Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Picks, Odds, Predictions 10/25/2020

by Josh Schonwald - 10/22/2020

Race: Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500

Date: Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 2:30 PM EST

Location: Texas Motor Speedway

TV: NBC

The stakes are high as we head to Texas Motor Speedway in the 8th race of the NASCAR Playoffs. This round of 8 clash will be a telling one as near the end of this race season. A champion will soon be crowned, so drivers still in the running will have to be at their best heading into this Sunday.

This track is a D-shaped oval that runs 1.5 miles. The asphalt surface was recently paved and also reconfigured in 2017. It will be the 40th NASCAR premier series race that has been held at this track.

Hollywood Casino 400 Results

Joey Logano was able to hold off Kevin Harvick by a measly .312 seconds in the back and forth dual between these two drivers. It was a battle, but Logano led for the 45 final laps of this race. This was Logano's 26th career win in the NASCAR Cup Series and it was the third of the year for the No. 22 Team Penske driver. With two races left in the Round of 8, Joey Logano has made it more difficult for the drivers on the outside to get their spot in the next round. After winning at Kansas on Sunday, Logano has left just 3 more spots up for grabs in the championship hunt.

Rounding out the top five in this race were Alex Bowman, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch.

Kevin Harvick kept his chances at a championship very much alive. His chances of making the next round were already solid and with this second place finish, the chances look even better. That said, it puts a lot more pressure for drivers behind him.

Kurt Busch had an engine failure which means that if he doesn't win one of these next two races, he'll be on the outside looking in. Martin Truex Jr. also had a rough day (9th place finish) which is going to make it tough on him.

2020 Cup Series Standings Update

The chances of moving on to the next round are getting slim. With the win, Joey Logano has secured his spot. He is followed by Kevin Harvick, then Denny Hamlin and finally, Brad Keselowski above the cut line. Chase Elliott is 8 points behind Keselowski followed by Alex Bowman (-27) Martin Truex Jr. (-31) and Kurt Busch at 73 points back.

Texas Motor Speedway seems to favor Kevin Harvick as he's won three of the last six races on this track. All three of these wins happen to come in the playoffs so drivers should be ready to battle Harvick if they want to win this race. The other three races were still top 10 finishes. If that wasn't enough to think that Harvick might win this race, consider that he has the best average finish at this track among drivers in the playoffs with a mark of 10.2.

Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Odds

Kevin Harvick - +250
Denny Hamlin - +500
Joey Logano - +750
Chase Elliott - +1,000
Martin Truex Jr. - +1,000
Ryan Blaney - +1,100
Kyle Busch - +1,100
Brad Keselowski - +1,400
Erik Jones - +1,800
Kurt Busch - +2,000
Aric Almirola - +2,800
Alex Bowman - +3,300
Tyler Reddick - +3,300
Clint Bowyer - +3,500
William Byron - +3,500
Austin Dillon - +3,500
Jimmie Johnson - +4,000
Matt DiBenedetto - +6,600

With all the reasons stated above, it's hard to go against Kevin Harvick in this race. He has dominated at Texas Motor Speedway and with a shot at securing a place in the next round, it seems as if Harvick is going to have a great shot at winning this race. While it might sound fun to take an underdog in this race, we have to stick with the stats. I'm going with Harvick in this race.

Josh's Pick: Take Kevin Harvick (+250)

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Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 Picks, Odds, Predictions 10/25/2020

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