QuikTrip 500 Betting Preview/Prop Picks
18 March 2022
Continuing a wild NASCAR season, drivers make the move to Atlanta for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Speedway tracks have been historically bad for some, while others look to repeat success.
Ryan Blaney looks to defend his victory here and will have some competition to deal with. Below you can see how others might affect his chances.
Race Details
Date: Sun, Mar 20, 3:00 PM
Watch on: FOX
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Betting Overview
With Next Gen NASCAR tires and some moves made on the track, there have been a few changes here. The width of the frontstretch has not been changed, but barriers have been slightly moved.
Entry out of Turn 4 to the front stretch dogleg has been “softened” by pulling in the outside wall five feet. It now has 320 feet of a wide curve with the addition of the safer barrier for a better transition between the Turn 4 to the frontstretch. It is supposed to improve safety for the drivers, but it is another thing to think about when racing.
Head to Head Matchup to Watch
Kyle Larson (164.574) and Ryan Blaney (166.412) are two of the two drivers for this event specifically. Larson has charmed oddsmakers from his previous season and his driving as of late.
However, Blaney has dominated here and on Speedways in general. Look for this to be a close matchup.
Dunkel Index For This Event
The Dunkel Index is showing these top 10 drivers that could win this event. The following ten are:
1 Kyle Larson 164.574
2 Kyle Busch 164.972
3 Chase Briscoe 165.309
4 Austin Cindric 165.674
5 Aric Almirola 166.026
6 Joey Logano 166.062
7 Ryan Blaney 166.412
8 Alex Bowman 166.500
9 Austin Dillon 166.630
10 Kevin Harvick 167.006
*index is subject to changes
Drivers That Could Win
Ryan Blaney (166.412) placed fourth in 2020 here and is the defending champion of this event. He also placed fifth in the July race last year here.
Blaney has been great on superspeedways, like Daytona 500 this year, with a fourth-place finish. You can get him at a great value compared to other favorites to win.
Chase Briscoe (165.309) pretty much came out of nowhere to win the Ruoff Mortgage 500. After some luck and steady driving, he was finally able to record his first NASCAR victory. With some momentum coming in, he has a shot.
Denny Hamlin (169.494) has three top-five finishes here in Atlanta. He has a reputation for dominating on superspeedway tracks and has a great opportunity to steal this one from the other favorites.
Potential Winning Pick
Kyle Larson (164.574) is difficult to bet against these days. His recent performance led to a broken valve spring, and was unable to finish the race.
He has two top-two finishes in his last three starts and nearly won this race last year. Last year, he led in laps with 269 of 325 laps.
Prop Picks
Matchup: Kyle Larson (-115) OVER Ryan Blaney
The defending Cup champion had a rough week at Phoenix as he was forced to start at the rear of the pack and couldn’t finish the race suffered a broken valve spring. But he looked in top form the previous two races with a 1st at Fontana and 2nd at Las Vegas.
Blaney had a better day at Phoenix as he led the field for a race-high 143 laps. But he couldn’t close the deal – finishing 4th – which marked the 9th time in his career he has led for at least 100 laps while failing to win.
With Larson rated No. 1 in this week’s Dunkel Index and Blaney No. 7, take Larson (-115) to bounce back from last week’s troubles and edge out Blaney in this matchup.
Matchup: Austin Cindric (-110) OVER Brad Keselowski
Cindric has fallen off since his season-opening win at Daytona as he’s finished no better than 12th in his last three races and is coming off a 19th place finish at Phoenix.
Keselowski’s high-water mark was also Daytona where he finished 9th. Since that time the 2012 Cup champion has failed to crack the Top 20 in the last three races.
With Cindric rated No. 4 in this week’s Dunkel Index and Keselowski No. 12, take the rookie (-110) to get the better of the struggling veteran at Atlanta.
Keep up with your latest NASCAR news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.
