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After William Byron‘s back-to-back stunner at the Daytona 500 following a last-lap crash and Legacy Motor Club owner Jimmie Johnson sneaking through to cash on last week’s top five at +1,600 and top 10 at +410, who has the best odds going into the first Atlanta Motor Speedway weekend?
For reference, if you bet $10 on Johnson’s top five prop, you would have won $160 plus the $10 invested.
Amongst the favorites for Sunday’s race at Atlanta is the Team Penske brigade, with Ryan Blaney leading the trio with +950 odds. Blaney was involved last year in the three-wide photo finish between him, Kyle Busch at +1,300 and last year’s winner Daniel Suarez at +2,500. Blaney has never won at the new configuration.
3-WIDE AT THE LINE! WHAT A FINISH. Repost to congratulate Daniel Suárez on his Atlanta Motor Speedway WIN! pic.twitter.com/RdewRqJiwg
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 26, 2024
Joey Logano takes second best with +1,200 odds thanks to a Caesars promotion. He is a two-time winner at new Atlanta, winning the last race there in the playoffs last season. His Penske teammate Austin Cindric, who opened at +1,200 early in the week, has shifted to a +1,500 on FanDuel, a great value for the driver of the No. 2 Ford Mustang.
With Atlanta being more of a predictable superspeedway, I would take Logano’s +1,200 odds going into the weekend from the favorites. Having the two wins under his belt helps validate the play for this weekend.
Another Ford who has passed the eye test at Atlanta in the past is Brad Keselowski. His odds moved from +1,700 to +2,000 on FanDuel over the week. I liked his odds at +1,700, and I like them even more now going into the weekend. His RFK teammates Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece slide in at +2,700 and +4,800, respectively.
Even though Atlanta has trended on the tame side compared to Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, a winner could emerge from anywhere. Could 23XI win it? Bubba Wallace at +2,500 and teammate Tyler Reddick at +3,000 both won duels, and Reddick made it happen at Talladega last year.
Front Row Motorsports could be a threat, too. Todd Gilliland at +4,000 led the most laps in this race last season. Teammates Noah Gragson at +8,000 and Zane Smith at +13,000 are massive underdog picks. Maybe one of them can get it done.
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Wyatt Watson has followed NASCAR closely since 2007. He joined Frontstretchas a journalist in February 2023 after serving in the United States Navy for five years as an Electronic Technician Navigation working on submarines. Wyatt writes breaking NASCAR news and contributes to columns such as Friday Faceoff and 2-Headed Monster. Wyatt also contributes to Frontstretch's social media and serves as an at-track reporter, collecting exclusive content for Frontstretch.
Wyatt Watson can be found on Twitter @WyattGametime
Last years Atlanta race was one of the best of the year. I hope it’s the same this weekend.
I hope so too 🤞