The fantasy NASCAR season started with racing action from coast to coast, and one name familiar to race fans resurfaced. Jimmie Johnson, the four-time Sprint Cup champion, took the checkered flag in the western portion of the first three races of the season, winning at California and Las Vegas. The next three races on the docket, and those that make up RotoPlay’s latest Fantasy NASCAR Challenge, take place at tracks that are decidedly more southern and eastern; but something tells us that Johnson will still do just fine.

(Note: The three races in this Fantasy NASCAR Challenge take place at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville)

Driver 1
Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson

- Their Season so Far: Harvick is the current points leader in the NASCAR Sprint Cup by virtue of a seventh-place finish in the Daytona 500 and then two consecutive runner-up finishes at California and Las Vegas. The man Harvick ended up behind in both of those races was Johnson, who is currently fifth in the standings because of a 35th finish at Daytona. Gordon is 13th in the standings because he didn’t place inside the top-20 in either of the season’s first two races, though he did claim third in Vegas.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Still, Gordon will be in his comfort zone on the two upcoming short tracks in Bristol and Martinsville – he has more career poles in Martinsville (seven) than any other track, and his seven wins there are tied for the most at one track in his career. His five poles at Bristol are tied for the second-most at any track in his career, and he has five wins there. Harvick has not taken a pole at any of these speedways, but he does have one career win at both Atlanta and Bristol. Meanwhile, Johnson’s six wins at Bristol are tied for his most at one track, and he also has three career wins at Atlanta.

Driver 2
Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart

- Their Season so Far: Kenseth started his season with three consecutive top-10 finishes, and he is currently in fourth place in the Sprint Cup standings. Martin is one spot above him in third due to his consecutive fourth-place finishes in California and Las Vegas, while Stewart is 11th in the standings with top-10 finishes in each of his last two races.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Harvick has taken the pole position on four occasions in his career, and one of those was at Bristol, a track where he has two of his 18 career wins. But that’s nothing compared to Martin’s success at taking the lead position at that track; nine times in his career has Martin won the pole at Bristol, which is four more than at any other track, and he’s won there twice. The vet has taken three poles at Martinsville and two in Atlanta, with two wins at each of those speedways. Stewart also has taken the pole position three times at Martinsville, and it’s the only track in which he has more than one. He has two career wins there, with two more in Atlanta and one in Bristol.

Driver 3
Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards

- Their Season so Far: After a third-place finish at Daytona, Biffle landed two consecutive 10th-place finishes at California and Las Vegas, and he’s sixth in the Sprint Cup standings. Busch was more erratic, with a top-10 at California, but was outside the top-20 in his other two races, leaving him 19th in the standings. Edwards is 10th in the standings, and has finished between ninth and 13th in each race this season.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Biffle has never won at any of these tracks, and in fact has never won at a short track in his career, though he does have one pole at Atlanta. Busch has had far more success on short tracks, with seven wins in 55 career starts, including a career-high five at Bristol, and one at Martinsville, with a pole at each. He also has two wins at Atlanta. Edwards has two wins and one pole at Bristol, but he seems to really like racing at Atlanta – he has a career-high (tied) three wins on that track.

Driver 4
Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano

- Their Season so Far: Bowyer’s excellent start to the season has him in second place in the Sprint Cup standings this season, and first place in the hearts of fantasy NASCAR owners who utilized him. He has three consecutive top-10 finishes, and has led at least two laps in all three races this season. Busch, who is 12th in the standings, has also led at least one lap in each of the three races this season, and he’s been nothing if not consistent with two 14th-place finishes and one 15th-place. Young Mr. Logano is eighth in the standings and after finishing 20th at Daytona he has been in the top-10 twice.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Neither Bowyer nor Logano has won or taken a pole position at any of these three tracks. Busch hasn’t taken a pole at any of them, either, but he does have a win at Atlanta, and three at Bristol, which makes that track the only one in which he has multiple victories. In fact, Busch has finished in the top-10 in 20 of his 30 career short track races.

Driver 5
Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray

- Their Season so Far: Burton is 11th in the Sprint Cup standings with a third-place at California sandwiched in between two 11th-place finishes. Earnhardt was second at Daytona, and many thought that maybe his troubles from last year were behind him, but he followed that promising start with a 32nd- and 16th-place finish, respectively; he’s 15th in the standings. McMurray started the NASCAR season by winning the Daytona 500, then followed that up by taking the pole position at California, only to finish 17th there and 34th at Las Vegas; those numbers landed him at 14th in the current standings.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Burton has a win each at Bristol and Martinsville, while Earnhardt has won once at Bristol and once at Atlanta, while also taking a pole in Atlanta. McMurray, meanwhile, has not had a win or pole at any of these tracks, and is the only driver in this group without a single career win at a short track.

Driver 6
Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya

- Their Season so Far: Each of these racers has started the season slower than they would have liked – Hamlin is 22nd in the standings, Kahne is 23rd, and Montoya is 27th. That’s because there are only two top-10 finishes between them, with Kahne placing ninth at Las Vegas and Montoya 10th at Daytona. Otherwise, the two haven’t finished inside the top-30. Hamlin has finished inside the top-30 in all three races this season, but hasn’t placed higher than 17th.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Hamlin has had very good showings on short tracks in his career, with 18 top-10 finishes among 25 career starts, so it’s fitting that two of his eight career wins, and one of his seven poles, have come at Martinsville. Kahne has two wins at Atlanta and one pole at Bristol, while Montoya, as you may expect, has neither a win nor pole at these tracks.

Driver 7
Ryan Newman, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers

- Their Season so Far: These three drivers all over the map as far as the standings, with Newman a miserable 32nd due to twice finishing 34th or worse. Reutimann is a very respectable ninth in the standings, with a fifth-place finish at Daytona to his credit, and two top-15 finishes. Vickers is in between the two at 18th place with two top-15’s but also a 32nd in Vegas.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: While Newman hasn’t won at any of these tracks, it hasn’t been for lack of a good starting position. He has two career poles at Bristol, three at Martinsville and seven at Atlanta. Neither Reutimann nor Vickers has a win or pole at these race tracks, and they haven’t been very successful at short tracks over their careers. Reutimann has one top-10 in 16 career races at short tracks and Vickers has three top-10’s in 32 career races at that type of track.

Driver 8
Paul Menard, Scott Speed, Martin Truex Jr.

- Their Season so Far: Menard, Speed and Truex are each between 16th and 21st in the Sprint Cup standings, with Speed at 16th, Menard 17th and Truex 21st. Menard has been consistent this season, placing between 13th and 18th in each of the season’s three races. Speed’s best finish is 11th, and also has a 19th-place finish and 21st-place finish, but he has led at least three laps in each race of the season. Truex has been inconsistent for his fantasy NASCAR owners, finishing in the top-10 at Daytona, but then placing 39th the next week at California.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: None of these three racers has obtained a victory at these tracks, and only Truex has a pole, with that coming at Atlanta.

Driver 9
A.J. Allmendinger, Sam Hornish Jr., Elliott Sadler

- Their Season so Far: These three races are close in the standings, and apparently like even numbers. That’s because Sadler is 24th, Allmendinger is 26th, and Hornish is 28th after three NASCAR races. And as their respective places in the standings represent, none of them has been overly successful. Allmendinger has two 25th-place finishes while also finishing 32nd at Daytona; Hornish’s 16th-place finish at California is actually the highest finish in this group, but he’s also finished 37th and 28th; Sadler finished 24th in each of his first two races before placing 27th at Vegas.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Sadler is the only racer in this group with a win or pole at these three tracks; he has one of each at Bristol.

Driver 10
Marcos Ambrose, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan

- Their Season so Far: Ambrose finished 14th at Las Vegas, a marked improvement after not placing higher than 35th in the first two races of the NASCAR season, which leaves him at 33rd in the standings. Keselowski is currently 30th in the standings, and has nary a top-20 to his name, while Ragan is a respectable 20th in the standings after finishing 16th at the Daytona 500 and 23rd at both California and Las Vegas.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: None of these racers has won or taken the pole position at these three race tracks.

Driver 11
Robby Gordon, Travis Kvapil, Bobby Labonte

- Their Season so Far:Gordon is the low man in the standings in this collection of fantasy NASCAR drivers at 34th due to finishing each race of the season between 28th and 33rd. Kvapil is the high man at 29th, and his finishes have come from between 24th and 30th. Meanwhile, Labonte is between the two at 31st in the standings and has the highest finish in this group with a 21st at Daytona.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: Gordon won his only career pole position at Atlanta, but as you likely know, Labonte has all the history in this group. His six wins at Atlanta are double the amount he has at any other track, and he’s won the pole there twice. Labonte also has a win and pole at Martinsville.

Driver 12
David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Max Papis

- Their Season so Far: At the end of the standings come Gilliland, Nemechek and Papis. Gilliland is currently in 38th after not being in the field at Daytona and a 26th and 30th at California and Las Vegas, respectively. Nemechek, who is in 42nd place in the standings, was in the field for all three races, but he has yet to finish higher than 40th, while Papis is in 35th place and has finished a race in varied fashion, though none with success – his high finish is 28th, and his low is 40th.

- Career Success at Atlanta, Bristol and Martinsville: No racer in this group has won a race at these three tracks, and only Nemechek has taken a pole – he has one at Martinsville.