NASCAR Ambetter Health 400 Picks, Predictions

The NASCAR circuit returns back east after a three-week stretch out west in California, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.

Atlanta Motor Speedway is the venue for Sunday's Ambetter Health 400, known as the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 from 2015 through 2022.

William Byron not only won this race in 2022, but the 25-year old Charlotte native is coming off consecutive victories the last two weeks at the Pennzoil 400 in Las Vegas and the United Rentals Work United 500 in Phoenix.

Last year's race saw an Atlanta Motor Speedway record 46 lead changes and 20 different leaders, but Byron emerged victorious ahead of Ross Chastain and Kurt Busch.

Some of the big names didn't even finish the race as Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Tyler Reddick were among the drivers that crashed, but Larson, Hamlin, and Busch all placed in the Top 5 in the 2021 race before the track was reconfigured in 2022 to resemble Daytona and Talladega.

AMBETTER HEALTH 400 TOP-5 FINISH PREDICTION

1) #99 Daniel Suarez (25/1)
2) #19 Martin Truex, Jr. (20/1)
3) #1 Ross Chastain (12/1)
4) #12 Ryan Blaney (12/1)
5) #17 Chris Buescher (25/1)

HEAD-TO-HEAD BEST BET

• Daniel Suarez (-108) vs. Kevin Harvick (Fanduel)

AMBETTER HEALTH 400 BETTING ANALYSIS

You need to tread lightly with track history statistics in Atlanta with the changes made last year to a mini-superspeedway.

However, Daniel Suarez (25/1) benefited from the adjustments as he placed 4th in the March race and 6th in the July event. Prior to 2022, Suarez never finished above 10th in his first six races in Atlanta.

Suarez started this season strong with a 7th-place finish at the Daytona 500, followed by a 4th-place finish at California. However, Suarez placed 10th at Las Vegas and 22nd last week at Phoenix.

Martin Truex, Jr. (20/1) has seen plenty of success in the Peach State with a Top-10 finish in nine of the past 10 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Understandably, the track has been altered, but Truex is seeking his first win here after finishing 8th in the March race in 2022. Truex owns only one Top-10 finish this season since winning the Busch Clash at the L.A. Coliseum.

Ross Chastain (12/1) came up just short of victory in both Atlanta races in 2022 but putting together a pair of 2nd-place finishes isn't bad either. Chastain fared well at Talladega last year, which is a good comparison to Atlanta by winning in April and placing 4th in September.

Ryan Blaney (12/1) is fresh off his best performance of the 2023 campaign with a 2nd-place finish at Phoenix last week. Blaney has placed in the Top 5 in four of the past five races in Atlanta, although he landed 17th in the March race in 2022.

Another driver sitting in the middle of the odds pack is Chris Buescher (25/1), who has quietly posted a pair of 7th-place finishes in the last two March races in Atlanta. Buescher has finished all but one lap in the first four races this season, including a 4th-place result at the Daytona 500.

AMBETTER HEALTH 400 BETTING RESOURCES

• Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023
• TV-Time: FOX, 3:30 p.m. ET
• Venue: Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Location: Hampton, Georgia
• Distance: 500.5 miles
• Laps: 325

2023 AMBETTER HEALTH 400 BETTING ODDS

• Kyle Larson +1000
• William Byron +1000
• Ryan Blaney +1200
• Kyle Busch +1200
• Denny Hamlin +1000
• Joey Logano +1200
• Ross Chastain +1200
• Christopher Bell +1200
• Tyler Reddick +1800
• Brad Keselowski +1800
• Alex Bowman +2000
• Bubba Wallace +2000
• Martin Truex Jr +2000
• Kevin Harvick +2500
• Aric Almirola +2500
• Chris Buescher +2500
• Daniel Suarez +2500
• Erik Jones +3000
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr +3000
• Austin Cindric +3000
• Chase Briscoe +3500
• Austin Dillon +4000
• Michael McDowell +5000
• Ryan Preece +5000
• Noah Gragson +5000
• AJ Allmendinger +5000
• Todd Gilliland +5000
• Corey Lajoie +5000
• Justin Haley +5000
• Josh Berry +5000
• Ty Gibbs +6000
• Harrison Burton +10000
• Ty Dillon +20000
• Cody Ware +20000
• BJ McLeod +20000
• J.J. Yeley +20000

AMBETTER HEALTH 400 HISTORY

• 2022 - William Byron
• 2021 - Ryan Blaney
• 2020 - Kevin Harvick
• 2019 - Brad Keselowski
• 2018 - Kevin Harvick
• 2017 - Brad Keselowski
• 2016 - Jimmie Johnson
• 2015 - Jimmie Johnson
• 2014 - Kasey Kahne
• 2013 - Kyle Busch