Quaker State 400 Picks, Odds & Predictions 7/9/2023
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, GA
NASCAR will head to a much different venue after the winding turns of the Chicago Street Course. Atlanta Motor Speedway is the location of the Quaker State 400 and it's the second time this season that there will be a Cup Series race here. This event was added to the schedule two seasons ago as it was only allowed to have one event per year at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
This is an extremely fast quad oval, and the race will go for 400 miles. This track is similar to other intermediate ovals that have been raced this year, but a couple years ago there was a reconfiguration of the track. The nice thing about making a guess at what driver might perform well is that this track has a lot of history and there are other similar tracks on the circuit.
The recent upgrades to Atlanta Motor Speedway made for 28 degrees of increased banking in addition to narrowing the racing groove to 40 feet. With these changes, racing on this track is reminiscent of superspeedways like Talladega and Daytona. That said, a few of the drivers who race well in Atlanta are Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain, Erik Jones, Ty Gibbs and Ryan Blaney. All of which have an average finish in the top-10 in Atlanta.
Grant Park 220 Recap
When the Grant Park 220 went haywire at on Lap 49, New Zealand native Shane van Gisbergen didn't flinch. He ended up winning his first NASCAR Cup Series start and it was the first time it had been done in 60 years when Johnny Rutherford did it. Van Gisbergen is a three-time Supercars champion and went from the eighth spot all the way to the front on the restart on Lap 61 to take the win in overtime. There were a lot of firsts that day. His first start, first win and the first time NASCAR went to the streets of Chicago for a Cup Series Race.
The No. 91 Chevy drives under Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 program. In addition to just racing well, mother nature gave a little help when NASCAR shortened the race from 100 laps to 75. That meant drivers that made a pit stop on Lap 43 suddenly saw their chance go up with their fuel window being enough to make it. He ended up finishing ahead of Justin Haley and Chase Elliott. Pole winner Denny Hamlin finished the race in the 11th spot.
NASCAR Playoff Standings
Because of the unexpected with by Shane van Gisbergen, there was no change at the top of the standings. William Byron is the current leader with 3 wins and 582 points while Kyle Busch sits right behind him with 3 wins and 560 points. The red-hot martin Truex Jr sits in the third spot with 2 wins and 591 points and Kyle Larson holds down the fourth spot with 2 wins and 521 points. Ross Chastain is still in 5th with 573 points and a win.
Quaker State 400 Odds
Kyle Busch - +1,000
Chase Elliott - +1,100
Joey Logano - +1,200
Ryan Blaney - +1,200
William Byron - +1,400
Denny Hamlin - +1,400
Brad Keselowski - +1,400
Kyle Larson - +1,400
Ross Chastain - +1,600
Christopher Bell - +1,600
Chris Buescher - +2,000
Martin Truex Jr. - +2,200
Bubba Wallace - +2,200
Austin Cindric - +2,200
Tyler Reddick - +2,500
Ty Gibbs - +2,800
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - +2,800
Kevin Harvick - +2,800
Alex Bowman - +3,000
Erik Jones - +3,000
Before his win here in the Spring, Joey Logano didn't get into the top-10 in his prior six races here. That was before he dominated in March. Logano has also raced well on drafting tracks this season so look for him to do well this weekend.
Guy's Pick: Take Joey Logano (+1200)
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