NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Picks, Predictions & Odds

After an exciting and historic race on the Windy City streets, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the ovals this weekend for the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (7:00 pm ET, USA).

This past Sunday, the Cup Series made its street debut at the Grant Park 220, and although the weekend's festivities were heavily disrupted by rain, the main event in Chicago did not disappoint.

In the end, NASCAR debutant Shane van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in Australia's Supercars Championship, stole the show and became the first debutant to win a NASCAR Cup Series race since future three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Johnny Rutherford in 1963.

While the New Zealander will be back in the Supercars Championship for their race weekend in Townsville, Queensland, the NASCAR Cup Series regulars will be in the Peach State for the second Atlanta race on the calendar.

Last year, Chase Elliott claimed the win in this race. Will he do so again this year and claim his first win of the 2023 season? Read on for our Quaker State 400 predictions and picks. But before we dive into all of that, let's take a look at the odds.

Odds to Win the NASCAR Cup Series 2023 Quaker State 400

Odds are via Bovada as of Thursday, July 6, 2023.

• Joey Logano +1000
• Chase Elliott +1200
• Denny Hamlin +1200
• Ryan Blaney +1200
• Brad Keselowski +1400
• Kyle Busch +1400
• William Byron +1400
• Christopher Bell +1500
• Kyle Larson +1600
• Ross Chastain +1600
• Tyler Reddick +2000
• Bubba Wallace +2200
• Chris Buescher +2200
• Alex Bowman +2500
• Austin Cindric +2500
• Daniel Suarez +2500

Quaker State 400 Predictions and Picks

At this year's first race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Ambetter Health 400, Joey Logano took the win as the polesitter.

Through the first 18 races of the season (not including the All-Star race), only three polesitters have wins: Logano, Kyle Busch at the Enjoy Illinois 300, and Ross Chastain at the Ally 400.

Two of those wins have come in the last four races, so it will be interesting to see how qualifying plays out this weekend.

Could Logano pull off the Atlanta Motor Speedway sweep? He has finished in the top ten in three of his last four races, which is highly encouraging after he followed his Atlanta win by finishing outside of the top 20 five times in the next nine races.

In the earlier Atlanta race, the rest of the top five was comprised of Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie, and Tyler Reddick.

If I had to pick any driver out of that group to finish in the top ten at the Quaker State 400, I would pick Bell.

Since finishing in the top ten in eight of his first 11 races, including a win in the Bristol dirt race, Bell has finished in the top ten only twice in his last seven races. But prior to his 18th-place finish in the Chicago street race, he had finished 11th, ninth, and seventh in his three previous races. At +105 to finish in the top ten, that pick is worth locking in early.

NASCAR Cup Series Standings (Through 18 Races)

1. Martin Truex Jr. – 591 points
2. William Byron – 582
3. Ross Chastain – 573
4. Christopher Bell – 570
5. Kyle Busch – 560

Will this finally be the week for young William Clyde Elliott Jr. to get his first win in almost a year?

Elliott missed the earlier Atlanta race due to a fractured fibia, with Josh Berry finishing 18th in his car. Elliott keeps knocking and knocking and knocking on the door of getting his first win since the 2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono, and he has four top-five finishes and eight top-12 finishes in nine races since returning from his injury absence.

Elliott, who started from the pole in this race in both 2021 and 2022, is +200 to finish in the top five and +375 to finish in the top three, and I am all too happy to lock both of those in here early.

It is only a matter of time before I finally hit one of these race winner picks, and it's only a matter of time before Elliott returns to Victory Lane to lock himself into this season's playoffs. With how well he has been running, regardless of where he has been qualifying, Sunday's race is as good a bet as any.

Where to Bet on the Quaker State 400

The Quaker State 400 betting odds mentioned in this article came from Bovada, but they aren't the only sports betting site out there offering Cup Series odds.

• BetOnline
• BetUS
• Bookmaker
• Sportsbetting.ag

There are a number of online sportsbooks that are good for betting on NASCAR, but the above books are four that we highly recommend.