Four NASCAR Cup Series races into the season, four different winners! From 31/1 Austin Cindric at the Daytona 500, the favorite in Kyle Larson at Fontana, 22/1 Alex Bowman at Las Vegas, and then Chase Briscoe (25/1) last week at Phoenix, it’s been all over the place so far in 2022 as the “NextGen” Generation 7 Cup Series car has brought us all the excitement it promised and more.
Now we turn our attention to Atlanta Motor Speedway where demolition began just hours after Kurt Busch scored Chip Ganassi’s final NASCAR Cup Series win in 2021 before he sold the team to Trackhouse Racing’s Justin Marks and rapper Pitbull.
Atlanta Motor Speedway brings probably the biggest unknowns of the 2022 season so far. The goal of this redesign was to turn the 1.54-mile speedway into a superspeedway-style of track similar to Daytona (2.5 miles) and Talladega (2.66 miles). The track was designed with the help of IRacing, the most realistic racing simulation company in the world.
The banking was raised in the corners from 24 degrees to 28 degrees while remaining at just 5 degrees on the straightaways. This weekend, NASCAR has elected to use the same superspeedway rules package that is used at Daytona and Talladega. Nobody, including the drivers, has any idea what to expect from this new track paired with this new car.
Cody’s Betting Card for Atlanta Motor Speedway
#JordanJinx
As of the writing of this article, Jordan has not made any outright bets on this weekend’s race, however, last week the #JordanJinx was in full effect on Christopher Bell. After a strong qualifying run and starting in 4th, Bell ran into some trouble and finished a very subpar 26th place.
Be sure to keep an eye on Jordan’s Action Network Betting Profile (click here), as you may want to avoid whoever the Jinx ends up on this week at Atlanta.
Head-to-Head : William Byron over Alex Bowman (-115)
This matchup features two Hendrick Motorsports drivers going head to head. Alex Bowman is the first of these teammates to win this year, claiming the victory two weeks ago at lucky Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, it can be argued that Byron has had the stronger car to start the season; Byron leads all drivers in percentage of laps run inside the top-15 at a whopping 94.5% so far. While the results haven’t matched these numbers just yet, he is due. I am treating this as a superspeedway race. Byron won at Daytona in 2020 and has finished better than Bowman three straight times at Talladega. Look for Byron to finish ahead of Bowman Sunday at Atlanta.
Cody’s Best Bet: Ryan Blaney over Kyle Larson (-115)
I absolutely love this bet this weekend. If we are treating this as a superspeedway race, then this is massively mispriced. Kyle Larson is the best driver in North America, arguably the world, but superspeedway racing is the one thing he hasn’t seemed to be able to figure out…YET. Ryan Blaney has beat Larson head-to-head in 4 of the last 5 races at Daytona, and Larson’s last three races at Talladega have ended in 37th-, 40th-, and 39th-place finishes. If you feel the need to look at past Atlanta races on the old track, Blaney beat Larson in both races in 2021, winning the event here last March.
To Win: William Byron (+1500)
The case was made for why William Byron is due above. 15/1 seems like a massive value on the guy who has spent the most time in the top 15 so far this season. Byron has proven he is able to hang at superspeedways before, capturing his first career Cup Series win at Daytona in 2020. He has also finished top 4 in two of the last three races at Talladega, and if you look at Michigan International Speedway, which may be the next closest track, he scored a 2nd-place finish there last season.
Long-Shot: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (+4000)
We’ve seen a few longshots hit this season already, now we head to a track running a superspeedway package and it brings a ton of unknowns. It wouldn’t shock anyone to see another longshot winner in Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500. Ricky, or as he is sometimes referred to, “Wrecky” Stenhouse Jr has proven he can win on the big tracks with victories at both Daytona and Talladega. It may be wreckers or checkers for Stenhouse, but if it is checkers, 40/1 sounds pretty nice!
