The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday for the Ambetter Health 400. Fans can tune into the race on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
Caesars Sportsbook has Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano (+1000) as co-favorites.
Four drivers are behind at +1100, including defending Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney.
This is the third season Atlanta Motor Speedway is a drafting track, meaning we could see a few surprise results. Although, it likely won’t be as unpredictable as the Daytona 500.
On Friday, I wrote about my four favorite props for Atlanta. Here I provide my best bets for Sunday’s race.
Which drivers should you target for the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta?
Ambetter Health 400 best bets
To win: William Byron (+1300, FanDuel)
Once the dust settled in the Daytona 500, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron ended up in victory lane.
The 26-year-old is well on his way to become NASCAR’s next superstar, and could kick off the season with back-to-back wins.
One could argue Byron has been the best driver at Atlanta since the 2021 repave.
He’s the only driver with multiple wins over the last four Atlanta races, and his 171 laps led lead all drivers.
If you look at the results, you’ll see two finishes of 30th or worse.
I wouldn’t worry about those, as a crash ruined Byron’s race.
He led the second-most laps in the Summer 2022 race despite crashing with 90 laps to go.
I fully expected Byron to be the favorite after his Daytona 500 win. I love his value as he aims to become the first driver in 15 years to win the first two races of a season.
To win: Ross Chastain (+2000, BetMGM)
Chastain was the guy to beat in the closing laps at Daytona. He briefly fell back but nearly retook the lead on the final lap.
Ultimately, he wrecked while making the potential winning pass, finishing 21st.
Chastain’s aggressive driving style was on display at Daytona, and should benefit him at Atlanta. He led a combined 74 laps across the two Atlanta races in 2022, finishing second in both.
Ross Chastain, driver of the #1 Busch Light Chevrolet, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500. Getty Images We didn’t see the same performance in 2023, as he finished outside the top 10 in both races.
I believe we’ll see the 2022 Chastain show up at Atlanta. He should have a ton of motivation after coming so close to winning the Daytona 500.
Top 5 finish: Austin Cindric (+375, bet365)
Ross Chastain’s last-lap wreck also took Austin Cindric out of contention. Cindric may not have won the Daytona 500, but he was looking at a top-five finish.
He’ll also be looking for redemption at Atlanta.
Last week, I talked about Cindric being the forgotten Ford driver with the success of his Ford teammates. I think we’re looking at a similar story for this weekend’s race.
Cindric crashed out of the 2022 Atlanta Spring race.
In his last three Atlanta races, he has scored the second-most points and led 22 laps. Cindric also finished third in the 2022 Summer race.
Hopefully, he doesn’t have another late wreck ruin his race. Cindric should run near the front with his Ford teammates.
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Top 10 finish: Erik Jones (+125, FanDuel)
Erik Jones has long been one of the more underrated superspeedway drivers.
He won the 2018 Summer race at Daytona and has been in contention to win others. That should continue on Sunday.
Jones has only led 10 laps across the last four Atlanta races, but he does a good job avoiding trouble.
He has a pair of top-10 finishes and has never finished worse than 14th.
This will be his first start at the new Atlanta with Toyota. The manufacturer showed a ton of speed at Daytona, which should carry over to Sunday.
We’re getting plus-money for one of the most consistent superspeedway drivers. Take the +125 odds to the bank.
