NASCAR Picks: NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Best Bets, Odds to Consider on DraftKings Sportsbook

The NASCAR playoffs are heating up. The green flag waves for the Round of 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. The points reset but the tempers and grudges do not. As always, trust the data but also trust your eyes. Here are the best bets for the NASCAR Cup Series AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas.

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The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion, the retiring veteran and the two fan-favorite underdogs were eliminated from the NASCAR playoffs at Bristol. The round of 12 resets the points. Drivers do not have to push, but there is a sense of urgency and consistency among the drivers near the bottom of the playoff standings. Some might need to win.

Race Winner — AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas

Ryan Blaney +1600

Quick question: How many official Cup Series wins does Ryan Blaney have at 1.5-mile intermediate tracks? One, but that one win was the 2023 Coca-Cola 600. That’s a big win and a recent win.

Texas is no longer Charlotte’s sister track. The banking was adjusted in 2018, but it’s still an intermediate track. It’s a 1.5-mile oval where Blaney won the 2023 All-Star race. This is a high-speed track with little off-throttle time. That’s Blaney’s style. He has a win at a similar high-speed intermediate track in Michigan.

Blaney has a top-10 finish in seven of the last eight Texas races with an average finish of 5.25 in those seven races. Four times, he’s led over 40 laps, and he’s led over 140 laps twice at Texas. This is a good track for Blaney and he needs a win. His team needs a win. Joey Logano was knocked out of the playoffs last week. Team Penske may devote the majority of their resources to their lone playoff driver.

Ross Chastain +2200

All of Hendrick’s playoff drivers survived the Round of 16. RFK, 23XI and JGR got their drivers through, too. That’s good news and bad news. When a driver is eliminated, resources often shuffle to playoff contenders. There wasn’t any shuffling this week. The teams are still cannibalizing each other. And it’s not just the playoff drivers. It seems that Joe Gibbs is still funneling plenty of resources towards his grandson.

Chastain doesn’t have that problem. His only problem is himself. Betting on Chastain’s consistency is crazy, but NASCAR win bets on Chastain are not off the wall. Although Chastain has been known to find the wall, sometimes good and sometimes bad, he is a skilled driver with an all-or-nothing mindset. He’s in an all-or-nothing position. And his team is giving him all of their resources.

Check back later this week for additional NASCAR matchup bets and prop bets as they become available on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Race Winner — AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas

Kyle Larson +450

The weekly NASCAR Best Bets article is contractually obligated to discuss Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin (+450). In 2021, Kyle Larson won the $1 million All-Star Race at Texas. In his second race with Hendrick Motorsports at Texas, he won, again. Yes, Larson is good every where, but he has a secret weapon — Cliff Daniels. His crew chief joined Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 team in 2014. That team knew Texas, Charlotte and Dover (technically not a 1.5-mile intermediate track, but Dover is a one-mile oval with a race car setup similar to Charlotte). The No. 48 Chevy won at Charlotte eight times and Dover 11 times. At Texas, Jimmie Johnson won seven times. Larson has a fast car and would like to get his ticket to the Round of 8 punched at Texas.

Tyler Reddick +850

The playoff drivers are the favorites every week from here on out. What about those on the outside? Forget about them. Reddick won the 2022 Texas fall race and led the most laps (70). He won the last intermediate-track race (Kansas). He was the runner-up in the Southern 500 and earned the second-highest driver rating at Darlington. Other recent form stats that might matter are his runner-up finish at Pocono and his top-5 finish in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

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All betting odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.