Atop The Pit Box

Reddick Wins Phoenix: Tyler Reddick claims the race win at Phoenix without winning any stages or claiming fastest lap, scoring 7 fantasy points.

RIT Racing Holds Top Spot: RIT Racing retains 1st place overall for the second consecutive week and 17th time overall this season.

Playoff Shakeup & Big Risers: A rough race for Kyle Larson (P30 / 34 pts) and Denny Hamlin (speeding penalty after a blown tire / 28 pts) causes major shifts across the leaderboard. Speed Racer claims the week's best score with 15 points to leap from 36th into 10th place overall. MN Racers earns Biggest Riser in...

Briscoe Dominates Las Vegas: Chase Briscoe captures both stage wins and the race victory, scoring a near-clean sweep of -12 fantasy points. Denny Hamlin nabs the fastest lap bonus point to barely prevent back-to-back sweeps.

Sophie Extends Chase Lead: Justin’s daughter Sophie (The Trial of Apollo) holds onto 1st place for the second straight week, expanding her lead to 23 points.

Playoff Standings Shakeup: Chikaira 7 claims Biggest Riser honors by jumping 38 spots into the money at P11. Mother’s Meatloaf (JP), Twin Tokers 2, and Rit Racing sit locked in a three-way tie for 3rd place over...

Larson’s Historic Clean Sweep: Live in front of Josh and his daughter at Kansas Speedway, Kyle Larson sweeps both stages, the race win, and the fastest lap to deliver an unprecedented -13 fantasy points.

All-Time League Record: Exceptionally clean racing resulted in a 46-point league average, breaking the all-time lowest average score in Atop the Pit Box history.

New Leader at the Top: Justin’s daughter Sophie takes over 1st place overall with The Trial of Apollo behind Larson’s masterclass, dropping Radical 5 to 6th and Rit Racing to 5th.

H2H & Las Ve...

Bristol Drama & Garage Scuffle: Joey Logano steals another victory to score -9 fantasy points, while late-race contact between Carson Hocevar and Ryan Blaney sparked a wild post-race garage confrontation.

Driver Rankings & Milestones: Kyle Larson overtakes Denny Hamlin for the real-life Chase points lead, Ty Gibbs climbs to a season-best 2nd in overall fantasy rankings, and Josh Berry secures his 5th straight top-10 to officially break out of the bottom five.

Playoff Standings Shakeup: Radical 5 claims 1st place overall by four points over Brandon1230Wall2, Rit Racing slips to 8th, Hobbit's Toast (P5) takes over as...

Gateway Crashfest & Guest Host: With Justin on vacation in the Ozarks, Brian (GOATS Sports Podcast) steps in to break down a chaotic 19-caution race at Gateway won by Kyle Larson—right in front of an in-person Justin—while Ryan Blaney suffered a 35-point stumble.

Driver Movers & Rebounds: William Byron snaps his slump with a 4-point day, Alex Bowman charges to a runner-up finish, and Joey Logano posts -1 fantasy points to crack the overall top 10, while Denny Hamlin stays steady at #1 overall.

Gateway Records & Leaderboard Flip: Gateway set new all-time track records across the board (incl...

Darlington Chase Opener: Christopher Bell finally snaps his seven-time runner-up streak to capture the Southern 500 victory (-10 fantasy points), while Tyler Reddick bounces back with a clean 0-point day and William Byron tanks playoff lineups with a 37th-place disaster.

Leaderboard Shakeup & New Record: The 101-team Chase officially gets underway with Rit Racing clinging to 1st place overall for a 15th week, while Brandon1230Wall2 shatters the all-time ATBB Darlington record with a 7-point performance.

Swaps Officially Lock: Roster swaps are closed for the season, finishing with Tyler Reddick as the most added driver (35 teams) and...

Daytona Drama: Ryan Preece steals a Chase spot with his first career Cup win (-6 fantasy points) to eliminate SVG, while Daniel Suarez (P2) caps an elite regular season tied as the 7th-best fantasy driver.

Playoff Cutline & Champion Crowned: Rit Racing officially locks up the regular-season championship, while Green Flag Pit Stop (P100) and Killer Bees (P101) narrowly snag the final playoff berths over a heartbroken EJ Racing (P102, out by 3 points).

Market Reality Check: Josh Berry officially climbs out of the bottom five behind five consecutive top-10s, while Connor Zilich closes the regular...

New Hampshire Apology Tour: Justin formally retracts his New Hampshire slander after Ryan Blaney captures a wet-to-dry tire thriller (-9 fantasy points), while Josh Berry scores his 4th straight top-10 finish—the Wood Brothers' best streak since 1994.

Driver Movers & Slumps: Christopher Bell surges to 6th in the overall driver rankings, while Ross Chastain (dead last) and William Byron (P30 after losing a wheel) severely damage playoff bubble rosters.

Throne Reclaimed: Rit Racing retakes the #1 overall league spot by 5 points over Radical 5, setting up an all-out title clash at Daytona with the top three teams separated by...

Logano's Hot Streak: Joey Logano captures the Richmond victory to post an elite -9 fantasy score, continuing an incredible late-season surge with a 1.6-point average over his last five starts.

Driver Movers & Slumps: Denny Hamlin (P4) and Christopher Bell (P7) log steady top-10 days, while Carson Hocevar finishes dead last with 37 points and Kyle Larson slides further down to 14th in the overall driver rankings.

New League Leader: Radical 5 claims the #1 overall spot, ending an 11-week reign by Rit Racing and tightening the championship gap to just four points.

Blockbuster Swaps: Hobbitstoast pulls...

Iowa Recap & Richmond Preview

Indianapolis Race Recap: The hosts reflect on a hot race day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While truck star Corey Heim captured an impressive win, Josh and Justin critique the drawn-out single-file racing, echoing the dismal ~24% positive rating on Jeff Gluck's race poll.

Fantasy Winners & Losers: Joey Logano stays hot with a P3 finish following his recent victory, while Christopher Bell earns winner honors after snagging his 6th runner-up finish of the season. On the flip side, tire failures caused disastrous days for fantasy heavyweights Kyle Larson (P39) and Chase Elliott (P37).

League Standings & Record Breakers...

North Wilkesboro Dominance: Joey Logano laps nearly the entire field to score an elite -9 fantasy points, while SVG impresses with a P5 short-track finish.

Driver Rankings Shakeup: Denny Hamlin holds the #1 overall spot, Ryan Blaney leaps to #2 despite pit road penalties, and Tyler Reddick slides to #3 after a 30-point outing.

League Wire: Rit Racing leads for a 9th straight week, Team Skunk takes Biggest Riser (+50 spots), and Justin executes major swaps to load up on Denny Hamlin.

H2H & Indy Picks: Justin wins the weekly head-to-head match (Blaney over Gibbs) to pull...

Welcome back to another action-packed episode of the Atop the Pit Box Podcast! Join your host Josh Rolfes and league commissioner Justin Norton as they dive deep into the latest fantasy NASCAR results, league standings shifts, and look ahead to a historic short-track weekend.

In This Episode:

Chicagoland Recap: The hosts celebrate getting off the road courses and back onto an oval track, praising the compelling storylines and drama of the Chicagoland race.

Fantasy Winners & Losers:

Standings & Risers: The top two positions remain locked down by Rit Racing and...

🏁 Sonoma Recap: The SVG Show & Reddick’s Disaster

📈 Fantasy Roster & Swap Tra...

With Justin taking the week off, host Josh Rolfes brings Julian Austin (Deez Lug Nutz) out of the bullpen to break down the historic, tire-shredding chaos at Naval Base Coronado.

Standings & Driver Trends: The top four fantasy drivers remained perfectly locked (Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick), while Ty Gibbs bounced back into the top 5. Daniel Suarez was highlighted as the league's biggest overperformer. On the team side, Ms. Diddler and Rick Pedraza were called out as massive fallers, dragged down by poor performances from Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch.Swap Activity: Total league swaps have hit 145 (meaning roughly 36% of all teams have made a move). Action was light this week with only four trades, featuring managers bailing on Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and William...

Race Recap & Standings Denny Hamlin dominated the Michigan race and emerged as the undeniable fantasy winner, while drivers like Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece acted as massive anchors for their teams with poor performances. For the season overall, Tyler Reddick and Hamlin continue to completely distance themselves from the rest of the league, leading a top five that also features Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Daniel Suarez. On the other end of the spectrum, Josh Berry and Connor Zilisch remain stuck at the absolute bottom of the driver rankings, with Berry failing to finish inside the top 25 for eight...

Race Recap: Both Josh and Justin agreed that Nashville was the best and most exciting race of the season so far. Despite some complaints from other podcasts, they loved the late-race drama, cautions, and mechanical failures.Fantasy Winners: Shane Van Gisbergen (SVG) silenced the doubters about his oval track skills, delivering a 5-point finish and moving up to the 12th-best fantasy driver overall. Denny Hamlin also had a massive week, securing a -7 point performance by winning the race and claiming the fastest lap.Fantasy Losers: It was a disastrous week for Trackhouse Racing. Ross Chastain scored 37 points and dropped...

In this week's episode of Atop the Pit Box, Josh and Justin open with a heavy heart, reflecting on the tragic loss of Kyle Busch and detailing how the league rules will handle fantasy points and remaining swaps for the 21 teams still carrying him on their rosters.

Transitioning to the track, the guys recap the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, discussing Daniel Suarez's huge win in the Spire Motorsports car and its massive impact on the fantasy standings. They highlight the fantasy winners and losers of the week, including Chase Elliott's painful first DNF of the season.

SVG came from 29 seconds back to win Watkins Glen and single-handedly saved what was otherwise a forgettable road course. Justin's brother-in-law witnessed his first NASCAR race, declared road courses exciting, and has no idea that was not normal.

Fantasy winners: Ty Gibbs bounces back with a P3, silencing the swap talk and moving up to 6th. Michael McDowell delivers a P2 and climbs back to 22nd — a real drive that got completely overshadowed by SVG. Fantasy losers: William Byron goes P36 (worst finish of his season, down to 11th, owned by 165 teams) and Joey Logano continues his fr...

Josh and Justin are back after a race that felt a lot like the season itself: fine, but not quite fireworks. Chase Elliott took the win at Texas and Denny Hamlin finished second — which, as Josh cheerfully points out, is exactly how he wants every race to go. Justin is... less thrilled, but mostly because he was busy moving into a new house.

On the fantasy side, Justin's winner is Daniel Suarez — quietly putting up a P6 at Texas, now the 11th-best fantasy driver in the league, owned by just 14 teams. Josh's winner is Ryan Blaney, who boun...

Josh and Norton recap Talladega, where Carson Hocevar wins his first career race and delivers one of the most talked-about celebrations in recent memory — Josh missed it live and regrets every second. Hocevar is the Fantasy Winner at P1/-6 points, owned by just 42 teams (10.4% / 42 teams). Fantasy Loser is Kyle Larson, dead last at P40 with 229 teams (56.8% / 229 teams) feeling the pain. Norton raises the uncomfortable question: do you actually drop Kyle Larson? Josh says no — but it's not as easy as it used to be.

The track stats were historic: best score in the league was 52 points, aver...

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...

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...

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 st...

Josh and Justin recap a solid-but-not-spectacular Darlington race — they compare it to a "6 or 7 out of 10" and debate whether consistent good racing is better than the boom-bust cycle of duds and classics. On the fantasy side, Brad Keselowski steals the show as the clear Fantasy Winner, with two stage wins and a P2 finish pushing him to 4th in the driver standings — all with a broken femur. Tyler Reddick wins for the fourth time and is somehow sitting at negative fantasy points on the season through six races. Joey Logano and Bubba Wallace are the Fantasy Losers, with Logano rais...

Denny Hamlin put on a masterclass at Las Vegas, and fantasy teams with him are finally feeling it. Josh and Norton are back to break down a race that rewarded the patient and punished the impatient — five weeks in, the cream is officially rising to the top.

The guys dig into a top 10 that got completely reshuffled, with four new teams crashing the party — including Tool Hangers and K-Stud making their top 5 debuts on the strength of the Hamlin-Byron-Elliott trio. Meanwhile, the teams holding onto struggling low-value drivers like Shane Van Gisbergen (dead last, 36 fantasy points) are now...

Josh and Justin break down a genuinely great race at Phoenix — tire wear drama, strategic gambles, comers and goers — and all of it hit the fantasy standings like a wrecking ball. Ryan Blaney's -9 fantasy score is the best of the 2026 season so far, and the teams that had him shot up the charts while the teams that didn't tumbled. The guys dig into exactly who rose, who fell, and who is quietly becoming a major problem on rosters across the league.

Josh and Norton break down the first road course of the NASCAR season at COTA, where Tyler Reddick scores his third straight win, holding off SVG and Christopher Bell in a surprisingly dominant performance from Reddick.They discuss the state of road courses in NASCAR, driver fatigue issues, and several cooling suit failures that impacted the field.

On the fantasy side, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, and Reddick headline the winners, while Chase Briscoe and Alex Bowman anchor the losers. The new top 10 features a big shakeup, including 2Z Designs jumping from outside the top 100 to the overall...

Josh and Norton break down a massive leaderboard shift following the high-speed action at Echo Park Speedway, where the gap between the top contenders and the rest of the field is beginning to widen. They analyze how standout performances from drivers like Tyler Reddick are reshaping the standings, while high-priced favorites like Kyle Larson continue to struggle, leaving many managers searching for answers. They review the Top 10 and update the top and bottom fantasy drivers. They also preview the race at COTA and make their picks.

Josh and Norton break down the massive growth of the Atop the Pit Box Fantasy

NASCAR League, including a record 403 entries and 63 rookies joining for 2026. They dive into roster trends-like Kyle Larson's league-leading ownership and Ryan Preece's surge as the most popular mid-tier pick-before recapping Daytona, highlighting fantasy winners and losers, and previewing next week's race at Echo Park Speedway. The episode also covers website updates, league payouts, and listener questions to kick off the season.

Julian and Jody from the Deez Lug Nutz podcast invited us on for our annual crossover episode to help get everyone geared up for another season of Atop The Pit Box Fantasy NASCAR. We break down the locks, spoilers, surprise picks, and the drivers you might want to avoid when setting your lineups. We also share our projected top four in points, reveal our early championship favorite, spotlight a surprise chase contender, and explain how listening to this episode could earn you a free league entry.

These guys put out consistently great content, and...

Now that NASCAR has announced its championship format, Josh and Nort break down what this means for our fantasy league.

This episode of the Atop the Pit Box Podcast breaks down the full 2026 Fantasy NASCAR driver values, from the elite 20‑point tier all the way through the mid‑pack contenders. Josh and Norton analyze last season’s stats, surprises, breakout candidates, and risky picks—highlighting who offers the best value and where the biggest debates will land. It’s the annual episode that stirs emotions, sets expectations, and officially kicks off the 9th fantasy season!

Josh and Norton launch season 9 with rule tweaks, strategy talk, playoff unknowns and the debut of a brand new live standings app that takes the league to the next level.

Check us out at:

https://atopthepitbox.com

Josh and Norton break down the Martinsville race and its impact on the Atop the Pit Bo Fantasy NASCAR League, highlighting standout performances and fantasy winners and losers. With the Final Four set and 24 teams heading to Phoenix, the championship showdown is on!

Josh and Norton break down the thrilling Kansas race, debate whether Denny Hamlin's controversial finish with Bubba Wallace was hard racing or just another excuse. They also crown the fantasy winners and losers of the week, review the movement in the league's top 10 standings, and preview the upcoming race at the Roval.

Josh and Norton celebrate the 100th episode of Atop the Pit Box with a deep dive into the wild Bristol cutoff race, highlighted by Christopher Bell's win and major shake-ups in the fantasy standings. They break down fantasy winners and losers, the biggest movers in the playoffs and consolation brackets, and set their picks for the next round at New Hampshire.