NASCAR Betting: Picks, Tips for Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Best Best for the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart
After making history with its first-ever street race in Chicago, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to a more traditional circuit on Sunday with Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart.
Atlanta Motor Speedway was redone in 2021 with added 28-degree banking, making it the steepest intermediate track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule. As a result, the races have looked more like chaotic drafting tracks such as Talladega and Daytona. The unpredictability of those superspeedways has followed to Atlanta, and the NASCAR betting board this week resembles a race at that type of place.
There are 12 drivers listed between +1100 and +2000, with Chase Elliott and Kyle Busche the sports betting favorites at +1100.
Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart
- Date: July 9
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- TV: USA
- Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia
- Distance: 400 miles (260 laps)
- Stages: 60-160-260
What Drivers Should You Bet on at the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart?
Like Talladega and Daytona, Atlanta is a crapshoot when attempting to pick a winner. A big wreck could take out multiple contenders at any moment and a longshot could find itself in the lead during the final laps. This brings a lot more drivers into contention.
Given how similar Atlanta races to those tracks, it makes sense to target drivers who normally perform well on superspeedways or has succeeded in this new configuration.
Chase Elliott +1100 FanDuel Sportsbook
While Elliott could make the NASCAR postseason on points, a win would guarantee him a spot. Of the elite contenders, he is the one driver who still needs a win to ensure his spot in the playoffs. That means we’re going to get a motivated Elliott who is only looking for a victory and is not content with a solid top 5 or top 10 finish, which is ideal when betting the outright market.
Eliott won here in 2022 and finished sixth in the other race here. He missed the first event in Atlanta this year due to a snowboarding accident, but he still feels confident returning to his home track.
“I don’t honestly feel any different going into it. I think, yes I missed the event but I did get to run Talladega, shortly thereafter I got back which is another speedway event, not the same but similar in a lot of ways,” Elliott said in an interview with FOX Sports.
“So I don’t feel behind at all personally going this weekend. I know it was pretty cold there in the first race, they had a lot of issues in qualifying and things like that, so I anticipate a lot of that will be better this weekend just with it being hot. It’s really hot this week which is a good thing.”
Erik Jones Top 10 +175 FanDuel Sportsbook
Erik Jones has quietly been one of the better superspeedway drivers in the Cup Series. Since 2020, he has six top 10 finishes at Daytona and Talladega and has been in contention numerous times including leading at the white flag at Talladega in October 2020.
That success has also transferred to the new Atlanta. At the first race here, he ran up front before being caught up in a late collision that relegated him to a 14th-place finish. He followed that up with a fourth in the July 2022 race here and was eighth in Atlanta earlier this year. Even more impressive about those finishes is when you consider they came after he started 23rd, 25th and 28th.
His track history and form at superspeedways make Jones an ideal top 10 play at +175 this week, and a sprinkle on him to win at +3500 on DraftKings Sportsbook is also worthy of consideration.
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