The NASCAR Cup Series is pack racing for the second week in a row. Atlanta was reconfigured in 2022. The old, worn-out intermediate track is long gone. In its place is a 1.5-mile, steeply banked superspeedway. Any driver can win, and any driver can wreck in a drafting race.
Autotrader 400 Best Bets
Race Winner: Ryan Blaney (+900)
An argument can be made that playing favorites is a favorable strategy in Atlanta. This isn’t a pure superspeedway, and the Gen-7 stock car is a superspeedway car. Atlanta can turn into a lap-eating race. The pack circles for 400 miles. No one gets out of line. Runs are dependent on the push of a pack of cars, and a sustained third line is difficult at this unique superspeedway. This track gives an edge to the elite, and no driver is more elite at the superspeedways than Ryan Blaney.
Race Winner: Carson Hocevar (+1800)
This is a week to roll the dice. Gamblers can be conservative at the intermediate and short-track races. Top-10 finish picks make sense to safe and wise wagerers. There’s nothing safe about superspeedways. There’s no sure thing. There are only long shots, so take your shot. Hocevar will take his shot. That’s what he does. Hocevar nearly won the first crown jewel race of 2026 last week. He took his shot, but it didn’t work out. Bets to win require backing drivers who are trying to win, not just finish in the top 10.
Race Winner: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+3500)
The earlier the better. Stenhouse was +20,000 to win the Daytona 500 early in the week. As the race neared, his odds, like others, dropped. He didn’t. He nearly won the Daytona 500 for the second time. He’s nearly won at Atlanta a handful of times. He’s finished inside the top 10 in four of the last five Atlanta races. Adding another superspeedway to the schedule has been great for the mercurial superspeedway star. Adding Stenhouse to a betting card is worth the risk.
