Top NASCAR Pick for Today
NASCAR Pick: Ryan Blaney – Top 5 Finish (+245) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
Picks Summary:
- Ryan Blaney – Top 5 Finish (+245)
- Ryan Blaney – Group A Winner (+300)
Last week, the United Rentals Work United 500k took place near Phoenix.
That competition featured a late-race caution that, incredibly, the somewhat lesser-known William Byron was able to take advantage of. Byron’s win seemed improbable in several respects, but the improbability of his victory makes it impossible to consider him as a realistic candidate to win this week’s race.
Top sportsbooks have released their odds for the next NASCAR Cup Series event, the Ambetter Health 400, which takes place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway near Atlanta.
Read ahead for all of the information pertaining to the race that you’ll want to know and for betting picks grounded in analysis.
NASCAR fans out there interested in betting on the Ambetter Health 400 can do so at any of these US betting sites.
NASCAR Cup Series: Ambetter Health 400
Sunday, March 19, 2023 – 03:00 PM EDT at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Last Week’s Race
Last week’s race was the United Rentals Work United 500k which took place at the Phoenix Raceway.
This race featured the drama of a caution flag with two laps left. While Kyle Larson led the race when it started, Byron passed him and was eventually able to pull away for a .3-second win.
Byron’s win is significant in various respects: it is his second of the season, positioning him in first place in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Standings with 144 points — also, he is the only driver to have won multiple races so far.
It is extremely improbable to win consecutive races in a row, though, so for our NASCAR picks we can exclude him from our list of candidates to win this week’s competition.
However, Byron’s victory does foster a continually growing justification to have more confidence in Hendrick Motorsports drivers — these include Byron, Kyle Larson, and a few others.
Race Info
This week’s competition is the Ambetter Health 400 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
For this race, drivers must complete a total of 260 laps.
As is usually the case, there will be three stages for this race:
- Stage 1: Consists in the first 60 laps.
- Stage 2: Requires drivers to complete 100 more laps.
- Stage 3: Consists in the last 100 laps.
Entry List
The entry list for a NASCAR Cup Series race typically gets published by the middle of the week.
For this week’s race, there 36 drivers/teams are listed for a possible 40 spots.
So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we already know which drivers will participate in this race. We may expect all the usual suspects.
Starting Lineup
The starting lineup for this race gets determined via qualifying.
Qualifying will be Groups A & B, single vehicle, one lap, and two rounds. It will take place on Saturday at 11:35 AM EDT and finish at 01:00 PM EDT. Typically, a practice session precedes qualifying.
But note that there will be no practice session for this race. This detail deals a blow to Kyle Busch, who is characteristically better when he is able to practice. Without a practice session, we cannot justify an investment in Kyle Busch.
Track Info
This week’s track is the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The Atlanta Motor Speedway builds excitement for its recent repaving and, most especially, its recent reconfiguring. dimensions-wise, this track has upped its banking to 28 degrees, which makes it easier for drivers to go faster because they use higher banking to corral more momentum for their vehicles.
Furthermore, the corners at this track have extended to 40 feet wide, which makes passing easier and which evokes Daytona’s famous three-wide racing. It is, though, still classified as an intermediate track, which means that drivers still need to exercise more control over their vehicles, in addition to reaching higher speeds.
The length of each lap is 1.54 miles. So, in completing 260 laps, drivers will have accumulated just over 400 miles.
My Bets
I am all in on Ryan Blaney, as I expect him to build off his second-place finish from last week. Blaney excels in Atlanta: he has finished in the top five in four of his last five races here.
His most recent fifth-place finish at the track shows his comfort with its new design. He has a consistent, superior driver history here in tandem with his strong form makes him a fantastic bet to finish the top five again.
Moreover, I like him to finish ahead of Kyle Larson, who has recently struggled in Atlanta. We have similar considerations with Ross Chastain and William Byron — Chastain’s current form is poor and Byron has a poorly inconsistent history here.
So, for your best bets, I recommend betting on Blaney to finish in the top five and on Blaney to win “Group A” on Bovada’s match-up betting.
NASCAR Pick: Ryan Blaney – Top 5 Finish (+245) at Bovada
NASCAR Pick: Ryan Blaney – Group A Winner (+300) at Bovada
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
