Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Picks, Odds & Predictions 3/21/2021

by Tony Sink - 3/18/2021

Race: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

Date: Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 3:00 PM EST

Location: Atlanta Motor Speedway

TV: FOX

Racing seems to be getting a sense of normalcy again as NASCAR's COVID-19 quarantine will be lifted in this 1.54 mile race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 has some of the oldest pavement on the circuit and since it was reconfigured into a quad oval in 1997, it hasn't been touched. While this might seem like a nightmare for the everyday person driving to work, racers find this a welcomed obstacle. Driver talent and tire conservation are in the forefront at a track that is known for chewing up tires.

Instacart 500 Recap

Brad Keselowski would lead the pack into the green, but would not hold onto that spot for very long. Denny Hamlin snatched the top spot before Martin Truex Jr. brushed the wall, causing a competition caution. By the end of stage 1, Ryan Blaney ended up taking the lead and got himself a playoff point.

Anthony Alfredo and Cody Ware started the second stage off with a bang, and by bang I mean getting in a wreck and knocking themselves out of the race for the day. After that, stage 2 was pretty uneventful. Corey LaJoie pitted during the caution and tried to win the stage by risking not getting fuel. However, his plan didn't pan out and he was caught by a few drivers. To add insult to injury, LaJoie had to pit under green and dropped 2 laps. Joey Logano would take the second stage.

In the final stage of the race, Martin Truex Jr. took the lead over Logano with about 89 laps to go. During this time, Tyler Reddick cut a tire when he hit the wall which brought out the caution flag. The only driver to not pit during this time was Bubba Wallace which got him the lead. That said, he wouldn't have the lead for long and Logano to the lead once again. There was another caution with about 30 laps to go when Kyle Busch spun out. Truex Jr. got the lead back after the caution and ended up holding onto that lead, giving him his first win since last year's race in Martinsville.

Joey Logano ended up finishing in second place on the day and earned 54 points. Denny Hamlin finished third while Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott finished fourth and fifth respectively.

2021 Cup Series Standings Update

The win for Martin Truex Jr. shot him into the fourth spot in the standings. Currently, the top 5 are Denny Hamlin with 236 points on the year which puts him 39 points ahead of Brad Keselowski (197 points). Following him with 192 points is Joey Logano. Then comes Martin Truex Jr. with 180 points, trailed by Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott (both with 179 points).

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Odds

Kevin Harvick - + 550
Kyle Larson - + 650
Martin Truex Jr. - + 650
Brad Keselowski - + 750
Chase Elliott - + 800
Denny Hamlin - + 800
Joey Logano - + 900
Kyle Busch - + 1000
Ryan Blaney - + 1600
William Byron - + 2000
Christopher Bell - + 2200
Kurt Busch - + 2200
Alex Bowman - + 3300
Aric Almirola - + 6000
Austin Dillon - + 6000
Matt DiBenedetto - + 8000
Tyler Reddick - + 8000
Bubba Wallace - + 8000
Austin Cindric - + 8000
Cole Custer - + 10000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - + 10000

Brad Keselowski has had a solid season thus far and we don't expect it to stop anytime soon. He's finished in the top 5 in three of the five races so far and he's led for a total of 93 laps. He finished in 16th place at Homestead and that was his worst finish of the campaign. Now he gets to race a track where he has two wins in the last four runnings here. Keselowski has led 135 laps at this location and he'll be starting in the fourth spot. Keselowski has as good a chance to win as any driver this weekend.

Tony's Pick: Brad Keselowski - (+750)

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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 3/21/2021

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