is Kyle Larson, who dominated on paper thanks largely to Blaney's historically bad pit crew, and finally delivered the negative fantasy score his owners desperately needed. Christopher Bell is the Fantasy Loser after breaking a toe link and finishing P27 on his best track. SVG gets the other nod after a crash-filled day exposed that his strong early-season run may have been masking real problems at Trackhouse. The standings see a three-way tie at the top -2Z Designs, Chasing Cars in Circles, and Don Goede (like Brady) all share first. Hendrick Motorsports is the team-wide story of the week: Larson aside, Byron finished P30 in a backup car, Elliott was P22, and Bowman was dead last — William Byron finished behind Ty Dillon, which gets its own moment of silence. The track posted a 66-point average, on the low end for Bristol. Best swap of the season is now a two-way tie at +128 points for the Bowman-to-Gibbs teams that made their move after Phoenix. Worst swap remains the Gibbs-to-Buescher drop, now -71 points. Zero swaps happened during the bye week, which shocks both guys. A side bet gets made: Josh says Kyle Busch finishes higher in the standings than Bowman the rest of the way; Norton takes Bowman - loser buys lunch at Pizza West. For Kansas, Josh takes Bubba Wallace and Norton takes Chase Elliott, his first use of the season. Josh leads the series picks 5-4.

    46 min
  3. 31 MAR

    112 - Martinsville

    Josh and Justin open with a season-retrospective question — knowing what they know now, what would they have done differently? The answers: Reddick on everything, ditch Zilisch, and maybe think twice about Briscoe. From there, they recap a snooze-fest at Martinsville where Chase Elliott wins via pit strategy, Denny Hamlin dominates and finishes second (after walling Blaney), and Tyler Reddick posts his worst finish of the season — a P15 — while somehow still holding the top fantasy driver spot at a whopping 1.7 average points per race. The guys crown Elliott the Fantasy Winner and split the Fantasy Loser between Bubba Wallace (two straight weeks in the 30s, dropping from 2nd to 12th best fantasy driver) and Ty Dillon, who brings home dead last — with a fun reveal that the other Ty Dillon owner, Team Piston Cup, is actually sitting in the playoffs at 87th. The standings see a first-time shakeup at the top as rookie Rit Racing claims first place, while former leaders 2Z Designs and JLAS Racing tumble to 5th and 6th. The track set a new Martinsville record with a 49-point average — nearly the all-time low at any track. Swap talk highlights 17 more this week (83 total, closing in on all of last season), including two teams making the puzzling decision to drop Chase Elliott for Reddick and Blaney. Best swap of the season holds at Bowman-to-Gibbs (+85 points, worth 179 standings spots). Looking ahead to Bristol after the bye week, Norton takes Christopher Bell with the pit box advantage and Josh counters with Denny Hamlin. Series picks are now tied 4-4. They close with a PSA: starting April 20th, recording moves to Tuesdays because golf league.

    43 min

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Discussing the Atop The Pit Box Fantasy NASCAR League

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