The NASCAR Cup Series heads to EchoPark Speedway for the Quaker State 400, where William Byron, Daniel Suarez, and Carson Hocevar headline this week’s betting picks and value predictions.
Quaker State 400 Picks
Date: Sunday, July 12, 2026
Track: EchoPark Speedway
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Channel: TNT Sports
What Did We Learn From Last Weekend?
After a 7-year hiatus from the oval at Chicagoland, Chase Briscoe took the first checkered flag and victory for the 2026 season and the 6th of his career. His teammate, Christopher Bell, was coming on strong but failed to close the gap when it mattered most on that last lap, allowing Briscoe to win by 0.276 seconds. I think Chase was the most surprised out of anyone during his interview. He even said he “did not see this coming”. It was a great victory for the team, running a 1-2-3 finish for JGR for the 8th time in organization history. For Toyotas, it was quite the day, having 7 in the top 10 spots. Bell was more than disappointed, coming home with yet another runner-up finish and no win this season. On top of his 4 runner-up finishes this season, Bell has led 417 laps. It’s easy to see why he’s frustrated.
William Byron had another solid run but still couldn’t muster the win he was looking for. Despite leading prior to pit stops, Byron landed 4th when all was said and done. His pit stop cost him a spot to Briscoe and then Bell and Hamlin closed the door on him in the final laps with fresher tires. Alex Bowman came home with his first top 5 finish since the Texas race in May, so that was a nice boost for that team. Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Corey Heim, and Riley Herbst rounded out the top 10 spots. Overall, it wasn’t a crazy day, but the drivers appeared to like the condition of the track and admitted to a lot of movement happening, even if we couldn’t see it on tv.
Where Are We Headed This Weekend?
This weekend, everyone gets another shot on another oval, with the drivers and teams heading to EchoPark Speedway (*eyeroll*). It will remain Atlanta in my eyes, but that’s a post for another day. Sponsorships are what keep the tracks open, so EchoPark it is. This track is fast. It’s a 1.540-mile quad-oval with 28 degrees of banking in the turns and 5 degrees on the straights. The turns were modified to include more banking in the 2022 reconfiguration. Because of this increased banking, drivers are basically simulating a mini-superspeedway. With less space, though, it makes things a little trickier to navigate what ultimately turns into pack driving. This is a place that requires ultimate handling skill, where drivers have to also control their throttle since it’s not a 2+ mile superspeedway like Talladega or Daytona. Avoiding trouble can be hard at Atlanta, with most wrecks resulting in multi-car incidents.
Odds and Value Picks
Atlanta brings with it that element of speed, which many guys are highly skilled at. The question is can they manage their cars and handle them in the tighter confines of the intermediate track versus the superspeedway. When it comes to picking a winner, it’s going to be hard to go against the Toyotas that dominated at Chicagoland, but we also have to keep in mind the drivers that *almost* made it to victory lane. Current NASCAR betting odds are available at Bovada. Let’s take a look at your projected winners this weekend heading into Sunday’s race:
Winner: William Byron (+1600)
Recent drafting stats are important when considering Byron as a top-tier pick here. He has 10 top 10s in races that resemble similar patterns. At Atlanta alone, Byron has 2 wins since the 2022 reconfiguration. After his disappointment at Chicagoland but yet still a strong finish, look for Byron to aim for the stars this weekend and be in strong contention for the checkered flag.
Mid-Range Pick: Daniel Suarez (+3500)
So Suarez has had an interesting season so far this year, but he has a great history on drafting tracks. In fact, they are some of his best finishes. Suarez won at this place back in a photo-finish in 2024. He also has 2 runner-up finishes. Can he stick it this weekend and surprise us all?
Dark Horse: Carson Hocevar (+1600)
Like him or hate him, Hocevar has drafting talent that is undeniable, noted in his odds despite being a dark horse. He finished in the top 10 in both Atlanta races during his rookie year and has multiple top 5 finishes in the speedway races. His aggressive style can burn him or completely win this race for him. It remains to be seen. Let’s see how it plays out.
Points Picture Heading Into Atlanta
That aggressiveness is what makes the points keep ebbing and flowing. Chicagoland didn’t produce too much movement in the points, but there were still some folks that had better days than others. Here’s a look at your top 16 after the return to Chicago:
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Tyler Reddick
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Ty Gibbs
5. Chase Elliott
6. Kyle Larson
7. Chris Buescher
8. Chase Briscoe
9. Carson Hocevar
10. Christopher Bell
11. Daniel Suarez
12. William Byron
13. Bubba Wallace
14. Shane Van Gisbergen
15. Austin Cindric
16. Erik Jones
Ryan Preece fell 2 spots out of the top 16, with Jones creeping his way back in by just 4 points. Joey Logano had a nice little bump to 18th and is less than 20 points out of contention right now. I think that Atlanta is going to give us a few wrenches to work out when all is said and done. Who will be the biggest movers and shakers after Sunday’s night race? Stay tuned for a great evening of racing under the lights at EchoPark Speedway!
