Quaker State 400 Prediction: Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin Headline Our Atlanta Race Preview and Best Bets
Quaker State 400 NASCAR Best Bets and Odds: Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin Headline Atlanta Race Predictions
Hey race gang! Tuesday is my birthday. It always feels like it falls on a Tuesday, and that's the worst day for a birthday. You can't drink (even responsibly) during the workday (probably). But what you can do, is nail down a few race winners this weekend. Then Tuesday won't be so bad... and we can all retire. For the record, I'm not expecting any presents, but I wear a men's medium T-shirt and size eight Converses.
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Quaker State 400 Prediction
"After the party it's the Waffle House, If you ever been here, you know what I'm talkin' about. Where people don't dance...all they do is this. And after the original you know what it is...Welcome to Atlanta." ~Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri must be a race fan. When he says "people don't dance, all they do is this," he probably means gamble on racing. Dupri dedicated an entire hip-hop song 20 years ago to the Atlanta track repave in 2022, even calling it a remix. The guy was truly ahead of his time.
The track at Atlanta was completely reprofiled during the last off-season to give the fans a superspeedway experience, instead of the typical Atlanta snoozer. NASCAR unveiled the reconfigured track in March, with William Byron snagging the checkered flag. NASCAR got the result they were looking for and pack-racing was the soup de-jour.
So how's this thing going to play out this time? Oddschecker pays us to know, but with the field bunched up and tight pack-racing, volatility is off the charts.
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Quaker State 400 Picks
Austin Cindric to finish better than Alex Bowman (-105)(Bet $105 to win $100)
We're using another slim data set this weekend, consisting of the Daytona, Talledega, and Atlanta races this year. This track does not behave like the typical 1.5 mile track, and therefore those "cookie-cutter" layouts are completely irrelevant.
Austin Cindric took the NASCARworld by storm, winning the season opener at Daytona. He finished 15th at Talladega, while crashing out early in Atlanta last time around. His average running position 16.0, while leading 7.0 laps per race, and running 3.0 fast laps.
Bowman finished 24th at Daytona, 10th at Atlanta and 9th at Talladega. His average running position is 19.3, with 8.3 fast laps and leading 0. Even though Bowman's teammate, William Byron, won the last time at Atlanta, we have seen that the Ford's are a weapon in the draft due to the flatter front grilles.
Cindric found his way to victory lane for the first time at a superspeedway, and we're confident he can finish ahead of Alex Bowman on Sunday.
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Denny Hamlin to finish better than Chase Elliott (+100)(Bet $100 to win $100)
Ahhh, the Chase Elliott fade. NASCAR's most popular driver has @speedwaysteve2 target squarely on his back. Elliott has finished in the top-10 at all three superspeedway dates this year. HIs average running position is 10.9, while leading 9.7 laps with 4.7 fastest laps. This team is getting hot, finishing second last weekend at Road America and winning the week prior in Nashville.
All that Elliott mumbo-jumbo is fantastic, but sometimes you have to trust your gut. Denny Hamlin is one of the series elite superspeedway artists. His ability to read the energy of the draft and find the front is second-to-none. He has won five times at superspeedways throughout his career. Unfortunately, in our dataset Hamlin's average finish is 28th, and is a prime boom or bust candidate. Hold your nose and press submit on this one.