Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Preview

NASCAR and the playoffs are now turning to the home stretch. There are just three races left to sift out the close Cup Series standings. 

• Date: Sunday, October 25, 2020
• Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas

Betting Overview 

Looking at five of the last six winners, they have each come from a top 10 starting position. Also, each of the three major racing brands has won the last three Texas Cup races as well. 

There have only been two races in the stage era where a driver has not been able to win a stage and the race itself. Indeed, five of the last seven Texas races witnessed the eventual winner win or place second in the second stage.

Dunkel Index For Autotrader 500

The Dunkel Index is showing these top 10 racers that could win this event. These 10 are:

• Denny Hamlin 69.470
• Chase Elliott 75.341
• Alex Bowman 77.571
• Joey Logano 78.122
• Kevin Harvick 80.130
• Martin Truex Jr. 81.398
• Erik Jones 81.562
• Austin Dillon 81.810
• William Byron 83.062
• Ryan Blaney 83.954

Racers That Could Win

Kevin Harvick (80.130)

Harvick has been on fire with 12 straight top 10 finishes at Texas. Some of those are four top two finishes in his last six starts. In the fall, he has been able to win each of the last three years.

Joey Logano (78.122)

So far, Logano has eight top seven finishes in his last nine Texas starts. He also was able to take home a win at Kansas recently, making it an automatic qualification into the Playoff finale. 

Denny Hamlin (69.470)

Third place in the standings is Hamlin, who saw his points lead over the cutoff shrink from the last race. Now, he sits just 20 points above the cutoff. He is still in contention, no doubt, but needs to step it up. 

Erik Jones (81.562)

Jones is an interesting pick here and might be a sleeper to some. He has six straight top 10 finishes at Texas, including three fourth-place runs in his last five overall. Also, if you look at his five Xfinity Series tries on the 1.5-mile track, he has been able to finish in the top four in each, which resulted in two wins.

Chase Elliott (75.341)

Elliott has a hold on fifth place in the standings. He needs a win badly if he wants to take control. Even with pole position, he only led in 48 laps in Kansas before placing sixth, so he needs to take advantage of those opportunities. 

Winner Of Autotrader 500: Kevin Harvick

If Harvick had not lost the lead to Logano at Kansas, this scenario might be different as to his dominance here. In that race, he led the most laps and arguably had the best car. However, it will be difficult to ignore his dominance this season and his previous success in Texas. 

Here are the complete Dunkel ratings for this week’s event. Racer ratings are based on past performance.