The final 10-race stretch to the playoffs begins with Sunday’s Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Martin Truex Jr. is coming off his second victory of the season, and the 2017 champion now holds the NASCAR Cup Series championship lead.
William Byron is the only driver to put together consecutive victories this season, and the three-race winner trails Truex by a slight 13 points.
The Place: Nashville Superspeedway
The Date: June 25, 7 p.m. ET
The Distance: 400 miles
Defending Champion: Chase Elliott
Cup Series Leader: Martin Truex Jr.
TV: NBC
Radio: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
BEST BETS
Kyle Larson (+550 at BetMGM)
Larson leads the series with 717 total laps led this year and is one of only two drivers to post three victories. He is the book’s biggest liability this week, leading the field with 12.6 percent of the total bets backing him to win. He has also been backed by the second most money at 18.0 percent.
Martin Truex Jr. (+700)
Truex has momentum, but not much recent success at Nashville, where he finished 22nd in each of his past two starts. He didn’t lead a lap or earn a single stage point in 2021, but did lead 82 laps and won both stages last year. Truex is BetMGM’s second biggest liability this week, drawing the most money with 19.1 percent since opening at +800.
Kyle Busch (+800)
Busch has plenty of experience at Nashville and is the other driver to visit Victory Lane three times already this year. He is the book’s third biggest liability this week, having been backed by 8.7 percent of the total bets and 7.8 percent of the money.
Chase Elliott (+850)
The 2020 series champion has missed seven races this season and is in desperate need of a victory. Elliott is 27th in the standings and outside of the current playoff cut position. Elliott is the defending champion at Nashville.
Ryan Blaney (+1000)
Blaney snapped a career-long winless streak by taking the checkered flag in Charlotte over Memorial Day weekend and is tied for third in the standings with Ross Chastain, 24 points behind Truex.
LONGSHOT PICK
Kevin Harvick (+1800)
Currently without a win in 2023, Harvick is another previous champion at Nashville. He is fifth in the standings despite lacking a win, and he needs to build some playoff momentum. Harvick has led only 98 laps in 2023 but has stayed in the playoff picture courtesy of seven top-10s and four top-5s.