Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Picks, Odds, & Predictions 3/15/2020

by Josh Schonwald - 3/10/2020

Race: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

Date: Sunday, March 15, 2020

Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway

TV: FOX

Coming up on Sunday the Atlanta Motor Speedway will be hosting the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. This is the 113^th race hosted by the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This tri-oval, 1.5-mile racetrack banks at 24 degrees in the turns and on the straightaways, there is a 5-degree bank. The Cup Series held its inaugural race when the track first opened in 1960 and its winner was Fireball Roberts.

Times have changed and it's a brand new season. Young drivers are taking the torch. However, the old guard isn't quite ready to give up the baton with Kevin Harvick leading in the points race with 164 and two top 5 finishes. Right on his tail is Joey Logano with 163 points thus far and two wins. Harvick is no stranger to Atlanta Motor Speedway as it was the location of his first series win. Brad Keselowski was the last winner at this race and it's the first 1.5-mile quad-oval this season. Over the last three races, Ford has been the winner, so we'll see if this trend continues.

FanShield 500 Results

Phoenix is the location where the championship race will take place later in the fall. Joey Logano had a great practice run for the championship as got his second win of the season after having the fastest car all day. If it wasn't for multiple mistakes on pit road, Logano would have most likely run away with this race but it wasn't smooth sailing. Kevin Harvick didn't make it easy on him and pushed him to the end. Harvick was waiting for the chance to pounce with all the mistakes being made but Logano was able to take the lead for good on the restart in the final overtime.

Logano became the first driver to win two races this season. It wasn't an easy task as there were a few outside factors that tried to derail his progress on pit road. He had a broken jack and an uncontrolled tire, but he was able to prevail and hold on for his second win of the season. This was great momentum to hold onto if he can stay in the championship race throughout the season. Logano has yet to win a race in Atlanta, but he is still a driver that you should be keeping an eye on.

Kevin Harvick was able to overtake Chase Elliot to win the first stage of the race after leveraging a quick spit stop under caution. Harvick looked in form on this day and looked to potentially win the race. However, Logano's Ford was able to take him over on the final restart. That said, second place is nothing to mad at and it has him in first place in the points race thus far. Harvick has done well in Atlanta. In 2001, Harvick won his first Cup series race in Atlanta and won again in 2018. Last season, Harvick placed fourth after starting in the 18^th position. He will be one of the favorites again for this race.

Brad Keselowski won the second stage of the FanShield 500 even after getting turned around in the first stage. It was his first stage win on the track and made it known that he would compete with Chase Elliott and Harvick in this race. However, while the damage to his car from earlier didn't impact him late, grip on his tires did and it forced him to fall back in final miles of the race. He'll be looking for big bounce back in Atlanta as he's won two of the last three races in Atlanta and in placed second in the other race. He is one of the favorites going into this week and it would be a big win for him in the points race. Keselowski currently sits tied for 10^th place with Matt DiBenedetto.

Chase Elliot finished 7^th last weekend and he looked good all day. He earned the pole and raced in the top five over the course of the whole race. Some circumstances didn't go this way on the day, but his car was fast. Elliot is on the verge of a breakout and it could happen this week.

Odds for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 are as follows:

Kevin Harvick 4-1

Kyle Busch 6-1

Joey Logano 6-1

Kyle Larson 8-1

Brad Keselowski 8-1

Martin Truex Jr. 8-1

Chase Elliott 10-1

Clint Bowyer 15-1

Denny Hamlin 15-1

Aric Almirola 20-1

Erik Jones 20-1

Kurt Busch 20-1

Ryan Blaney 20-1

Who will win the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500?

Josh's Pick: Take Kevin Harvick (4/1)

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Pick:	CHICAGO BEARS +3
Start:	November 24, 2024 @ 1:00 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #256 Chicago Bears +3 over Minnesota Vikings (1p.m., Sunday, November 24 FOX) We used the Bears as a free play winner last Sunday and easily covered the spread and should have been an underdog outright winner. Now we will ride them for a second straight week against another NFC North rival, the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are 8-2 on the season, yet are only around a field goal favorite. I still do not trust Sam Donald to win consistently over the course of a 17 game regular season. Minnesota is not as good as their 8-2 record would indicate and playing outdoors in Chicago on Sunday will cause issues for them on both sides of the ball. Chicago has been hit or miss this season, but they will be up to play another divisional rival and we expect them to take this down to the wire as well. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend Card featuring top plays in college and NFL football. Read More Read Less

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Picks, Odds, & Predictions 3/15/2020

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