The picks are in. Our trio of experts at Prime Sports NASCAR have each lined up their drivers to bet on for Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Eric is inching closer to the positive margin after picking up wins the last couple of weeks. He picked up a nice chunk with Kyle Larson’s Vegas triumph and made $20 on Martin Truex Jr’s win last Sunday in Phoenix.
CJ picked Truex last Sunday too and moved to -380 on the season in going 1-for-5 thus far. Greg unfortunately didn’t have Truex and falls to -500 with his best finisher in Phoenix being Joey Logano (2nd). He did have Brad Keselowski in fourth for two top five finishers and throw in William Byron and Christopher Bell, he put four drivers it the top 10.
CJ had 1-2-3-5-7-8-9 with his picks while Eric had 1-3-7-8.
This week, Eric went with a lot of drivers again in hopes of eating more out of that deficit. He took guys up top like Brad Keselowski (3 top 2’s in last 4 Atlanta starts), Kevin Harvick (12 top 10’s, last 14 in Atlanta, 2 wins in last 3 years at that), Denny Hamlin (2 top 5’s last 3 in Atlanta) and Joey Logano (5 top 10’s in last 8 in Atlanta). But, he also went with more long shots like Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Bubba Wallace and Ryan Newman too.
Newman, Wallace and Stenhouse run well in Atlanta. Dillon, was 11th in this race last year. Reddick, is at his best on older racing surfaces like this one. Byron, has three straight top 10 results on the season. Bell, has three top three results in three combined NXS/Truck Series starts in Atlanta and now in a JGR Cup car. Busch, has three wins in 29 Atlanta tries including five straight top eight results.
So, why not?
CJ was a little more conservative with going with Keselowski, Harvick, Hamlin and Logano like Eric did, but he also went with Kyle Larson (2 top 10’s in his last 3 Atlanta starts) and Chase Elliott (4 top 10’s in 5 Atlanta tries). His longest shot is Ryan Blaney who was fourth last year.
Greg too went with Keselowski and Elliott as favorites, but his picks are going for the home run. He took Blaney, Bell and Stenhouse like Eric did, but also went with Aric Almirola (8th in 2019) and Chris Buescher as other long shots. If Greg can hit on any of his picks, he’s at the very least make up $180 on his deficit. If any of his longer shots win, it would be at least $200.
CJ would get between an $8 profit and $20 if any of his guys win while Eric’s range from breaking even (Dillon/Newman/Wallace) to $20+ if the others.
Race Odds
6-1…B Keselowski, K Larson and M Truex Jr.
7-1…C Elliott and K Harvick
9-1…D Hamlin
10-1…Kyle B and J Logano
16-1…R Blaney and Kurt B
20-1…C Bell
25-1…W Byron
33-1…A Bowman
50-1…A Almirola and A Dillon
66-1…T Reddick
80-1…C Custer, M DiBenedetto, E Jones and R Stenhouse Jr.
100-1…Newman and D Wallace Jr.
125-1…C Briscoe, C Buescher and R Chastain
200-1…M McDowell and D Suarez
QUIKTRIP 500: RACE 6 PICKS
Eric Smith
B Keselowski…6-1…$23 ($138)
K Harvick…7-1…$20 ($140)
D Hamlin…9-1…$15 ($135)
J Logano…10-1…$15 ($150)
Kurt B…16-1…$8 ($128)
C Bell…20-1…$6 ($120)
W Byron…25-1…$5 ($125)
A Dillon…50-1…$2 ($100)
T Reddick…66-1…$2 ($132)
R Stenhouse Jr…80-1…$2 ($160)
B Wallace Jr.…100-1…$1 ($100)
R Newman…100-1…$1 ($100)
RECORD: 2 for 5
TOTAL: -248
QUIKTRIP 500: RACE 6 PICKS
CJ Radune
B Keselowski…6-1…$18 ($108)
K Larson…6-1…$20 ($120)
C Elliott…7-1…$16 ($112)
K Harvick…7-1…$16 ($112)
D Hamlin…9-1…$12 ($108)
J Logano…10-1…$11 ($110)
R Blaney…16-1…$7 ($112)
RECORD: 1 for 5
TOTAL: -380
QUIKTRIP 500: RACE 6 PICKS
Greg DePalma
B Keselowski…6-1…$30 ($180)
C Elliott…7-1…$28 ($196)
R Blaney…16-1…$20 ($320)
C Bell…20-1…$10 ($200)
A Almirola…50-1…$5 ($250)
R Stenhouse Jr…80-1…$5 ($400)
C Buescher…125-1…$2 ($250)
RECORD: 0 for 5
TOTAL: -500
WEEKLY PICKS ARCHIVES
INSTACART 500: RACE 5 PICKS
INSTACART 500 WINNER: MARTIN TRUEX Jr.
Eric Smith
D Hamlin…6-1…$28 ($168) …3rd
Kyle B…8-1…$15 ($120) …25th
K Larson…10-1…$15 ($150) …7th
M Truex Jr…11-1…$10 ($110) …1st
R Blaney…14-1…$8 ($137) …10th
W Byron…16-1…$7 ($112) …8th
A Bowman…25-1…$5 ($125) …13th
Kurt B…25-1…$5 ($125) …15th
T Reddick…66-1…$2 ($132) …29th
B Wallace Jr.…80-1…$2 ($160) …16th
R Newman…100-1…$2 ($200) …28th
R Chastain…150-1…$1 ($150) …19th
RECORD: 1 for 1
TOTAL: +20
INSTACART 500: RACE 5 PICKS
CJ Radune
C Elliott…5-1…$22 ($110) …5th
D Hamlin…6-1…$18 ($108) …3rd
J Logano…8-1…$14 ($112) …2nd
Kyle B…8-1…$13 ($104) …25th
K Larson…10-1…$11 ($110) …7th
M Truex Jr…11-1…$10 ($110) …1st
W Byron…16-1…$8 ($128) …8th
C Bell…28-1…$4 ($112) …9th
RECORD: 1 for 1
TOTAL: +20
INSTACART 500: RACE 5 PICKS
Greg DePalma
B Keselowski…7-1…$30 ($210) …4th
Kyle B…8-1…$24 ($192) …25th
J Logano…8-1…$15 ($120) …2nd
R Blaney…14-1…$17 ($238) …10th
W Byron…16-1…$6 ($96) …8th
C Bell…28-1…$4 ($112) …9th
E Jones…100-1…$4 ($400) …20th
RECORD: 0 for 1
TOTAL: -100