For the first time this season, NASCAR heads back to a track they’ve already seen in the current season. EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was the second race of the year back on February 22nd. Tyler Reddick picked up the win, his second of three in a row to kick off the 2026 season. Let’s dive into the second round at EchoPark Speedway with the NASCAR picks, odds, and best bets for the Quaker State 400.
Since its reconfiguration in 2022, EchoPark Speedway has become one of NASCAR’s most exciting tracks. Combining the elements of drafting with an already worn surface that brings in handling and tire wear. The most famous finish on the new surface came in the spring of 2024 when Daniel Suarez just edged out Ryan Blaney and the late Kyle Busch for the win in a three-wide photo finish with just .0003 seconds separating the three drivers.
Betting on drafting tracks is a lot of fun. Everyone on the board has a chance. The craziness of the draft and pack racing can also crush your bets in one quick crash that takes out half the field. Keep it lighter this week, and have fun betting!
Odds to Win Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway
Ryan Blaney +1000
Joey Logano +1100
Brad Keselowski +1500
William Byron +1600
Denny Hamlin +1600
Kyle Larson +1600
Chase Elliott +1600
Carson Hocevar +1800
Austin Cindric +1800
Christopher Bell +1800
Chase Briscoe +1800
Tyler Reddick +1800
Bubba Wallace +2000
Chris Buescher +2200
Ross Chastain +2500
Daniel Suarez +2500
Alex Bowman +3000
Ty Gibbs +3000
Ryan Preece +4000
Ricky Stenhouse +4000
Michael McDowell +4000
Josh Berry +5000
Erik Jones +5000
Todd Gilliland +5000
Austin Hill +5000
Austin Dillon +5000
Zane Smith +5000
Connor Zilisch +6000
Noah Gragson +6000
AJ Allmendinger +6000
Shane Van Gisbergen +6000
John Hunter Nemechek +6000
Riley Herbst +6000
Cole Custer +8000
Ty Dillon +10000
Cody Ware +12500
BJ McLeod +25000
Chad Finchum +25000
NASCAR Picks, Odds, and Best Bets: Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway
Ryan Blaney Over William Byron (-120)
I don’t often go for the head-to-heads on drafting tracks that aren’t plus money, but this one is too good to pass up on. Byron has won twice in nine races at the “new” EchoPark Speedway. So why bet against him? In six of the last eight races here, Blaney has gotten the better of Byron. One of the head-to-head losses was a Byron win; the other one Byron wrecked just ahead of Blaney and won with a 37th-place finish to Blaney’s 40th.
Ryan Blaney has been the most consistent driver at this track, by quite a bit. Outside of that early wreck last summer that resulted in that 40th place finish, Blaney hasn’t finished outside of the top 10 since the first race on the new configuration. Blaney’s last eight races here from summer 2022 until this spring are fifth, seventh, ninth, second, third, fourth, 40th, and 10th. Pretty impressive. As long as he doesn’t get caught up in a wreck, few are more trustworthy here than Ryan Blaney, who holds the longest active streak of top 10 finishes in the series with seven.
Austin Cindric Top Ford (+550)
The top manufacturer market is my favorite market to bet on this week. It’s offering solid numbers, and is a great way to get in on drivers with potential this weekend. Austin Cindric has been great at Atlanta. Just not always in the official tally at the end of the day. It’s been a rough last few races for him, finishing 26th, 38th, and 28th, respectively. But in those three races he’s won stage one twice, and finished second in the third race. He’s also led over 70 laps combined.
One of those stage wins was earlier this spring when he started 30th and showed shades of Dale Earnhardt as he worked through the draft, slicing and diving his way forward. Cindric is a master at this track. All he has to do is avoid the chaos, and he’ll give them a good run for finishing Ford. He’s absolutely worth the outright bet at 18/1 as well.
Carson Hocevar to Win (+1800)
How are you going to come to a drafting track and not bet on the most electric race car driver personality we’ve seen in the modern day? We’ve been to three drafting tracks this year. Hocevar took the white flag while leading at the Daytona 500. He backed it up with a fourth-place finish at this track the following week. Then he went to Talladega and burned the place down as we’ve never seen before after his first career victory.
Over the last seven races at EchoPark Speedway, nobody has a better average finish than Carson Hocevar, who checks in at 10.2 in his five starts. In those five career starts, he’s finished no worse than 19th, which was his first start. He scored a second place last spring, when he was robbed of the win by a quick caution call. And has three straight top 10s here. Hocevar is aggressive and knows how to draft. He’ll find himself in the mix with a shot to win this race.
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