Posted on by Nick Giffen

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

The second drafting race of the year goes green at Atlanta Motor Speedway this afternoon (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

With no practice and with just a single qualifying session, we’re mostly reliant on performance at similar tracks, including last year’s two races at Atlanta to handicap the race.

My strategy at drafting tracks is to typically look for drivers with longer odds in situations where odds should be running closer together thanks to the high-variance nature of these tracks.

I do exactly that with these five picks. I’ll break down my two favorites, and then I’ll tell you three more plays I’m on based on the latest NASCAR odds to round out my Ambetter Health 400 betting card.

RELATED: Updated odds for Sunday’s race

NASCAR Odds, Picks for Atlanta

Christopher Bell to Win Group +380

Group C at DraftKings consists of the following drivers:

  • Kyle Larson (+200)
  • William Byron (+230)
  • Kyle Busch (+290)
  • Christopher Bell (+380)

Last year, William Byron led this group with an average running position of 9.97. That beat Bell by just a whisker, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had a 10.04 average.

Both were well ahead of Larson (19.78) and Busch (22.23).

While a two-race sample doesn’t tell us a ton, it does show that Bell is absolutely in the ballpark with this group. In fact, Bell would have finished second in this race last year if not for a penalty for advancing his position below the double line.

In the second Atlanta race, Bell ran inside the top 10 in both stages before fading late.

Stewart-Haas Racing to Win +800

Barstool Sportsbook is offering the four-car team of Stewart-Haas Racing at a palatable +800 price tag.

By comparison, the other four-car teams of Hendrick Motorsports and JGR are +335 and +550, respectively.

But one thing that stood out to me during qualifying was the relative instability of the Toyotas. Ty Gibbs got into the wall on his warmup lap, and Christopher Bell spun during his second-round qualifying effort.

FOX broadcaster and former Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer noted how stiff and rigid the Toytoas looked, especially after Bell’s spin.

If that translates at all to the race, it may mean JGR is less likely to win, giving other teams a better shot.

So I really like getting one-ninth of the field with a four-car team. And by virtue of the +800 price tag, we break even by winning this bet one in nine times. Overall, the SHR cars are well above an average car to win in my model.

In fact, if you piece together the best odds on all four drivers by shopping around, the sum of their individual implied odds is 11.5% which is above the 11.1% implied odds we’re getting by taking the whole team at +800.

Other Bets to Make

Based on the latest NASCAR odds, I also like:

  • Ty Gibbs top Toyota (+1800 at BetMGM)
  • Justin Haley top Chevy (+3300 at BetMGM)
  • Kaulig Racing to Win (+3300 at BetMGM)
Posted on by Reid Spencer

HAMPTON, Ga. – In a race that started in chaos and ended in bedlam on the last lap, Austin Hill won his third NASCAR Xfinity Series race of the season, beating Daniel Hemric to the checkered flag in Saturday’s Raptor King of the Tough 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With his family in attendance, the Winston, Ga., native, led three times for a race-high 103 laps and dominated an event that featured a record 12 cautions for 68 laps.

NASCAR called the final yellow on the last lap, after a multicar wreck erupted as Hill and Hemric approached the finish line.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

Parker Kligerman made a race of it until the cars entered the frontstretch dogleg on the last lap. At the end of a two-lap dash to the finish, Kligerman’s Chevrolet turned sideways across the front bumper of Hemric’s car and hit the right rear of Hill’s No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevy.

Hill maintained control and took the checkered flag with Hemric trailing by .085 seconds. Kligerman slid backward across the finish line in fourth, as Ryan Truex edged him for the third spot by .001 seconds.

“They knew we were here,” Kligerman radioed to his Big Machine Racing team.

The defending race winner, Hill came to Atlanta with victories at Daytona and Las Vegas and, understandably, the Xfinity Series lead. The win was Hill’s second at Atlanta and the fifth of his career.

The only thing that shook Hill all night was the contact with the right rear of his car in the final 100 yards.

“I have no idea how I saved it coming to the line,” Hill said, after his young daughter ran out to greet him at the finish line. “What a start to the season. Everybody at Richard Childress Racing, ECR engines — we’ve just had such a fast start with Chevrolet. This has been special, for sure.”

MORE: Full weekend schedule, results from Atlanta

Riley Herbst finished fifth, followed by Brett Moffitt, Josh Berry, John Hunter Nemechek, Sam Mayer and Justin Haley.

Hill won the first stage, and Kligerman gave Big Machine its first-ever stage victory in the second.

Josh Williams’ No. 92 DGM Racing Chevrolet sustained damage in a Lap 27 accident with the No. 02 Chevy of Kyle Weatherman, and when Williams dropped debris on the frontstretch to cause the fourth caution moments after the subsequent Lap 32 restart, NASCAR officials parked him under the Damaged Vehicle Policy.

Instead of driving his car to the garage, however, a frustrated Williams parked it at the start/finish line. NASCAR ordered Williams to the hauler for a discussion of the incident, after he was released from the infield care center. Team owner Mario Gosselin and No. 92 crew chief Bryan Berry were also summoned for consultation.

“A long time ago when I was younger, I had something similar happen to me at a short track,” Williams said after emerging from the Xfinity Series hauler. “I stopped on the frontstretch underneath the flagstand and got out, and there wasn’t one person sitting in their seat. So I didn’t do it to be spiteful or to make a huge scene and cause every one of y’all (reporters) to stand here, I just wanted to voice my opinion. I felt that it wasn’t right, but it’s in the rule book.”

The Xfinity Series’ next race is scheduled next Saturday, March 26 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM) at Circuit of The Americas.

Note: Inspection was completed in the Xfinity Series garage without issue, confirming Hill’s victory.

Contributing: Sean Montgomery in Hampton, Ga., staff reports

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

HAMPTON, Ga. — NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie Nick Sanchez nearly earned his first national series victory in Saturday’s Fr8 208 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, falling short in the final turn of the final lap of NASCAR Overtime.

Sanchez entered Saturday’s race with eight laps led on the season. He ended the day with 11 — not a huge difference but a noticeable step in the right direction, especially considering his rollercoaster day ended with a chance to fight for the win.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Atlanta 

The No. 2 Rev Racing team’s day nearly turned upside down on Lap 84, when contact with Corey Heim sent Sanchez spinning through the infield grass. Initially, it looked like Heim just jumped the start and rammed into the left rear.

But Sanchez offered his version of events after the race: “I just lost power.”

It didn’t take too long for Sanchez and Co. to bounce back with their speedy truck, despite a bit of damage after the collision. They re-racked with the leaders multiple times through the end of the scheduled race length and a dramatic overtime restart.

Effective team communication was a priority for the young team during the race, and in the end, his inexperience may have cost him on the final lap.

“I feel like I was a little slow to react to my spotter,” Sanchez said. “Just learning, learning where these trucks are. I could have done a better job reacting to the 19 [Christian Eckes] and probably should have blocked top-ish. … I let him get back to my quarter and he dragged me back. It was close. It was really, really close.”

On the white-flag lap, racing back to the finish line through Turn 4, multiple trucks wrecked behind the leaders and ushered out the final caution of the race. Eckes was the leader at the time of caution, narrowly edging Sanchez after a big run through the final corner by 0.078 seconds.

“Our truck was good,” Sanchez said. “It was a little beat up in the back, but the nose was clean, the fenders were intact and we were able to race up front. … To know that I can finally finish a race is nice and to be that close. But it makes me want it that much more.”

Even though he settled for second, it was a long day of learning and a confidence-boosting performance for the 21-year-old driver making his third start after his 2022 ARCA Menards Series championship. And it was something to build on after a 26th-place finish at Daytona International Speedway in the season opener and a crash that ended their day two weeks ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It feels good, but it hurts with how close we were,” said Sanchez. “But it is what it is and that’s racing. I’ve been at the other end of those at Talladega (Superspeedway) in ARCA, so I know how it feels to have it really close and not get it. But I’m just happy with my team, we battled back a lot. We’ve had a really good start to the season in the first two races, but not the best finishes. So to finally get a good finish and go to this next stretch of races with a decent points haul … I can just continue to learn more as a driver and keep pushing for wins.”

MORE: Full Atlanta race recap | Remaining Truck Series schedule

Sanchez’s next chance for a breakthrough win is Saturday, March 25 at Circuit of The Americas (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first road-course event of the season.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

HAMPTON, Ga. – Christian Eckes finished where he started Saturday’s Fr8 208 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway — with a lot of turmoil in between.

Eckes claimed his second victory in the series in overtime, choosing the bottom lane and front-row position for a restart on lap 136 of 137.

RELATED: Official race results | At-track photos

After leading the first 30-lap stage of the race wire-to-wire, however, Eckes sped on pit road and lost track position. He spent the rest of the event working his way back to the front.

Christian Eckes leads the pack in the No. 19 Chevrolet at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

In a race that featured a record 11 cautions for 58 laps, the driver of the No. 19 Chevrolet restarted 13th on Lap 103, but three yellow flags later, he was on the inside of the front row beside leader and ultimate runner-up finisher Nick Sanchez for the overtime restart.

Eckes surged ahead, took the white flag in the lead and was out front when NASCAR called the final caution of the race for a wreck in Turn 4 involving Tyler Ankrum, Stewart Friesen and defending series champion Zane Smith.

“It’s been a tough offseason,” said Eckes, in his first year with owner Bill McAnally after driving for ThorSport Racing in 2022. “I’m driving harder than I ever have — I have a lot to prove. The people know who they are.

“I’m really happy. Thanks to (crew chief) Charles (Denike), everybody on this team. They work so damn hard. This is what makes it all worth it. I’m pumped. It’s going to be a really good year.”

John Hunter Nemechek ran third after leading a race-high 53 laps to Eckes’ 35. Nemechek had the lead for a restart on Lap 121, but was shuffled back in traffic.

Bayley Currey finished fourth, earning his first NASCAR national series top five, and Ben Rhodes came home fifth after giving Eckes a much-needed push to the lead.

Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Purdy, Timmy Hill, Matt Crafton and Jack Wood completed the top 10.

Corey Heim’s defense of his Truck Series victory here last March ended early. He recovered from a mid-race pit-road collision, but his Tricon Garage No. 11 Toyota sustained significant front-end damage when he jammed up behind the No. 2 Chevrolet of Sanchez on a restart. He retired after completing just 83 laps and finished 34th in the 36-truck field.

The Craftsman Truck Series’ next race is scheduled next Saturday, March 25 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) at Circuit of The Americas.

Note: Inspection in the Craftsman Truck Series garage was completed without major issue, confirming Eckes as the race winner.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

HAMPTON, Ga. — Clean racing has historically been regarded as a sign of respect, something Kyle Busch openly stated that NASCAR Cup Series garage has “completely lost” during his media availability Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Busch aired his comments in response to questions about the latest on-track developments between Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin, resulting in a tangle in the closing laps last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. NASCAR officials confirmed that Hamlin’s post-race comments on his weekly podcast, where he openly admitted his actions were intentional, contributed to his eventual penalty for the incident.

MORE: Hamlin wrecks Chastain at Phoenix | Hamlin penalized

“We have completely lost any sense of respect in the garage area between drivers,” Busch said. “That’s where the problem lies. Nobody gives two [expletives] about anybody else and it’s just a problem where everybody takes advantage of everybody as much as they can.”

Busch’s frustration wasn’t exclusive to his former longtime Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, but the current culture in the premier-series garage as a whole. And he openly acknowledged that it wasn’t always this way.

“We’re all selfish, granted,” Busch admitted. “But there was an etiquette that did live here. Mark (Martin) started it, Tony (Stewart) really lived by it, I think Jeff (Gordon) lived by it. … So, I mean, it did exist.”

Still one of the veteran leaders in the garage, Busch states that his effort in instilling the value has fallen on deaf ears — so much so to the point where he doesn’t even try to correct it anymore.

“I’ve tried to talk to guys,” Busch said. “They don’t listen. So, I’ve lost interest in talking to them.”

As far as his solution and potential repercussions, Busch was straight to the point: “When you intentionally drive over somebody because they made a move on you or something that you didn’t like, then, you know, you’re gonna get punched in the face afterwards.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

William Byron, winner of the last two NASCAR Cup Series races, doesn’t think the penalties he suffered for his team’s unauthorized modifications to the hood louvers on his No. 24 Chevrolet will have an effect on the way he races.

True, Byron lost 100 driver championship points and 10 of the 13 playoff points he accumulated in his two wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix — pending Hendrick Motorsports’ appeal — but his early success hasn’t dulled his motivation to win more races.

RELATED: Full penalty details | Starting lineup for Sunday’s race

“Yeah, certainly the points is something that we just adjust to,” Byron said. “It’s early in the season. The cars are extremely fast. We obviously had the pace last week to win regardless, so I think that’s going to continue. I think with that pace, we’re just going to use that to our advantage to make up points.

“We didn’t intend on really relaxing after a win anyways this year. So I think, going into the next however many weeks that we’ve got until the playoffs, we’re going to push really hard. I think we’re just going to give it everything, every week. We had a good week of preparation; lots of time in the sim (simulator), lots of time at the shop. Just excited for all of that to continue.”

Byron will start 11th in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on by Sean Montgomery

HAMPTON, Ga. — Nearly one year after RFK Racing and Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford team was levied an L2-level penalty, the veteran driver-owner reflected back on the incident with a seasoned outlook.

“It was tough,” Keselowski told media Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. “Immediate emotions are to be frustrated and angry, but I don’t feel that way today. In fact, when I saw NASCAR a couple weeks ago, we had a car get inspected after Daytona, I made a comment to them and I said, ‘Thank you. It’s one of the best things to ever happen to us.’ We came out of it better. It was good for the industry.”

ICYMI: Hendrick Motorsports, Kaulig penalized | More story lines for Sunday

RFK Racing’s penalty following last year’s spring race at Atlanta set the organization back 100 driver points and 100 owner points, among other fines and suspensions, serving as the first major penalty of NASCAR’s Next Gen era. Since then, only Front Row Motorsports’s No. 34 team (with driver Michael McDowell), Kaulig Racing’s No. 31 team (with Justin Haley) and all four Hendrick Motorsports teams have received this level of penalty — though the latter five are currently appealing their penalties.

Nonetheless, Keselowski has focused forward and the organization has improved its on-track numbers tremendously, perhaps jump-started by Chris Buescher’s dominant victory in last fall’s Bristol Night Race.

MORE: Look back at Buescher’s Bristol triumph

Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher stand side-by-side.
Meg Oliphant | Getty Images

Heading into Sunday’s race at Atlanta, both cars sit in the top 10 in points through five weeks in the 2023 season — a significant upward trend from past seasons’ performance. Keselowski also leads all Ford drivers with 685 laps run inside the top 10.

So, from the outside looking in, it is clear there is a different energy and a different philosophy — and Keselowski agrees.

“From our perspective, it changed our culture inside of the company to where we had better behaviors,” Keselowski said. “I thought it set a tone for the industry.

“Again, I can’t speak for Hendrick, but with our issues. I think I made a few comments a month later about the importance of penalties in the garage. They serve a purpose. I think it’s really easy — and I’ve fallen victim to this as well — to look at NASCAR as the boogieman. In a lot of ways, they’re trying to help us and trying to help the sport and make sure that it can be healthy.”

RELATED: RFK Racing off to a hot start in 2023 | Weekend schedule for Atlanta

After a strong effort in Saturday’s qualifying session, Keselowski will roll off fourth in Sunday’s Cup Series Ambetter Health 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), his best starting position this season.

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano won the Busch Light Pole Award for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Saturday’s qualifying session.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series champion drove his No. 22 Team Penske Ford to a pole speed of 177.374 mph, besting teammate Austin Cindric for the premier spot on the starting grid.

RELATED: Qualifying results | Weekend schedule

Following the pair were Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Aric Almirola to round out the top five.

“Nobody really knows what they have for handling yet, but hopefully we have a little bit of both in this thing and we can control the race,” Logano said. “Obviously, Team Penske had a great day today and we’ll try to continue that tomorrow.”

Joey Logano sits in his No. 22 Ford for qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images

Series points leader Kevin Harvick finished the final round in sixth with a 176.769 mph hot lap. Fords swept the top eight qualifying spots, with Kyle Larson as the top Chevrolet driver in ninth and Christopher Bell’s Toyota completing the top 10.

That’s the first time since 1965 at Beltsville (Md.) that Fords have qualified for the top eight spots on the grid. Saturday’s result is even more impressive, given that no Chevrolets attempted to qualify for the Beltsville race, where Fords took positions one through 10.

“I’m hoping it’s transferable to the race,” Logano said of Ford’s Saturday qualifying strength. “I think it’s pretty obvious at this point throughout the field where certain manufacturers have gone over the offseason with some of their changes to the noses and whatnot. It’s pretty obvious that this is kind of our wheelhouse – when you come to superspeedways or bigger race tracks like Fontana, Michigan, Atlanta, Talladega, Daytona. I think those will probably be our strongest race tracks and it kind of showed again today.”

MORE: At-track photos | Atlanta 101 preview

Qualifying was not immune to a handful of spins and skids, headlined by BJ McLeod and Ty Gibbs in the opening round and Christopher Bell during the final round. Ford dominated the opening round, spearheaded by Logano. Eight of the top 10 machines to qualify for the final round were Fords.

Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET (FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). It’s the fifth race of the Cup Series season.

The Busch Light Pole Award was Logano’s second of the season, second at Atlanta (but first with NASCAR’s superspeedway competition package) and 28th of his career. Inevitably, Logano’s success on the big track brought back memories of his early days in racing, when he competed in Legends cars at Atlanta.

“I’ve never been on the front row at a superspeedway — forget a pole,” Logano said. “Doing it here at Atlanta for me is special. So many memories here. I lived up in one of those condos for five years and raced Legends cars out here for six years. Just the memories of walking into Victory Lane a minute ago to get the pole award and thinking about driving my Legend car in there, with my dad and how cool that was, and always dreaming about being on the big track when I was running the quarter-mile all the time. …

“I guess I try to keep those thoughts up front in my mind.”

Contributing: Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

Posted on by Staff Report

Inclement weather canceled qualifying for both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday afternoon.

The Truck Series’ session, originally scheduled for 3:05 p.m. ET, was the first to be washed out by rain that lingered over the 1.54-mile quad-oval. That placed points leader Zane Smith’s No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford on the pole for Saturday’s Fr8 208 (2 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the third race of the Craftsman Truck Series season.

RELATED: All weather updates from Atlanta | Weekend schedule

The starting lineup was set by performance metrics, which provides a total number based on the previous event, per the NASCAR Rule Book: 15% of a fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race finish position and 35% of the Owner Points position.

MORE: Full Truck Series starting lineup | Full Xfinity Series starting lineup

With NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying also canceled, Sammy Smith will start on pole for Saturday’s RAPTOR Tough 250 (5 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM). Smith claimed his first career win one week ago at Phoenix Raceway piloting the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.