The NASCAR racing season is in full swing! Week 2 of racing action takes us down south to Hampton, Georgia, and the track formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta now goes by EchoPark Automotive Speedway. It’ll bring a mixture of the “pack” racing and drafting elements we saw last week. But this time add in a smaller (1.5-mile compared to 2-mile) track, and a lot more tire wear. The track surface is more abrasive, and NASCAR and Goodyear are bringing a tire that should wear more this weekend. Let’s jump in and look at the NASCAR Cup Series picks, odds, and best bets for the Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway.
Last week was pure excitement as Tyler Reddick picked up his first career Daytona 500 victory. Also giving NBA legend Michael Jordan his first Harley J. Earl as a team owner. Reddick sits atop the driver standings after the 500, in a much-anticipated points battle as NASCAR heads toward the “Chase” in 25 races. Joey Logano sits 12 points back, with Chase Elliott, Zane Smith, and Ricky Stenhouse rounding out the top five. Points were paid in the Duel Races, stages, and at the end of the Daytona 500.
Turning the focus to Atlanta, the track that has given us some thrillers since the 2022 reconstruction made it a “drafting track.” The three-wide epic “So Damn Close” finish with Daniel Suarez beating Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch by just .007 seconds. Christopher Bell won a thriller last spring, and Chase Elliott scored the hometown win in the summer 2025 race.
Odds To Win Autotrader 400
Ryan Blaney +1000
Joey Logano +1000
Austin Cindric +1200
Chase Elliott +1300
William Byron +1400
Denny Hamlin +1400
Kyle Larson +1600
Brad Keselowski +1600
Kyle Busch +1800
Christopher Bell +1800
Chris Buescher +1800
Bubba Wallace +2000
Chase Briscoe +2000
Tyler Reddick +2000
Alex Bowman +2200
Carson Hocevar +3000
Ryan Preece +3000
Ross Chastain +3000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +3500
Josh Berry +3500
Daniel Suarez +4000
Connor Zilisch +4000
Ty Gibbs +4000
Michael McDowell +4000
Erik Jones +5000
Todd Gilliland +6000
Austin Dillon +6000
Noah Gragson +6000
AJ Allmendinger +6000
Zane Smith +6000
John Hunter Nemechek +6000
Shane Van Gisbergen +8000
Cole Custer +10000
Riley Herbst +10000
Ty Dillon +15000
Cody Ware +20000
BJ McLeod +50000
JJ Yeley +50000
NASCAR Cup Series Picks, Odds, and Best Bets: Autotrader 400 at EchoPark Speedway
AJ Allmendinger Over Noah Gragson (-115)
I’m a bit shocked Caesar’s is offering this matchup this week, but I’ll take it. Generally, I tend to stick to plus money on matchups at drafting tracks, but this one is too good to pass up. In four races against each other on this track, it’s not been particularly close. Allmendinger has bested Gragson all four times, and by an average of 20.75 positions.
Allmendinger has finished top 14 in all four races, while Gragson has three finishes of 34th or worse. I know it felt like Allmendinger wasn’t even in the race last week. He was just seemingly never around. However, he managed a respectable 19th-place finish. I’ll ride with the pretty clear track history on this one.
Zane Smith Top 10 (+320)
I’ve seen more than enough from the driver of the Front Row Motorsports #38 car. Zane Smith struggled here in his first two starts as a rookie in a season he struggled to adapt at Spire Motorsports. Once he shifted to Front Row, things clocked right away. Last year he finished 11th and seventh in the two races here. Last week at Daytona he picked up his first career stage win, and had a shot to win the Daytona 500 on the final lap. In four of Smith’s six Daytona races he’s been top 13. You’ll find Zane with a chance at the end of these races, and that’s how he lands a top 10.
Chase Elliott to Win (+1300)
The Georgia native has been great here at his home track since the repave. Elliott has an average 11.4 finish over the last six races here, and twice has walked away with a victory since the reconfiguration. My friends at Wintherace.info have his pranked first in their “true performance” rank. They also ran their 100K simulations of Sunday’s race, Elliott ranks third in their winning percentages via the sim. He was oh-so-close to his first Daytona 500 win last year, leading on the final lap after winning his dual race Thursday night. It’s a little home cooking sweet revenge for the Dawsonville, Georgia driver. Get that sireeeen ready to roar Sunday night at the pool hall.
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