The NASCAR Cup Series moves from Virginia to Texas for Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
TMS first played host to NASCAR events in 1997, and Chevrolet drivers have won the past three races at the track. That includes William Byron, who passed Bubba Wallace in a six-lap shootout to win last year’s race in September that served as the opening playoff event.
Our motor racing experts preview Sunday’s race and provide their best bets to win this week.
AUTOTRADER ECHOPARK AUTOMOTIVE 400
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Date: Sunday, April 14, 3:30 p.m. ET
Distance: 267 laps/400.5 miles on 1.5-mile track
Defending champion: William Byron
Cup Series leader: Kyle Larson
TV: FS1
Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
5 BEST BETS
Kyle Larson (+525 at BetMGM)
Larson is in excellent form as he arrived in Texas having earned consecutive poles and going on to finish third and second the past two weeks. He also won in Las Vegas earlier this year, one of four top-5 finishes in his past six starts. Larson leads the field with 18.1 percent of the money backing him to win Sunday, making him the book’s third-biggest liability.
William Byron (+525)
The defending race champion rose to fourth in the series standings with last week’s victory at Martinsville — his second trip to Victory Lane in the past three races sandwiching a seventh at Richmond. He is BetMGM’s second-biggest liability this week, having drawn 10.6 percent of the total bets.
Denny Hamlin (+525)
Hamlin is coming off a disappointing 11th-place finish at Martinsville as he sits third in the series standings. He does have a trio of wins already in 2024, starting with the Clash at the Coliseum and then going on to Victory Lane at both Bristol and Richmond.
Chase Elliott (+1200)
The 28-year-old hasn’t won since October of 2022, but Elliott’s third-place running last week was his second consecutive top-5 finish. He sits a solid sixth in the standings despite the winless drought, having also finished eighth at Bristol last month.
Tyler Reddick (+1600)
Reddick won here two years ago and is seeking to find some consistency in 2024. He won the first Duel at Daytona, finished second in Las Vegas and has added four top-10s in his past five races. However, Reddick also has a trio of finishes of 29th or 30th, which has contributed to him being ninth in the standings entering Sunday.
LONGSHOT PICK
Bubba Wallace (+5000)
Wallace won the pole and led a race-best 112 laps in the 11-caution event in September, only to finish runner-up. His odds have risen steadily since opening at +1800, and Wallace is the book’s biggest liability this week as he has drawn the most total bets at 14.2 percent and the second-most money at 13.8 percent.
