NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 predictions: Projecting the finishing order of entire field in Atlanta
The NASCAR Cup Series season got underway with the Daytona 500 on Monday, and now the campaign brings the sport to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.
Atlanta is a track that brings some phenomenal action and unpredictable finishes, but the crew at Racing Insights took the time to try and project the finish order for Sunday’s race. There’s a bevy of possibilities, like William Bryon will be looking to make it 2-for-2 in 2024, and capturing victory at Atlanta for the second season in a row.
As always, there’s bound to be a ton of Chase Elliott fans, as NASCAR returns to his home track this weekend. Time will tell who takes the checkered flag, but Racing Insights has made their projections, and they go as follows.
1) Ryan Blaney
After a performance at Daytona he wasn’t happy with, Ryan Blaney will be elated to hear he’s the pick from Racing Insights to get the win in Atlanta. He was fast during The Great American Race, but got caught up in a wreck on someone else’s volition.
After finishing the 2023 season so strong, leading to his first NASCAR Cup Series title, continuing that momentum is a goal of Blaney’s. If he’s able to procure a victory at Atlanta, that would go a long way towards kicking off his title defense in the right fashion.
2) William Byron
While Blaney was able to capture the title in 2023, William Byron was NASCAR’s breakout star. That continued during the Daytona 500, as Byron proved last season was no fluke, as he took home the win during the biggest race of the season.
Now, Byron is looking to go back-to-back to start the 2024 season. The Racing Insights data has him coming home P2, which would be an awesome way to start the campaign, but Byron’s competitive nature will have him doing whatever he can to win on Sunday, even if he’s already got a win under his belt.
3) Christopher Bell
Christopher Bell wasn’t satisfied with P3 in the Daytona 500, especially after winning his Duel race. However, the improvement in his super-speedway racing has been commendable, and he’s among the top choices for Atlanta this weekend.
During his Cup Series career, Bell has felt consistently overlooked. As the scheduled takes NASCAR to Georgia this weekend, we’ll see if the Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman can get his first victory of the season. If he does end up with another Top 3 finish, that won’t be anything to complain about for Bell.
4) Chase Elliott
A return home for Chase Elliott could be just what the doctor ordered. After a tumultuous 2023, a return to form at Atlanta would be an amazing story for the Hendrick Motorsports star.
The reigning recipient of the NASCAR Most Popular Driver award had a solid showing at Daytona, finishing P14. He’s more motivated than ever, and he’s yearning for that checkered flag. While he wouldn’t be dissatisfied with a P4 finish, we know Elliott is aiming higher this weekend.
5) Denny Hamlin
If you go by the odds, Denny Hamlin is the favorite this weekend, after he suffered an unfortunate fate at Daytona. The Joe Gibbs Racing wheelman got caught up in a huge wreck late in the race, after leading some laps in The Great American Race.
Throughout the season, Hamlin will be one of the favorites week-in and week-out, especially at tracks like Atlanta. The opportunity to get his first of potentially many wins in 2024 is large this weekend, but we’ll see if he’s able to get it done. A top five finish wouldn’t be too shabby, though.
6) Joey Logano
The two-time NASCAR champion captured the pole for the Daytona 500, and was upfront for seemingly the entire race until he was caught up in a wreck. Of course, Logano was unhappy afterwards, but that’s the way things go at Daytona.
Logano ended up P32, but Atlanta has been good to him in the past, as he was victorious at the track in 2023. Perhaps another win is in the cards for the No. 22 when the series returns to Hampton.
7) Ross Chastain
Ross Chastain did all that he could to win the Daytona 500, even if some didn’t agree with his methods. Still, he was adamant he didn’t regret his move with the race on the line, and would do it again given the circumstances.
It was a solid performance to kickoff Chastain’s new era as the flag-bearer for Busch Light in the Cup Series. Now if he can return them to Victory Lane at the always exciting Atlanta Motor Speedway, that would be a great start to their partnership.
8) Bubba Wallace
Bubba Wallace has been fantastic throughout his career on tracks like Atlanta, and Sunday represents another shot at the win that’s eluded him since late 2022. The 23XI Racing wheelman would love an easier path to the playoffs this season, and the best way to do that is by finding Victory Lane.
Now Wallace wouldn’t be upset with his projected finish of P8, but we all have seen the competitive nature of the wheelman throughout his career. If he has a shot, he’s going for the win, and perhaps he could get one this weekend.
NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 predictions continued:
9) Brad Keselowski
10) Chris Buescher
11) Kyle Busch
12) Martin Truex Jr.
13) Kyle Larson
14) Erik Jones
15) Tyler Reddick
16) Alex Bowman
17) Austin Cindric
18) Daniel Suarez
19) Chase Briscoe
20) Corey LaJoie
21) Justin Haley
22) Todd Gilliland
23) Ty Gibbs
24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
25) Ryan Preece
26) Michael McDowell
27) Noah Gragson
28) John Hunter Nemechek
29) Josh Berry
30) Austin Dillon
31) Harrison Burton
32) Daniel Hemric
33) BJ McLeod
34) Zane Smith
35) Carson Hocevar
36) Josh Williams
37) Kaz Grala
As you can tell, there’s a bevy of racers who may come out victorious at Atlanta, especially since the reconfiguration of the track. From Denny Hamlin to Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney to Bubba Wallace, it’s anyone’s guess the way it’ll shake out, but we’ll see how close Racing Insights gets when it’s all said and done.
